A federal court has agreed to review newly unearthed private emails sent by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton via her home-brewed server, despite objections from the Trump administration's State and Justice Departments, according to a watchdog organization.
The emails have been redacted up to this point and could provide further evidence of Clinton's potentially illicit use of iPads and iPhones to conduct official business during her stint at the State Department, according to Judicial Watch, a legal group that had pushed the court to unearth these new materials.
A federal judge rejected the Trump administration's push for secrecy and agreed on Thursday to "personally review, in camera, redacted material from emails discussing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of iPads and iPhones during her tenure at the State Department," according to Judicial Watch.
The judge also "also ordered the State Department to file an affidavit addressing why it should not have to search new Clinton emails recovered," according to the group. "In taking these steps, the court rejected arguments by the Tillerson State Department and its lawyers at the Sessions Justice Department."
The court will now move to review redacted information to determine if the full emails in question should be released to the public in order to shine new light on Clinton's activities.
"The court will review the blacked-out information so as to better ascertain whether the government misconduct exception would require the release of the full emails," according to Judicial Watch. "Generally speaking, the government misconduct exception prevents government agencies from withholding information that would shed light on government wrongdoing under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)."
Evidence indicates the Clinton knowingly used unsecure devices to conduct official business and deal with classified information.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement that the Trump administration's efforts to block the release of this material is "outrageous."
"Hillary Clinton knowingly used an unsecure email system and risky iPads and smartphones to conduct classified and sensitive government business," Fitton said. "It is frankly outrageous that Secretary Tillerson and Attorney General Sessions allow their agencies to cover up for and defend Hillary Clinton's scandalous and potentially criminal conduct."