U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon is a straight-talking, no-nonsense justice who’s had enough of the State Department’s stalling on Hillary Clinton’s emails.
He told DOJ attorneys he wants to “find out what’s been going on over there. I should say, what’s not been going on over there.” He’s referring to an Associated Press document request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that has been ignored for almost half a decade — one that sought then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s schedules and those of her top staffers.
As you know, earlier this year Clinton found herself at the center of a scandal when it was discovered that she used a private email address to conduct important matters while she served as Secretary of State, even though the law required her to use an email address that would allow her correspondences to be archived for public perusal.
How about this for an answer – they’re not through scrubbing the emails yet your honor. They have to be sure they take out anything that will incriminate them first.
Judge Leon said, “The State Department, for reasons known only to itself has been, to say the least, recalcitrant in responding.”
Read more from the hearing transcript:
DOJ lawyers Lisa Ann Olson and Marcia Berman said the agency was prioritizing the public release of the 55,000 pages of emails in response to another judge’s order requiring monthly releases of those records.
However, Leon accused Olson of responding with “convoluted gobbledygook” when she insisted that the State Department’s processing of those emails would satisfy the AP’s request for records about Clinton Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin’s transition to a special part-time position at State.
[…]
“What you just said, Ms. Olson, made no sense,” the judge replied. “You’re failing to distinguish between documents created by the State Department independently of Hillary Clinton’s emails — with Hillary Clinton’s emails. And you’re giving me some kind of convoluted gobbledygook. about how the emails contain within them the independently created documents relating to Huma Abedin’s appointment as a special government counsel. …That is nonsensical.”
The judge had trouble controlling his irritation with the State Department.
“Have it by next week. Have it by next week when we have our hearing. Do you hear me?” the judge said, according to a transcript.
A DOJ lawyer claimed the State Department will have trouble complying because they have limited resources and cited more recent requests needing to be fulfilled.
The Judge replied: “In my judgment, a four-year-old request gets a priority over a recent request.”
What do you think of this judge’s move to get the documents into court? Share your views in our comment section and add this story to your Twitter/Facebook timeline.
H/T: AboveTheLaw
