The Republican National Committee filed suit against the State Department Wednesday, seeking the release of Hillary Clinton’s emails from her time there citing a violation of the Freedom of Information Act.
Specifically, the RNC is looking for release of the emails of Clinton’s aides.
The RNC claims in the suit that the State Department did not respond to a request for emails made in December and is seeking their release by July 1, 2016, before the Democratic Convention.
“Clinton’s actions while secretary of state — and the actions of those senior officials with whom she worked most closely and supervised — are manifestly relevant to whether she is fit to lead this country,” the RNC said in its complaint.
RNC communications director Sean Spicer told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on “At This Hour” that Clinton’s use of a private email server while at the State Department calls into question her ability to serve as president.
“With each passing day we find out more and more information about Hillary Clinton and in doing so it has a direct relevance on her ability to be commander in chief and resident of the United States,” he said Wednesday. “We’re at a critical point in this election season not just for Republicans but for Democrats and they need to know what is in these emails.”
Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon dismissed the RNC’s suit as “frivolous.”
“This is just the latest attempt by the Republicans to politicize this email issue to try to get maximum advantage to derail Hillary Clinton’s campaign. It’s not going to work,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Wednesday. “It’s no surprise but among Democratic voters, it’s not working.”
The lawsuit is the latest of many claiming that the State Department is violating federal disclosure requirements.
Pending suits seek the emails of top aides and for the tens of thousands of emails Clinton deemed personal and didn’t turn over for review.
At a recent hearing in one such lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said he’s considering asking the State Department to subpoena Clinton, and aide Huma Abedin, in an effort to learn more about those emails.
And Clinton’s emails continue to get scrutiny beyond the State Department. The agency’s spokesman, John Kirby, recently told reporters one email is being withheld from the public in full at the request of law enforcement.
Kirby would not comment on the content of the email, but he emphasized it is not classified.
Clinton’s server is also the subject of an FBI investigation, which has allowed her Republican opponents on the presidential campaign trail to raise the specter of possible indictment.
In a recent Fox News interview, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the investigation is “being handled like any other review that we do into how any agency has handled classified information,” but she had no updates on the time frame for its completion.
“What’s most important is to follow the facts, follow the law, and come to an independent conclusion as to what may or may not have happened,” she said.
Lynch also denied any communication with the White House about the pending investigation on Wednesday, when pressed by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham during a Senate hearing.
“I can assure you that neither I nor anyone from the department has briefed (press secretary Josh Earnest) or anyone at the White House about this matter or other law enforcement matters,” she said.
