Secretary of State John Kerry asked for a delay of nearly 40 days regarding his required response to a lawsuit surrounding the Hillary Clinton email scandal, according to newly released information.
Judicial Watch reports Kerry, who already had been given 60 days to respond to a lawsuit filed by the organization, sought to extend that by 38 days.
The lawsuit asked for Clinton's emails during her time as secretary of state (2009-2013); she has admitted to using a private email address and a private, home-based server to conduct her official government business, a breach of the normal protocol for government workers.
The lawsuit also seeks to get ahold of emails sent and received by other government employees, as other people — including
Clinton's top aide Huma Abedin — are alleged to have used a private email address during their time at the State Department as well.
Kerry, according to Judicial Watch, wanted to delay his response to the lawsuit in order to combine it with a similar lawsuit, filed by the Cause of Action Institute. That suit was filed six weeks after Judicial Watch filed its suit.
"Secretary of State Kerry and the Obama administration are obstructing the courts at every turn on the Clinton email scandal," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.
"Secretary Kerry doesn't want to answer to the public or to the court about why he hasn't taken steps required by law to secure Hillary Clinton's emails, which he knows includes unsecured classified material. The law requires quick action and our lawsuit may be the best vehicle for finally forcing action to recover and preserve all the government documents and classified information Mrs. Clinton is unlawfully keeping."
A federal judge, meanwhile,
blasted the State Department for dragging its feet in responding to requests filed by The Associated Press to release emails and other correspondence tied to Clinton during her time at the department.
"Now, any person should be able to review that in one day — one day," said U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon regarding a request for some 60 emails. "Even the least ambitious bureaucrat could do this."
In March,
The Associated Press sued to force the State Department to turn over emails and other government documents during Clinton's tenure.
The AP sought a legal remedy after its Freedom of Information Act requests, dating three to five years, went unfulfilled.
Congressional investigators this year have been trying to get
Clinton to testify about the 2012 Benghazi attacks, and they'll get their chance at an October hearing. The committee tasked with investigating the attacks will also question Clinton about her email practices during the hearing, which will be public.
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