Sometime around 9 p.m. Monday, the State Department will release the next batch of Hillary Clinton’s emails, and hundreds of reporters will comb through the 7,000 pages looking to be the first to find a story. These reporters are not amused by the late delivery of documents.
The State Department said the delayed release of Clinton’s emails happened because it has identified another 150 containing classified information that must be redacted before the release.
New York Times political reporter Michael Barbaro complained that it was not professional for a government agency to conduct a data dump after typical business hours. A number of reporters sounded off on Twitter to criticize "the most transparent administration ever" for not giving reporters time to read through the emails and process the information before their deadlines.
Who at State sets that 9 pm time for document release, which seems antithetical to transparency/accountability https://t.co/Y8Dx6mqhHA
— Michael Barbaro (@mikiebarb) August 31, 2015
@edatpost @statedept You'd think the Clinton camp would want to avoid the "released in the dark of night" narrative
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) August 31, 2015
I'm serious: News orgs and good government groups can't compel a judge to order @statedept to literally release Clinton emails in daylight?
— Ed O'Keefe (@edatpost) August 31, 2015
RT @mikiebarb: On what planet is it reasonable for a government agency to release documents at 9 pm? https://t.co/W7qFDqooL5 — Lisa Lerer (@llerer) August 31, 2015
Endorse. Federal judges should demand release during normal biz hours... https://t.co/pc7c4khwAv — Ed O'Keefe (@edatpost) August 31, 2015
most transparent admin ever MT @ReutersPolitics BREAKING: U.S. State Dept says new tranche of Clinton emails to be released at 9 pm EDT Mon
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) August 31, 2015
With the latest batch, the State Department confirmed it will have reached its court-ordered mandate to release 25 percent of Clinton’s emails before the end of August.