State Department Proposes January Deadline for Release of Clinton Emails By Byron Tau
http://www.wsj.com/articles/state-department-proposes-january-deadline-for-release-of-clinton-emails-1432008895
Department cites complexity of sorting through tens of thousands of pages for the long review period
The proposed timeline means the complete set of emails could be released just two weeks before Democratic voters would head to the polls in the first presidential nominating contest.
According to a court filing on Monday, the State Department has asked a federal judge to approve a plan that would release Mrs. Clinton’s email records publicly by Jan. 15, 2016.
The State Department hadn’t previously provided a specific release time for the emails, but has said the process could take “several months.” In Monday’s filing, a representative from the department cited the “voluminous” nature of the former secretary of state’s email trail as the reason for the delay, as well as the “breadth of topics, the nature of the communications, and the interests of several agencies.”
“Given the breadth and importance of the many foreign policy issues on which the Secretary of State and the Department work, the review of these materials will likely require consultation with a broad range of subject matter experts within the Department and other agencies, as well as potentially with foreign governments,” wrote John Hackett, acting director of the Office of Information Programs and Services at the State Department.
A dozen State Department staffers have been assigned to the effort of reviewing and redacting about 55,000 pages of Mrs. Clinton’s emails from her time in office, according to the filing.
The State Department’s plan for releasing Mrs. Clinton’s emails from her time in office was revealed as part of a continuing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by a reporter with Vice News in January.
The reporter, Jason Leopold, asked for documents last year pertaining to Mrs. Clinton’s time as secretary of state. He filed suit three months later when the department failed to produce those records.
The revelation earlier this year that Mrs. Clinton exclusively used a personal email account on a home server for government business has launched at least one congressional probe and roiled her early efforts to launch a presidential campaign. Though legal, her email arrangement was discouraged by Obama administration policy and State Department rules. Federal record-keeping laws also mandate the preservation of public documents related to government business.
Mrs. Clinton turned over what her attorneys deemed relevant public records to the State Department last year. She said she has since deleted all her emails from her personal server.
She has encouraged the State Department to release the records, tweeting in March: “I want the public to see my email. I asked State to release them. They said they would review them for release as soon as possible.”
Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic front-runner in the race for president, will face voters in Iowa just two weeks after the State Department’s proposed deadline for releasing her emails. The Iowa caucuses are set to be held on Feb. 1, 2016.
An early glimpse at Mrs. Clinton’s emails is likely in the coming weeks. The department is planning to separately release about 850 pages of emails specifically pertaining to the 2012 attacks on a U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya.
Those emails are part of a congressional investigation in the attacks, which killed four Americans, and were reviewed first.
The Clinton campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Politico first reported on the State Department’s plan to release Mrs. Clinton’s emails early next year.
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