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Cites ‘Privacy’ and ‘Scintilla’ of Public Interest in Material about Potential Clinton Crimes Draft Indictment Bears on ‘Mrs. Clinton’s honesty, credibility, and trustworthiness … for the position she currently seeks.’ (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it is asking a federal court to order the National Archives and Records Administration to release draft criminal indictments of Hillary Clinton. In its motion for summary judgment, the National Archives claimed that “the drafts involve a significant [Clinton] privacy interest that is not outweighed by any public interest….” In its March 11 opposition brief, Judicial Watch counters that allegedly “making false...

The FBI submitted a classified declaration to a federal court judge late Friday explaining details about the bureau's "pending investigation" into the use of a private email server by Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton. The declaration addresses why the FBI can't publicly release any records about its probe in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by VICE News.

(Washington, DC) - Judicial Watch announced today that on June 15, 2015, it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to obtain records of all Secret Service expenses incurred to provide "security and or/other services" to former President Bill Clinton during his trips to the Caribbean island of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:15-cv-00915)).

Within hours of the news breaking that Hillary Clinton exclusively used a private e-mail account while she was secretary of state, employees across the federal government fired up their computers to share their disbelief. “How is this even possible?” Michael McDonald, general counsel at the National Endowment for the Humanities, asked his deputy Lisette Voyatzis in an e-mail sent March 3, 2015. “They [the State Department] are as ass-backwards as NEH when it comes to records management. That’s comforting,” she replied. Charles Beamon, the top ethics official at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, sent Clinton’s story staff-wide as a cautionary...

The Michigan Freedom of Information Act provides a compelling declaration in favor of government transparency: “It is the public policy of this state that all persons … are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and public employees, consistent with this act. The people shall be informed so that they may fully participate in the democratic process.” CapCon Commentary CapCon Commentary The Flint water crisis has illuminated an important exemption found in FOIA; the law exempts the governor and lieutenant governor and their offices...

Full title: Judicial Watch Submits Proposed Witness List, Discovery Plan to Federal Court in Clinton Email Matter (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch today filed a plan for “ narrowly tailored discovery” into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email matter with a federal court. Judicial Watch’s discovery plan seeks the testimony of eight current and former State Department officials, including top State Department official Patrick Kennedy, former State IT employee Bryan Pagliano, and Clinton’s two top aides at the State Department: Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin. Judicial Watch’s plan says that “based on information learned during discovery, the deposition of...

Federal Court Grants Judicial Watch Discovery on Clinton Email Issue History Comes Full Circle as Judicial Watch Releases New Document in Whitewater Criminal Corruption Case against Hillary Clinton Air Force Academy Celebrates Witchcraft and Voodoo While Demeaning Christianity Federal Court Grants Judicial Watch Discovery on Clinton Email Issue Your Judicial Watch has achieved another remarkable breakthrough in our tireless efforts to get to the bottom of the Clinton email scandal. Earlier this week, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan granted Judicial Watch’s motion for discovery into whether the State Department and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deliberately...

State Department officials released roughly 800 of Hillary Clinton's private emails Friday evening, just hours before the South Carolina Democratic primaries begin. The 1,500 pages of emails in the latest batch did not contain any "top secret" emails, an agency spokesman said. The State Department withheld 22 emails from a trove of emails made public earlier this year because they included "top secret" information. Clinton faced a new wave of questions about her private emails this week after a federal judge ruled her top aides should be subject to depositions about their roles in setting up a personal server in...

Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that the several investigations into Hillary Clinton's private email system has significantly tied up the State Department over the last year, despite the more than $2 million Congress gave State to deal with it. "We have more than 50 ... simultaneous investigations going on, and we have an unprecedented number of FOIA requests," Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "I have had to cannibalize bureaus to get people to go spend their time on these requests." "I'm concerned about it because this is tying up international diplomats," he said.

Judicial Watch Will Seek Testimony from Current and Former Obama Administration Officials(Washington, DC) - Judicial Watch announced that District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan todaygrantedJudicial Watch's motion for discovery into whether the State Department and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deliberately thwarted the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for six years. The developments come in a Judicial Watch FOIA lawsuit that seeks records about the controversial employment status of Huma Abedin, former Deputy Chief of Staff to Clinton. The lawsuit was reopened because of revelations about Clinton's separate email records (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:13-cv-01363))....

