A federal judge ordered the release on Tuesday of State Department records related to Hillary Clinton’s private email that were mentioned in a scathing inspector general report last month.
The documents, which will be released by June 21, include a State Department memo about Clinton’s server that was written by intel staffers on March 17, 2009, the day the server was reportedly set up. They also include staff correspondence regarding "operational issues affecting the Secretary’s email and server" between 2010 and 2012.
The documents could provide additional context for a report released by the State Department inspector general in May, which excoriated the department’s record keeping failures under Clinton’s tenure as secretary.
The documents were requested by the government watchdog group Judicial Watch as part of its ongoing public records lawsuit against the State Department. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan has granted discovery in the case to determine whether the State Department intentionally evaded public records laws.
Judge Sullivan also said Judicial Watch’s upcoming deposition of Clinton’s IT aide Bryan Pagliano could be filmed, but ordered that the tape be sealed until further notice. The tech aide helped set up Clinton’s private server that has been at the center of an FBI investigation.
Pagliano’s attorneys previously said he would invoke the Fifth Amendment during questioning, and asked that the process not be videotaped.
Additionally, Sullivan approved Pagliano’s request to seal an immunity agreement he signed with the U.S. government in connection with a federal investigation of Clinton’s email server. The judge had previously ordered Pagliano to submit the agreement to the court for review.
"In the Court's opinion, the need for public access to Mr. Pagliano's agreement with the government is minimal," said Sullivan.
Sullivan acknowledged in his order that Pagliano’s immunity deal was offered by the government as part of a "criminal investigation" that is "ongoing and confidential."
The Clinton campaign has avoided calling the probe a criminal investigation, referring to it instead as a "security review."
Judicial Watch commended the court’s decision to allow Pagliano’s deposition to be videotaped in a statement on Tuesday.
"Mr. Pagliano is an important witness and we’re pleased his testimony will be videotaped," stated Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton. "We’re also pleased that the State Department has agreed to give us previously unreleased key documents about Mrs. Clinton’s email system and how it negatively impacted the Freedom of Information law."