Video depositions by top Hillary Clinton aides and other State Department officials could soon be handed over to a conservative government watchdog group.
Judicial Watch asked a federal judge to release the audiovisual recordings of depositions given during the litigation of Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.
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The motion was filed Monday by the group in connection with a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit and includes depositions given by former Clinton Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills, former Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin, former State information technology manager John Bentel, and computer technician Bryan Pagliano. They, along with the State Department, oppose release of the videos, according to the motion.
Filed with U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, who sealed the videos last May due to the election campaign, the motion argued that the original reasons are no longer valid.
“The sole reason for sealing the recordings in the first place was to avoid their misuse during the 2016 campaign season,” Michael Bekesha, attorney for Judicial Watch, wrote in the motion. “Now that the election is over that reason no longer exists.”
The group also noted that “even though the election is over, the news media and the public continue to monitor and follow the proceedings in this case.” Judicial Watch argued that “a coalition of 19 news media organizations” also support release of the videos.
“That good cause – the possibility that the recordings could be exploited for political gain during the contentious campaign season – is now moot. The reason for the protective order no longer exists,” Bekesha wrote.
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“The public and the media have a right to see these deposition videos of top officials from the Clinton State Department,”Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “The courts and the continued work of Judicial Watch is clearly the only hope of bringing sunlight into the Clinton email issue and completing the public record.”
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Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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