The Freedom of Information Act has long played a vital role in bringing to light matters that government officials would rather keep hidden. Its role in exposing details of the Flint water contamination crisis has become a case study in the use of open records laws by journalists to expose a potentially tragic government failure. While government agencies often claim to support transparency, their actions frequently appear intended to thwart the release of public information. The Lansing school district provides the most recent example. Michigan Capitol Confidential submitted a FOIA request to the district asking for information contained in a...

When running for office, Gov. Rick Snyder said he would sign a bill repealing the exemption of the governor, lieutenant governor, legislators and other executive officers and employees from Michigan's Freedom of Information Act. He may get a chance, as two lawmakers, one Republican and one Democrat, are jointly planning to introduce bills that would make the governor and Legislature subject to FOIA. Rep. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, and Rep. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, say they’ll introduce the legislation within roughly six weeks. Dating back to its inception in 1976, Michigan’s FOIA law has included an exemption for the governor as well...

In her Tuesday press conference defending her reliance on a private email system while serving as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton claimed that the "vast majority" of emails were sent to other State Department employees and therefore automatically archived. But State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki on Friday told reporters that it wasn't until last month that the State Department started automatically archiving emails — and it's only being done for senior staff. "Our goal is to apply this [automatic archiving] to all employee mailboxes by the end of 2016," Psaki said, according to Politico. On Tuesday, Clinton said, "It was...

Mackinac Center Executive Vice President Michael Reitz was featured in Monday’s edition of Stateside on Michigan Radio to discuss the need for more transparency in government in light of what is happening in Flint. “The justification for FOIA unfortunately is very clear and very apparent in situations like the one we have now with the Flint water crisis where decisions were made that will affect people’s lives in horrific ways for years and years to come,” Reitz told host Cynthia Canty. “The people of Flint and the people of Michigan justifiably want to know who made these decisions and how...

"turn it into nonpaper w no identifying heading and send nonsecure"

Watchdog group Judicial Watch has been trying to squeeze Hillary Clinton’s documents out of the State Department with Freedom of Information Act requests for years. FOIA requests have a way of turning into FOIA lawsuits before any wing of the Obama Administration responds to them. Last Friday, three years after one such suit was filed, the State Department suddenly discovered thousands of previously undisclosed Clinton documents. "This latest find of Clinton records, at this late date, is astonishing," Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton declared. "The State Department waited to last possible moment, as it did with the Clinton emails, to...

Full title: Judicial Watch Uncovers 2004 State Department Records Confirming Arab Smuggling "Cells," Al Qaeda Leader in Mexico. For more than a decade the U.S. government has known that "Arab extremists" are entering the country through Mexico with the assistance of smuggling network "cells," according to State Department documents obtained by Judicial Watch that reveal among them was a top Al Qaeda operative wanted by the FBI. Some Mexican smuggling networks actually specialize in providing logistical support for Arab individuals attempting to enter the United States, the government documents say. The top Al Qaeda leader in Mexico was identified in...

The House on Monday passed legislation that would create the most sweeping reforms to federal open records laws in nearly a decade. Approved by voice vote, the measure would limit exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that now allow federal agencies to hold back information. The bill would also create a single online portal for people to make FOIA requests and require agencies to publicly post frequently requested records online. The legislation has been years in the making, following persistent complaints about the FOIA process from journalists, the public and members of Congress. "We regularly use the Freedom...

(Washington, DC ) - Judicial Watch announced today that the Obama State Department recently found "thousands" of new records from Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State. According to information provided to Judicial Watch by various Justice Department attorneys, the new documents appear be "working" records in electronic format located on both "shared" and "individual" drives accessible to or used by persons identified as being relevant to Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits on the Benghazi scandal and controversies from Clinton's term at State. The State Department confirmed the new find in a court filing late this past...

State Dept. IG Confirms FOIA Fraud by Hillary Clinton and Obama State Dept. Retrieved Emails Show Top Clinton Aide Prioritized Advertising Design over the Deaths of U.S. Personnel in Benghazi Obama Power Grab Racially Divisive and DangerousState Dept. IG Confirms FOIA Fraud by Hillary Clinton and Obama State Dept. Inspectors general offices (OIG) are established under federal law at federal agencies as "independent and objective units within most agencies. Their duties are to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in the programs and operations of their respective agencies." Under the Obama administration, OIG independence has been attacked, and many IG...