State Dept. fights against its own deadline in Clinton email case

By Sarah Westwood, Sarah Westwood

Published December 20, 2015

State Department officials are attempting to push back a deadline they set for themselves in May for the release of records related to Hillary Clinton and two of her top aides.

In a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Citizens United, the State Department had pledged to produce by Sept. 13 all documents relevant to the conservative watchdog group's four requests, which involved Clinton, Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin.

But although the agency had chosen the Sept. 13 deadline for itself, State Department officials soon sought to delay indefinitely their obligation to hand over the records.

Judge Emmet Sullivan, the federal judge overseeing the case, cautioned the State Department in May against attempting to push back their own deadline.