Now that the world has learned that Hillary Clinton used a personal email account while working as U.S. secretary of state, Chuck Ross of the Daily Caller is among those who want to know: How did the State Department respond to public requests for Clinton’s records?
Since 2009, federal regulations have required agencies to preserve emails generated on outside systems. By failing to make those documents available to the Department, Clinton avoided having her emails made subject to numerous FOIA requests.
TheDC wanted to know how the State Department handled those FOIA requests once they were submitted by media outlets and special interest groups.
Did the FOIA office search State Department email systems for Clinton’s records and then, because she had not made them available to the agency, determine that no records existed? Or did the FOIA office contact Clinton or her aides only to be told that no such records existed?
Figuring that out would shed light on who was responsible for the agency being in violation of federal regulations. It would also help determine whether Clinton went out of her way to avoid transparency, an allegation which was bolstered by Wednesday’s revelation that the former first lady operated a private email server out of her Chappaqua, N.Y. home.
TheDC asked the State Department these specific questions and others. The agency answered some questions, but ignored the ones pertaining to the FOIA handling process.
