The lawsuit concerns Huma Abedin’s employment status while Clinton was Secretary of State | Getty Judge orders State to review, turn over Abedin-related documents

The State Department must hand over before Election Day any "non-exempt" documents related to a freedom of information act lawsuit concerning longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s employment at the State Department, a federal judge ruled Monday.

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that the State Department has until Sept. 30 to complete its own review of documents that the department received from the FBI. The State Department then has another two weeks, until Oct. 14, to hand over all "non-exempt" documents to the conservative group Judicial Watch, which filed the freedom of information suit.


The lawsuit concerns Abedin’s employment status while Clinton was Secretary of State, specifically the longtime Clinton aide’s transition from her role as deputy chief of staff to a part-time job as a “special government employee.” That unusual designation allowed Abedin to do paid work for a consulting firm and the Clinton Foundation in addition to her duties at the State Department.

Clinton’s campaign said last year that the former secretary of state did not personally sign a document that approved Abedin's job transition, although her name did appear in print alongside a redacted signature that the campaign said belonged to Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s former chief of staff.

The State Department had initially told Judicial Watch that all records involving Abedin’s employment had been disclosed but the conservative group moved to reopen the case once news emerged that Clinton had maintained a personal email server separate from the State Department’s.