Grassley seeks new answers from State on Clinton emails

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley wants the State Department to investigate whether Hillary Clinton’s aides impeded the release of documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

Grassley sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, obtained by Politico, that specifically cites a recent Wall Street Journal report that accused Clinton staffers of blocking the release of certain documents. 

The story cites extra scrutiny from Clinton aides over FOIA requests pertaining to the Keystone XL pipeline and documents on President Clinton’s paid speeches.

“In the aggregate, the FOIA management dynamics at the State Department during Secretary Clinton’s tenure is troubling,” Grassley wrote, adding that Clinton’s use of a private email address also raises questions.

“If high level officials like Secretary Clinton use not one, but two, private email addresses that can circumvent official government email channels, compliance with the intent, spirit and plain language of FOIA, as well as other relevant law is in serious doubt.”

Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill previously pushed back on the article’s assertions in a statement to the Journal.

“Secretary Clinton’s State Department took that process seriously and made it a priority, and to suggest otherwise would be wrong,” he said.

Clinton aides have also argued that Clinton only created a second email address after a hacker publicly released her first address.  

The letter includes nine specific questions to Kerry about Clinton’s use of private email, including how many private addresses she used during her tenure, whether she viewed classified material at her home or on her server, and various questions about FOIA review and release.