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Hillary Clinton Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 26, 2015 46 Comments
One of the key disputes in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit commenced by Judicial Watch seeking records as to Huma Abedin's outside employment is whether emails sent and received by Hillary Clinton through her personal email account on her personal server are "federal records" covered by FOIA. The Court, however, has not ruled on the issue of which of Hillary's emails were covered by FOIA. The issue is particularly pressing because the personal email account was the only account used by Hillary. "Federal records" and truly personal emails (e.g., Hillary's yoga lessons) were intermingled in a single email account in a private server outside of government monitoring (at least outside the U.S. government's monitoring, whether foreign governments hacked the account or server has not yet been determined. Hillary's shadow electronic government deprived the State Department of its own ability to determine what needs to be produced under FOIA.  That takes this case outside the normal course. Hillary or her attorneys admit that not all emails were produced, and that over 30,000 Hillary determined were personal were deleted and the server wiped clean. In so doing, Hillary has deprived Judicial Watch and the public of the ability -- through keyword searches, for example -- to test whether the "personal" emails were only about Yoga and Chelsea's wedding.

Posted by Amy Miller on August 26, 2015 17 Comments
James O'Keefe's Project Veritas has released the first in what they say is a series of videos exposing lawlessness within Hillary Clinton's campaign. O'Keefe has targeted leftist groups in the past over voter registration practices---and now, he has taken that fight directly to Clinton's grassroots operation. He claims that his undercover journalists have found Clinton operatives employing a cherry-picking method of registering new voters. Watch: From Time Magazine:

Posted by Amy Miller on August 24, 2015 12 Comments
With Hillary on the ropes over the small matter of an insecure email server, and Elizabeth Warren coyly refusing a public anointing, Democrats appear ready to pull out a wild card just in time for the 2016 primary cycle. Vice President Joe Biden has proven himself to be a savvy politician and excellent campaigner. His occasional exploits quickly transition from offensive to meme-worthy, making him the sort of candidate who has the potential to further endear himself to American voters by way of his willingness to toe the line between charm and spectacle. Of course, the White House is treading carefully on the prospect of a Biden candidacy; with Obama's former Secretary of State all-in for the nomination, a sudden backing of Biden could translate as an abandonment of the Democrats' last great Idea Whose Time Has Come---a woman in the Oval Office. During todays' White House press conference, ABC News correspondent Jon Karl pressed Earnest on the possibility of Biden fielding the presidential endorsement:

Posted by Amy Miller on August 23, 2015 52 Comments
We here at Legal Insurrection have done a lot of work in the fight to shine light on the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal. Allegations of national security breaches, cover ups, and outright lies have Clinton's camp circling the wagons, and her supporters grasping at straws when confronted with questions about Clinton's system of records she used while serving as Secretary of State. Today, Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream grilled former Congresswoman and Hillary Clinton surrogate Ellen Tauscher over the allegations, and Tauscher's reaction all but spelled out exactly why conservatives are still pushing this issue. Watch:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 22, 2015 23 Comments
There has been speculation Joe Biden may run. There has been speculation Elizabeth Warren may run. Either of them individually would be a dream come true for the pure theater of it (and with Warren, for some other reasons). But together, it will have the conservative media and blogosphere shouting "Thank You God!" Could it be? Consider this unexpected development, first reported by CNN, Biden meets with Warren in Washington:
Vice President Joe Biden met privately with Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Saturday in his residence at the Naval Observatory, CNN has learned, another sign he is seriously deciding whether to jump into the Democratic presidential race. The meeting between Biden and Warren, confirmed by two people familiar with the session, is the biggest indication yet that Biden is feeling out influential Democrats before announcing his intentions.

