Media launches push to unseal tapes from Clinton email case

Posted on: July 21, 2016 at 11:01:38 CT

drip.. drip.. drip may turn into a burst pipe.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/media-outlets-launch-push-to-unseal-tapes-from-clinton-email-case/article/2597169?custom_click=rss

A coalition of 19 media outlets and journalism organizations asked a federal court to unseal tapes of the depositions given by aides to Hillary Clinton in a lawsuit over her private emails.

A judge is weighing that request as lawyers for a top Clinton staffer moved Monday to keep the controversial recordings under wraps.

The groups included Fox News, the Associated Press, CBS and NBC as well as the Society of Professional Journalists and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Six Clinton aides have been questioned in the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by Judicial Watch, a conservative group. A judge is presently considering Judicial Watch's request to interview Clinton herself in addition to the push to unseal the recordings.

Each deposition was filmed and transcribed. Lawyers for Clinton's aides successfully persuaded the court to seal the tapes from the depositions for fear that the clips could be manipulated for political purposes in the context of the presidential election.

"[A]ccess to the audiovisual recordings of the depositions will provide the public with a more accurate and complete record of the testimony given by public officials in this case," the media coalition argued in documents filed with the court Sunday.

The press groups noted that video of the depositions would contain "forms of nonverbal communication" that would "not only provide important context for a witness's statements, they are essential indicators of a witness's credibility and veracity."

But attorneys for Cheryl Mills, Clinton's former chief staff, asked a judge to deny the request on Monday. The judge is expected to issue a decision soon on whether Judicial Watch attorneys can question Clinton over her private email use, and will likely delay the decision on the deposition tapes until after Aug. 1.