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Cheryl Mills has asked a federal judge to order a conservative group not to release audio or video recordings of a deposition Mills is scheduled to give Friday. Judicial Watch fights block on video of Clinton aide's deposition

A conservative group using a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to explore Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email account during her tenure as secretary of state is fighting an attempt by one of Clinton's closest aides to block release of video of a deposition scheduled for Friday.

Judicial Watch submitted a formal opposition Thursday to former Clinton chief of staff Cheryl Mills' request to a federal judge to prevent the group from making public audio or video of her testimony.

In a motion filed Wednesday with U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, Mills' attorneys said they feared that the conservative group would use clips from the video in an unfair and misleading manner to carry out a "partisan attack" against Clinton, the leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"Ms. Mills’ characterizations of Plaintiff’s actions are both unfair and inaccurate, and the concerns she raises are baseless," Judicial Watch attorney Michael Bekesha said in the group's reply. "Plaintiff has no intention of publicizing 'snippets or soundbites' of her videotaped deposition. If it is released, the videotaped deposition will be released in full on Plaintiff’s website so that all interested persons can watch and assess Ms. Mills’ entire testimony for themselves."

Judicial Watch, an avowedly conservative group that has bought scores of lawsuits over alleged misconduct by Clinton, her husband President Bill Clinton, and their allies, also insisted in the filing that it has no partisan motives.

"Far from being partisan, Plaintiff has been a vigorous advocate for transparency in government for decades and across several administrations," Bekesha wrote. "Had Mrs. Clinton not created and used her extraordinary and exclusive email system, and had the State Department not seemingly condoned and abetted its use, Plaintiff would not have filed 16 lawsuits over the past year. The lawsuits are not attacks on Mrs. Clinton; they are attempts to compel the State Department to comply with basic FOIA obligations."

The conservative group's filing also argues that Mills unreasonably delayed her motion by filing it less than 48 hours before the deposition was to begin. The Judicial Watch filing also offers glimpse into the scheduling of the deposition — the first known time that a top aide to Clinton will testify under oath about the email setup in a session devoted primarily to that topic. The group says Mills indicated she was only available on one day during the eight-week period Sullivan set for discovery in the case — Friday, the day before the Memorial Day weekend.