State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters it was still reviewing the 14,900 documents and it was unclear how many were personal or work-related.
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In a statement after a hearing at the USA district courthouse in Washington, Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said the group was pleased that Boasberg rejected the department’s proposal to begin releasing documents weekly on October 14, ordering it instead to prioritise Clinton’s emails and to return to court September 22 with a new plan.
A federal judge has ordered the department to release the emails; the first batch could be released as early as next month.
“State has not yet had the opportunity to complete a review of the documents to determine whether they are agency records or if they are duplicative of documents State has already produced through the Freedom of Information Act”, Toner said in a written statement.
But the revelation that investigators found a cache of information perhaps half the size of what Clinton initially disclosed raised questions about how she and her lawyers determined which emails they wanted to disclose or keep private, and how extensive a search they mounted. “The information being sought is a crucial step in bringing greater transparency to Secretary Clinton’s “extreme careless” – I would call it dangerously reckless and grossly negligent – email practices”, said the senator who is facing a tough re-election race this year.
Representatives for Powell, in a separate statement to NBC news, said he had no recollection of the conversation with Clinton but did write to her.
Clinton has given numerous explanations for her decision to use a server located in her home in NY.
That raises the prospect that the new messages could become public just before November’s presidential election.
But in July, Comey gave some insight into the process, noting that unlike FBI investigators, Clinton’s attorneys didn’t actually read all her emails.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell dismissed reports over the weekend that Clinton told federal investigators that it was at his suggestion that she used a personal email account, according to a media report.
Comey emphasized that there was no evidence Clinton or her lawyers had deliberately deleted messages “in an effort to hide them”.
The emails-obtained through a lawsuit by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch-could fuel criticism that the Clinton family’s charitable foundation, in fundraising with wealthy donors, corporations and foreign nations, created a conflict of interest for Clinton during her work as the nation’s top diplomat.
Numerous email exchanges are between Abedin and then top Clinton Foundation executive Doug Band. Rather, he said she “periodically deleted e-mails or e-mails were purged from the system when devices were changed”. She later apologized, saying: “I take responsibility”.
A federal judge set a preliminary schedule Monday for the release of almost 15,000 documents between Hillary Clinton and top aides when she was the secretary of state.
The revelation of more emails after 55,000 pages of emails were turned over by Clinton a year ago could provide continued fodder for opponents who have seized on the email issue to charge she is untrustworthy.
Separately, House Republicans pressed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to explain why it had redacted information from emails and summaries of its interview with Clinton, which it turned over to Congress last week. One such exchange from May 2009 shows Band asking for Abedin’s help in procuring a quick visa interview for a British citizen with a criminal charge.
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The emails show that Abedin fielded requests for meetings with Clinton, which came from big donors via other intermediaries, including a top foundation official.
