http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/282454-fbi-asks-to-make-new-secret-filing-in-clinton-email-case By Julian Hattem - 06/07/16 09:31 AM EDT
The FBI has asked a federal judge for permission to file a second secret declaration detailing its probe into Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
In the request, which came as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, the Justice Department offered for the FBI to provide “additional details” about how it “conducted a reasonable search for records” as part of the open records case and “determined that there were no records responsive.”
“These details supplement defendant’s showing that it conducted a reasonable search, but cannot be disclosed on the public record without compromising information that the FBI seeks to protect,” the department said in a filing late on Monday evening.
The FBI currently has possession of the server Clinton used to run her “homebrew” email setup, as part of an investigation into whether classified information was mishandled.
In a separate filing Monday, the Justice Department refused to detail the nature of the FBI probe connected to Clinton’s machine, except that it was based on a “security referral” from inspectors general at the State Department and federal intelligence agencies.
“[T]he FBI is not required to identify a particular federal statute that it alleges has been violated in connection with the pending investigation, or the target(s) of the investigation,” in order to keep the information secret, it asserted.
The filing would the second secret declaration issued as part of the FOIA lawsuit, which was launched by Vice News journalist Jason Leopold.
The Justice Department did not ask for court approval before filing its first secret declaration earlier this year, prompting outrage from Leopold’s attorneys.
Afterwards, Judge Randolph Moss ruled that the department would not also have to provide a redacted version of the filing for the public.
