Conservative group Judicial Watch has threatened to file a lawsuit that demands the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) conduct a damage assessment stemming from former secretary of state Hillary Clinton's use of a private email account for official business.
Judicial Watch has filed several lawsuits in recent history regarding Clinton's email use. The latest one targets the nation's intelligence structure.
"A damage assessment such as the one required by ICD No. 732 is a quintessential type of record that Judicial Watch would request and obtain under FOIA, analyze, and then make available to the public in carrying out its educational mission," Judicial Watch wrote in a letter to the ODNI.
"Should the required assessment not be undertaken, we are prepared to file suit in an appropriate federal district court seeking to compel compliance with ICD No. 732, so that we might seek and obtain access to the assessment.
"Please advise us no later than February 10, 2017 if an assessment will be undertaken. If we do not hear from you by that date, we will assume no assessment will be undertaken and will act accordingly."
The letter was sent to three members of the Obama administration on Jan. 10: Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Director of National Intelligence counterintelligence executive William Evanina.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said, "The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has a legal obligation to assess the damage done by Hillary Clinton's illicit email practices. Therefore, the American people have a right to know the basis of that decision. And they have a right to expect the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to follow the law and determine how badly Mrs. Clinton's actions compromised national security and put our nation at risk."
Clinton used a private email server and several addresses during her time as secretary of state (2009-2013). The FBI investigated her actions and controversially concluded that the Department of Justice should not seek charges against her and any of her aides that knew about the situation.