A federal judge on Friday ordered Hillary Clinton to answer questions in writing from a conservative legal advocacy group about her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.
U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued the order as part of a long-running public records lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch. The judge’s decision is only a partial victory for the group, which had sought to question the Democratic presidential nominee in person and under oath.
The judge said Judicial Watch must submit its questions to Clinton by Oct. 14 and gave Clinton 30 days to respond a timetable that could push Clinton’s answers past the November presidential election unless Judicial Watch sends its questions earlier than mid-October.
Judicial Watch is among several groups, including The Associated Press, that have sued the State Department over access to government records from Clinton’s tenure as the nation’s top diplomat between 2009 and 2013.
Republicans are pressing to keep the issue of Clinton’s email use alive after the FBI closed its investigation last month without recommending criminal charges.
