A federal judge ordered a renewed investigation into the unsecured private email server used by Hillary Clinton during her time as secretary of state. 

 

 

He said her actions constituted "one of the gravest modern offenses to government transparency."

 

The Daily Wire's James Barrett reports:

 

The ruling revolves around a Freedom of Information Act suit brought by a conservative government watchdog. Judicial Watch, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled Thursday, should be given access to documents and be permitted to acquire additional testimony about Clinton's use of a private server and officials' failure to be transparent about information searches related to it.

 

Judge Lamberth's opinion, published by Politico, begins by quoting former President Barack Obama, who, on his first full day in office, waxed eloquent about the importance of transparency in government and declared his administration's commitment to FOIA: "In our democracy, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which encourages accountability through transparency, is the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring an open government. ... All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA."

 

"But in this case, faced with one of the gravest modern offenses to government transparency, his State and Justice Departments fell far short," Lamberth wrote. "So far short that the Court questions, even now, whether they are acting in good faith. Did Hillary Clinton use her private email as Secretary of State to thwart this lofty goal? Was the State Department's attempt to settle this FOIA case in 2014 an effort to avoid searching--and disclosing the existence of--Clinton's missing emails? And has State ever adequately searched for records in this case?"

 

When Judicial Watch filed its FOIA suit in July 2014 over the State Department's false talking points on the Benghazi attack, the judge notes, officials knew that Clinton's private emails were missing from its records. "State played this card close to its chest," he wrote. "At best, State’s attempts to pass-off its deficient search as legally adequate during settlement negotiations was negligence born out of incompetence. At worst, career employees in the State and Justice Departments colluded to scuttle public scrutiny of Clinton, skirt FOIA and hoodwink this court."

 

(Video H/T Judicial Watch)

Read more at http://americanactionnews.com/articles/federal-judge-reopens-investigation-into-clinton-email-scandal#0YefGxsCKTX3EMYV.99