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Judge wants Clinton certification on emails

A federal judge has ordered the State Department to ask Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to certify under penalty of perjury that she has turned over some of the work-related emails she kept on a private server during the four years she served as secretary of state.

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan issued the order Friday in connection with a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit the conservative group Judicial Watch filed in 2013 seeking records about the employment status of Clinton aide Huma Abedin, who worked as Clinton's deputy chief of staff but later transferred to a part-time job as a so-called "special government employee."

The State Department told Judicial Watch last year that all records about the arrangement had been disclosed, but after Clinton's use of a private email account for official business was revealed earlier this year, Judicial Watch moved to reopen the lawsuit. Abedin was also revealed to have used an account on the same server.

Sullivan's order is just the latest in a flurry of legal moves turning up the heat on Clinton over the email controversy. Another federal judge who is handling a FOIA lawsuit brought by the Associated Press, Richard Leon, has repeatedly lashed out at the department over its handing of requests for Clinton's records. State now faces about 30 lawsuits seeking some or all of the Clinton emails and playing out in front of a variety of different judges.

One judge, handling a lawsuit brought by Vice News, has ordered monthly releases of the Clinton emails. However, other judges are free to set their own deadlines and procedures in other cases.

At such a hearing on Friday, Sullivan—a Bill Clinton appointee—told State to seek certifications from Hillary Clinton, Abedin and former Deputy Secretary of State Cheryl Mills that they've produced all records related to Abedin's employment, even if they kept those records outside official State Department systems.

"As related to Judicial Watch's FOIA requests in this case, the Government is HEREBY ORDERED to: (1) identify any and all servers, accounts, hard drives, or other devices currently in the possession or control of the State Department or otherwise that may contain responsive information; (2) request that the above named individuals confirm, under penalty of perjury, that they have produced all responsive information that was or is in their possession as a result of their employment at the State Department," Sullivan wrote in an order issued Friday afternoon. "If all such information has not yet been produced, the Government shall request the above named individuals produce the information forthwith; and (3) request that the above named individuals describe, under penalty of perjury, the extent to which Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills used Mrs. Clinton's email server to conduct official government business."

It appeared the judge did not directly order Clinton, Mills or Abedin to make the certifications because they are not officially parties to the lawsuit, which names the State Department as the sole defendant.

The Clinton campaign did not immediately respond to an email Saturday morning seeking comment on the development.

Judicial Watch hailed the decision, saying it would put teeth into requests for Clinton's emails and force her to account for all her government records. However, a close reading of Sullivan's order indicates that it only covers emails "responsive" to the group's request about Abedin's employment.

"This blockbuster ruling is the most significant legal development to date in the ongoing Clinton email scandal. Hillary Clinton will now have to answer, under penalty of perjury, to a federal court about the separate email server she and her aides used to avoid accountability to the American people,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “This court action shows that the rule of law and public’s right to know will no longer take a back seat to politics. Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration that is covering for her are not above the law.”

UPDATE (Saturday, 11:46 A.M.): This post has been updated with more context on the Clinton email litigation.