Top Senate Republican pressures State over Clinton emails

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is stepping up the pressure on the State Department’s internal watchdog to investigate Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email account while serving as the nation’s top diplomat.

Clinton’s “recent admission that she used a private email account to conduct her email correspondence as Secretary of State raises serious concerns for Americans who believe in open government and the accountability of our highest officials,” the Senate’s No. 2 Republican said Thursday in a letter to State Department Inspector General Steve Linick.

{mosads}The revelation has “wide-ranging implications for the Department’s compliance with federal laws—including the Federal Records Act and the Freedom of Information Act—and congressional oversight,” he added.

The letter comes days after State confirmed Linick had begun an inquiry into Clinton’s email setup, especially her use of a private server that has been wiped clean of information. 

Cornyn said he was “pleased” that Linick had opened an investigation but still urged him to “give the events surrounding Secretary Clinton’s private email account the scrutiny they deserve.”

Specifically, he asked Linick to answer a number of questions, including if Clinton violated any federal laws by maintaining a personal account; who, if anyone, at State was aware of Clinton’s email arrangement; and when Clinton deleted the information on her server and if in doing so broke any laws.

Cornyn asked Linick to keep him “regularly apprised of your progress as the investigation continues.”

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, has asked Clinton to testify before his panel in a closed-door setting about her email system before May 1.