Judicial Watch: Federal Court Allows Discovery to Begin in Clinton Email Case

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan granted “discovery” to Judicial Watch into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email system.  The order allows Judicial Watch to take testimony of former top Clinton State Department aides Cheryl Mills, Huma Abedin and Bryan Pagliano.  The court also notes that “based on information learned during discovery, the deposition of Mrs. Clinton may be necessary.”  The discovery will take place over the next eight weeks. The discovery arises in a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit that seeks records about the controversial employment status of Huma Abedin, former Deputy Chief of Staff to Clinton.  The lawsuit was reopened because of revelations about the clintonemail.com system. (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:13-cv-01363)). In a Memorandum and Order issued today, Judge Sullivan found that “Judicial Watch raises significant questions in its Motion for Discovery about whether the State Department processed documents in good faith in response to Judicial Watch’s FOIA request.  Judicial Watch is therefore entitled to limited discovery.”  Judge Sullivan also questions, citing Supreme Court precedent, whether the State Department and Mrs. Clinton “purposefully routed…document[s] out of agency possession in order to circumvent a FOIA request.”