Posted by Amy Miller on August 21, 2015 23 Comments
Since the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal first broke, supporters of Clinton have clung to a narrative that rejects the possibility that her private systems of record keeping and communication could have caused a national security breach. Spokespeople from the State Department and Clinton's own team have stood by her testimony promising that her personal server didn't convey or store any classified material. This narrative survived the unveiling of several e-mails that State has now marked classified, but that discovery prompted deeper digging by activists and the media. Reuters investigated some of these new "classified" stamps and found that the e-mails marked with those new stamps contain information State's own regulations deem classified, with our without the official designation. Reuters reports:
In the small fraction of emails made public so far, Reuters has found at least 30 email threads from 2009, representing scores of individual emails, that include what the State Department's own "Classified" stamps now identify as so-called 'foreign government information.' The U.S. government defines this as any information, written or spoken, provided in confidence to U.S. officials by their foreign counterparts.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 20, 2015 40 Comments
A hearing was held this afternoon in federal court in Washington, D.C., before Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, in the FOIA case brought by Judicial Watch seeking records regarding then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's aide Huma Adedin's outside employment. We have covered the court developments, including allegations by Judicial Watch that the State Department has failed to comply with court orders and has not provided sufficient searches. Yesterday the State Department filed a Reply admitting that Hillary never was issued a State Department Blackberry, and the Blackberries used by Adedin and Cheryl Mills likely were destroyed. Today's hearing was over Judicial Watch's request for "discovery," which normally doesn't take place in FOIA cases. Discovery could include sworn depositions of witnesses. Amy Miller was in Court for Legal Insurrection and reports: The Judge ordered the State Department to confer with the FBI and DOJ as to searches of the server and thumb drive, including recovery efforts. The Judge wanted to wait until the State Department filed another status report before ruling on discovery issues. Just after the hearing, the Court updated the docket with the following:
Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Emmet G. Sullivan: Status Hearing held on 8/20/2015. Court directs the government to file a status report on or before September 20, 2015 for reasons stated on the record in open Court. Further Status Hearing set for 10/1/2015 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 24A before Judge Emmet G. Sullivan. Court to issue order accordingly. (Court Reporter Janice Dickman) (tcr) (Entered: 08/20/2015)
Amy will update soon with further details as to today's court proceedings. *** Amy's Updates First up, the official docket text from today's directive, as filed with the court:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 18, 2015 54 Comments
This is bad. Really bad. While some are reporting this as Hillary refusing to say if she wiped the server clean, the language is pretty clear she is denying knowledge:
"Did you try to wipe the hard drive?" "I have no idea... that's why we turned it over ... "You were in charge of it, did you wipe the server?" "What, with a cloth or something? .... No"

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 18, 2015 45 Comments
Yesterday, the Judge in the Judicial Watch FOIA case involving Huma Abedin's outside employment ordered an expedited hearing on Judicial Watch's request to take discovery as to, among other things, Hillary's electronic devices and server. While Judicial Watch did not specify the discovery it wanted, that logically could include the sworn deposition testimony of Hillary as to her electronic devices and server, as well as that of her attorney David Kendall, who maintained custody of electronic records. On Judicial Watchs request, the Judge moved the hearing up from September 10 to August 20. The State Department then filed a motion Motion for Extension of Time seeking to delay the hearing until August 27, because two of its key people were on vacation.
As grounds for this request, defendant states that the two DOJ supervisors who are responsible for this case and related FOIA cases are currently on vacation, and that the additional time is required for defendant to respond to the August 17 Order.
(Full embed at bottom of post) The Judge quickly rejected the request to delay the hearing, even before Judicial Watch had a chance to file a written opposition:
MINUTE ORDER denying [28] Defendant's Opposed Motion for an Extension of Time. However, due to the Court's calendar, the status hearing will take place at 1:00 p.m. on August 20, 2015 in Courtroom 24A, rather than 12:00 p.m. as originally scheduled. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on August 18, 2015. (lcegs4) Modified on 8/18/2015 (ztcr).
UPDATE: Via Byron York, Hillary in a speech today in Nevada says she was the one to make the decision as to what was and was not work related. So she just made herself the key person to testify on the subject:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on August 18, 2015 5 Comments
Polling released by Rasmussen Tuesday show's the "Hillary meter" dropping dramatically. Rasmussen explains:
Last month, we introduced this year’s edition of the Hillary Meter to regularly update public perceptions of the former first lady on her march to the White House. Why a Hillary Meter and not one for, say, Jeb Bush or Donald Trump? Because for one thing, Clinton is far and away the leader in the race for next year’s Democratic nomination, while the winner of the Republican race is anyone’s guess. Secondly, the former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of State is an internationally known and highly polarizing figure – greatly admired by many on the left, extremely disliked on the right – who may end up being the nation’s first woman president.
The Hillary Meter is not indicative of who surveyed likely voters want, but rather who they believe will win. Also of note is that individuals surveyed are likely voters and not registered voters. Likely voters tend to (but not always) have a lower propensity for election day turn out. Though the Huffington Post argues that if 2014 is indicative of future elections -- that distinction might not make much difference any longer.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 18, 2015 33 Comments
The Daily Mail is reporting an interesting twist in the Hillary email saga, EXCLUSIVE: Hillary's email firm was run from a loft apartment with its servers in the BATHROOM
The IT company Hilary Clinton chose to maintain her private email account was run from a loft apartment and its servers were housed in the bathroom closet, Daily Mail Online can reveal. Daily Mail Online tracked down ex-employees of Platte River Networks in Denver, Colorado, who revealed the outfit's strong links to the Democratic Party but expressed shock that the 2016 presidential candidate chose the small private company for such a sensitive job. One, Tera Dadiotis, called it 'a mom and pop shop' which was an excellent place to work, but hardly seemed likely to be used to secure state secrets. And Tom Welch, who helped found the company, confirmed the servers were in a bathroom closet. It can also be disclosed that the small number of employees who were aware of the Clinton contract were told to keep it secret. The way in which Clinton came to contract a company described as a 'mom and pop' operation remains unclear. However Daily Mail Online has established a series of connections between the firm and the Democratic Party.
This raises serious security concerns, as CNN reports over 300 emails located so far now require review for classified information:

