Saturday, August 22, 2015

'Toontime: Please Don't Call it Emailgate

credit Nick Anderson
Wackydoodle axez: There's wiped and whipped, what y'al got here?

A federal judge hearing a FIOA lawsuit in Washington DC to obtain access to her records as Secretary of State said Ms. Clinton's use of a private server to conduct official business violated government policy, so he was willing to consider requests for her records that are in private accounts.  The comment was awkward for the former Secretary, whose campaign has maintained she did nothing wrong using a private server.  A campaign aide responded to the judge's remark saying her use of a private server was consistent with the practice of other secretaries of state and permissible under State Department policy at the time. Judge Emmet Sullivan repeatedly referred to the department's obligation to preserve records under the Federal Records Act of 1950. Classified materials were found in printed e-mails Clinton turned over to the State Department.   Judicial Watch, a conservative watch-dog group and plaintiff in the Freedom of Information Act case, argued the State Department acquiesced in Secretary Clinton's use of a private server and private email account; the agency's technology specialists were involved in maintaining the server. Thus, her private e-mails should be accessible under FOIA.    The FBI is also looking into Clinton's email traffic for possible leaks of classified material.