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State Dept. Told To Release New Benghazi Emails From Hillary’s Server

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A federal judge ordered the Department of State to release new emails stored on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private server regarding the 2012 attack in Benghazi, a nonprofit government watchdog group announced Friday.

Two previously unreleased emails have a subject line “Quick Summary of POTUS Calls to Presidents of Libya and Egypt” and were sent two days after terrorists attacked the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012, according to Judicial Watch.

“The full emails may reveal what former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama knew about the Sept. 11, 2012, terror attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi,” the nonprofit said in a statement.

The records were released after Judicial Watch sued the State Department following its claim the “deliberative process” exemption under the Freedom of Information Act justified redaction.

The Department of Justice asked the court to keep the emails secret and argued that they accidentally failed to withhold the material because it contains classified material, but U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered the release after reviewing the records. (RELATED: Trump Could Tear Down Obama’s FOIA Secrecy. Here’s Why He Probably Won’t.)

Judicial Watch argued the failure “was part of a deliberate effort by the State Department to protect Clinton and the agency by avoiding identifying emails on Clinton’s unofficial, non-secure email server as classified.”

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton asked “does President Trump know his State and Justice Departments are still trying to provide cover for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama?”

Fitton added that “an extraordinary court ruling that could result in key answers about the Benghazi outrage is being opposed by the Trump administration. This may well be an example of the ‘deep state’ trying to get away with a cover up – if so, then the Trump administration must put a stop to it.”

 

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