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 18, 2015 11 Comments
Bob Woodward and his Washington Post colleague Carl Bernstein broke the Watergate story over forty years ago but everything old has become new again. Yesterday on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Woodward made a direct comparison between Hillary Clinton's emails and Nixon's tapes. Jesse Byrnes of The Hill:
Bob Woodward compares Clinton emails to Nixon tapes Veteran Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward on Monday compared Hillary Clinton’s private email account to the Nixon tapes. “Follow the trail here,” Woodward said on MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” noting that emails erased from Clinton’s private server when she led the State Department were either sent or received by someone else, too. “You've got a massive amount of data. It, in a way, reminds me of the Nixon tapes: thousands of hours of secretly recorded conversations that Nixon thought were exclusively his,” Woodward said...

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on August 17, 2015 25 Comments
Living it up in Martha's Vineyard this past weekend, the Clinton's were seen cuttin' a rug. "Hillary and Bill Clinton let their hair — and other body parts — down during a birthday party on Martha’s Vineyard this past weekend, and the candid moment was caught on tape and posted online," reports The Hill.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 17, 2015 17 Comments
Will Hillary Clinton be subject to a deposition under oath as to her use of various electronic devices and servers as part of the Judicial Watch FOIA federal lawsuit seeking records as to Huma Abedin's outside employment? That is a distinct possibility in light of the State Department's apparent failure to comply with a Court order as to its efforts to search Hillary's original server for records. The Court, at the request of Judicial Watch, has expedited a status conference originally scheduled for September 10, to August 19:
MINUTE ORDER. In light of the State Department's August 14, 2015 Status Report and Judicial Watch's August 17, 2015 reply thereto, a status hearing will be held on Thursday, August 20, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. in Courtroom 24A. The State Department shall file a reply to Judicial Watch's August 17, 2015 response no later than 12:00 p.m. on August 19, 2015. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on August 17, 2015. (lcegs4) (Entered: 08/17/2015)
In its papers , Judicial Watch says it intends to seek discovery, which normally does not take place in FOIA cases, because of the State Department's non-compliance. (Full embed of Judicial Watch request at bottom of post.) While Judicial Watch has not specified what discovery it seeks to take, "discovery" can include depositions, which are sworn testimony on the record. Other forms of discovery would appear inadequate given the history of the case. Given the players involved, discovery logically would include Hillary, Abedin, and Cheryl Mills, not to mention Hillary's attorney David Kendall as custodian of at least some records. Judicial Watch provided the following statement in response to our inquiry:
“We believe that discovery is now the only way to receive the necessary information, wherever that may lead.”

Background - How We Got Here

On Friday,  August 14, 2015, we covered the State Department's Court-ordered Status Report in That court order came after the Court ordered Hillary, Abedin and Cheryl Mills not to destroy records, and other court proceedings as to whether all electronic devices had been searched for records.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 16, 2015 69 Comments
As I mentioned in prior posts, from the very start Hillary Clinton's email and server stories were inconsistent and self-contradictory. On the one hand, in her March 10, 2015 press conference, Hillary said the server housing her email system would not be turned over because it contained personal messages between her and Bill. Hillary's answer suggested that the server existed and was under her control. (Put aside that Bill's spokesman says he only sent two emails in his life, when he was President.)
The server contains personal communications from my husband and me, and I believe I have met all of my responsibilities and the server will remain private … [transcript]
https://youtu.be/k5WZdyCI4Uc?t=9m55s On the other hand, we now know that the actual server which ran the email system while Hillary was Secretary of State was taken into the custody of Colorado-based Platte River Networks in or about June 2013, the data was transferred somewhere, the server was wiped clean, and then physically stored in New Jersey.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 15, 2015 10 Comments
Plenty of people in political media are taking note of the large crowds Bernie Sanders is drawing at his events, but at the end of the day, it still might not be enough for Sanders to trounce Clinton. Philip Bump of the Washington Post recently took a hard look at the numbers:
100,000 people have attended Bernie Sanders events this month. That doesn’t mean much. Some 28,000 people attended Bernie Sanders's rally in Portland, Ore., on Sunday -- both in the venue and watching outside. The Fix's Chris Cillizza marveled at the turnout. "28,000 people! In August! Of an off year!" Cillizza wrote. "I mean, that is a lot. A LOT." It's an amount that exceeds one out of every 10 people who voted for Barack Obama in 2012 in Multnomah County, in fact. And then, the next day, Sanders pulled the same number in Los Angeles -- meaning that in seven events since July 1, Sanders spoke before 100,000 people. So what does this mean? I hate to say it -- and I hate to rain on Sanders' well-attended parade -- but: It doesn't mean a whole lot.
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