WASHINGTON — Attorneys for Hillary Clinton submitted written answers Thursday to a series of questions about her private email server, put to her by the conservative legal watchdog group Judicial Watch as part of an ongoing lawsuit.
Throughout the written testimony, Clinton’s lawyers raise a series of objections about the scope of the questioning, offering brief responses that are in line with Clinton’s past public statements.
The former secretary of state also frequently states that she does not recall having conversations with officials at the State Department regarding some of the specific issues raised by Judicial Watch, including providing access to the server to State Department personnel, or specifically notifying the department of her decision to use the server.
In one response, “Secretary Clinton states that she does not recall being advised, cautioned, or warned, she does not recall that it was ever suggested to her, and she does not recall participating in any communication, conversation, or meeting in which it was discussed that her use of a clintonemail.com e-mail account to conduct official State Department business conflicted with or violated federal recordkeeping laws.”
Clinton maintains in the filing that she chose to use a personal email server for “convenience,” and she believed her emails to State Department officials were being archived by virtue of the fact that the recipients had government email accounts.
“Secretary Clinton states that she does not recall considering factors other than convenience in deciding to use a personal e-mail account to conduct official State Department business,” the filing notes.
She acknowledged however that “she did not consider how emails she sent to or received from persons who did not have State Department email accounts would be searched by the Department in response to FOIA requests.”
The filing suggests Clinton relied on her advisers when it came to managing and protecting the server, and does not recall being contact by the State Department during her tenure about preserving her emails.
Furthermore, the filing notes, “Secretary Clinton states that she does not recall being advised, cautioned, or warned during her tenure as secretary of state about hacking or attempted hacking of her clintonemail.com email account or the server that hosted her clintonemail.com account.”
“We’re pleased that we now have a little bit more information about Hillary Clinton’s email practices,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “Our lawyers will be reviewing the responses closely. Mrs. Clinton’s refusal to answer many of the questions in a clear and straightforward manner further reflects disdain for the rule of law.”
