Republicans sue for Clinton emails
March 9, 2016
The US State Department declined to comment on the two lawsuits filed by the Republican National Committee (RNC) on Wednesday seeking to obtain Clinton's emails written while she was Secretary of State.
"I don't want to comment on matters that are under litigation," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters at a daily briefing on Wednesday.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) said it filed the lawsuits after what it claimed was the failure of the State Department to respond in a timely manner to a request submitted in December under the Freedom of Information Act. In a statement, the Committee said it wanted the information to ensure the public could decide if Clinton was "fit to serve" as president.
Lawsuit content
The first lawsuit seeks emails and BlackBerry Messenger or text messages between Clinton and several key senior aides, including her chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, and the director of policy planning, Jake Sullivan.
The second lawsuit seeks emails and other electronic exchanges between nearly a dozen State Department officials and any Clinton associate using one of more than a dozen different Internet domain names from February 2013, when Clinton left the job as the top US diplomat, until December 2015. The request includes any emails to the State Department officials from Clinton's campaign website, HillaryClinton.com, or the website of former President Bill Clinton's foundation, ClintonFoundation.org.
The suit also targets emails from other domains, including MediaMatters.org, a group seeking to counter what it believes to be misleading conservative information in the US media.
The issue of the emails has dogged Clinton's campaign since it was made known a year ago that she used a private email account and server over the period 2009 to 2013.
While Clinton has apologized for the email arrangement, she has denied any wrongdoing. She said she believes the government will vindicate her. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case.
jm/sms (Reuters, AP)