Judge orders Clinton to provide written answers in email lawsuit

WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled Friday that Hillary Clinton must answer written questions from a conservative legal group about her use of a private email server as secretary of State.

The group, Judicial Watch, had wanted Clinton to testify under oath as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit it is pursuing against the State Department.

Judge Emmet Sullivan wrote that “Judicial Watch has failed to demonstrate that it cannot obtain the discovery it seeks through other, less burdensome or intrusive means such as interrogatories.”

He gave the group until Oct. 14 to give Clinton the questions, and she has 30 days to answer them. "We will move quickly to get these answers," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton wrote in a statement. "The decision is a reminder that Hillary Clinton is not above the law."

Last month, after completing his investigation of Clinton's private server, FBI director James Comey recommended no charges against Clinton for mishandling classified information, even as he reprimanded her for being “extremely careless” in using a private server.

While Judicial Watch argued that only Clinton could testify about the reasons behind her decision to set up a private server, the judge said it is possible for Clinton to offer her “unique, first-hand knowledge” of the basis for the server in writing.

“Judicial Watch’s argument that a deposition is preferable in this case because of the ability to ask follow-up questions is not persuasive. Given the extensive public record related to the clintonemail.com system, a record which Judicial Watch has acknowledged, Judicial Watch will be able to anticipate many follow-up questions.”