WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, today said that revelations about additional private email address use and potentially improper management of public records requests at the State Department elevate concerns of inadequate compliance with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Grassley wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry with questions on then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s apparent use of more than one private email address, in contradiction of prior statements, and her chief of staff’s reported close management of FOIA requests, suggesting possible political interference with what should be apolitical compliance with the law.
“The Senate Judiciary Committee has direct jurisdiction over FOIA,” Grassley wrote. “Accordingly, the Committee needs a clearer understanding of the effects Secretary Clinton’s actions have had on FOIA compliance. 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.”
In addition to today’s letter, Grassley continues to press the State Department on its use of the Special Government Employee designation, including whether Special Government Employees from Clinton’s top circle improperly communicated with private sector firms where they were simultaneously employed.
The text of Grassley’s letter today is available here.
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