[PJMEDIA] In a devastating move, the State Department has joined with Judicial Watch in claiming that former Secretary of State Crooked Hillary Clinton
...former first lady, former secretary of state, former presidential candidate, Conqueror of Benghazi, Heroine of Tuzla, formerly described by her supporters as the smartest woman in the world, usually described by the rest of us as The Thing That Wouldn't Go Away. Politix is not one of her talents, but it's something she keeps trying to do...
cannot dodge a court-ordered deposition in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking "talking points or updates on the Benghazi attack." This FOIA request uncovered Clinton's insecure private home-brew server in 2015.
On March 2, 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth granted Judicial Watch's request to depose Clinton and her former chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, in the search for more Benghazi documents. Specifically, Judicial Watch was given the green light to probe Clinton on whether or not she used a private email server to evade FOIA. On March 13, lawyers for Clinton and Mills filed a writ of mandamus, claiming that the former secretary of State could refuse the deposition due to her previous government office. State, represented by Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers, filed a brief arguing against the mandamus claim on Monday.
"Pursuant to this Court’s Order of March 20, 2020, the Department of State respectfully submits this response to the petition for a writ of mandamus. The government did not seek and thus does not support the extraordinary relief of mandamus due to the unique circumstances of this case," the brief states.
The DOJ brief does not defend the deposition orders, but it does insist that mandamus is not applicable in this case.
Judicial Watch also filed a brief against mandamus, arguing that Clinton and Mills failed to "demonstrate that they have no other adequate means of relief" and they also failed to show "that the District Court's order was a judicial usurpation of power or a clear abuse of discretion or that [Clinton and Mills] have a clear and indisputable right to a writ."
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