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Segami
Segami's Journal
Segami's Journal
June 9, 2016
Some of the Vermont senator's backers think the president is trying to end the Democratic fight prematurely. Bernie Sanders’ supporters have some advice for President Barack Obama: Back off. Thursday morning in the Oval Office, Obama will take his not-so-subtle campaign to ease Sanders out of an active campaign directly to the senator himself. But he’ll need to be diplomatic. Even as some top supporters have started backing down since Tuesday night, when Hillary Clinton claimed the Democratic nomination — and as a planned Sanders letter to superdelegates campaigning for them to support him rather than Clinton appears in limbo — frustration is bubbling among those who want the senator to keep the campaign going. In their view, the president is trying to prematurely end the fight. They warn that it won’t work and that the blowback might show him he’s not as popular with the Sanders wing of the Democratic Party as he might like to think.
The campaign is hypersensitive to any whiff of being treated as a smaller, protest candidacy, to failures to acknowledge that Sanders won more than 40 percent of the primary vote, or to being dismissed by what they see as the Democratic establishment. And an endorsement of Hillary Clinton by a president who many Sanders supporters believe fell short of his progressive promise has that establishment smell.
Sanders has never been much interested in what Democratic leaders have had to say about his presidential bid, and every call along the way for him to drop out seems only to have encouraged him to push ahead. That’s left prominent Clinton supporters worried about what the reaction to Obama’s urging will be.
cont'
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/bernie-sanders-supporters-obama-224105
Bernie Sanders Supporters WARN Obama: DON'T Try To Stop Bernie
Some of the Vermont senator's backers think the president is trying to end the Democratic fight prematurely. Bernie Sanders’ supporters have some advice for President Barack Obama: Back off. Thursday morning in the Oval Office, Obama will take his not-so-subtle campaign to ease Sanders out of an active campaign directly to the senator himself. But he’ll need to be diplomatic. Even as some top supporters have started backing down since Tuesday night, when Hillary Clinton claimed the Democratic nomination — and as a planned Sanders letter to superdelegates campaigning for them to support him rather than Clinton appears in limbo — frustration is bubbling among those who want the senator to keep the campaign going. In their view, the president is trying to prematurely end the fight. They warn that it won’t work and that the blowback might show him he’s not as popular with the Sanders wing of the Democratic Party as he might like to think.
“The president is not Sen. Sanders’ boss. We’ve got to get this straight here,” said Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator who’s been traveling the country on behalf of the campaign. “There’s respect that’s for the commander in chief … but Sen. Sanders is duly elected, and he’ll make his own decisions.”
Or else.
“In some ways, even though [the president’s] numbers are good, and good with the Democratic base, he overestimates,” said a Democratic strategist aligned with Sanders. “Much of the activist Bernie movement — I think he overestimates his strength with those people.”
Or else.
“In some ways, even though [the president’s] numbers are good, and good with the Democratic base, he overestimates,” said a Democratic strategist aligned with Sanders. “Much of the activist Bernie movement — I think he overestimates his strength with those people.”
The campaign is hypersensitive to any whiff of being treated as a smaller, protest candidacy, to failures to acknowledge that Sanders won more than 40 percent of the primary vote, or to being dismissed by what they see as the Democratic establishment. And an endorsement of Hillary Clinton by a president who many Sanders supporters believe fell short of his progressive promise has that establishment smell.
“They don’t want to see him shoved to the side,” the Democratic strategist said. “A lot of love is going to be more productive than a lot of pressure. There’s a strain out there that just wants to hit [Sanders] with a 2-by-4 and say, ‘get out.’ The better course is to show appreciation and engagement and show how much the party needs this guy.”
Sanders has never been much interested in what Democratic leaders have had to say about his presidential bid, and every call along the way for him to drop out seems only to have encouraged him to push ahead. That’s left prominent Clinton supporters worried about what the reaction to Obama’s urging will be.
“People talk to Bernie. But Bernie marches to his own drum. And that’s true if Clinton talks to him or if Obama talks to him,” said Clinton ally and former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. “The president deserves an A for effort, but I’m not sure he’s going to have much of an impact.”
cont'
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/bernie-sanders-supporters-obama-224105
June 8, 2016
PRESS RELEASE
The Struggle Continues
JUNE 8, 2016
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – To chants of “Bernie or Bust,” U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders told a roaring crowd of supporters on Tuesday that he will carry his White House campaign and their fight for a political revolution to this summer’s Democratic National Convention.
“The struggle continues,” he declared to the loudest cheers of the night in the climax of the speech.
He said he would campaign in next Tuesday’s final primary in Washington, D.C., the last contest in the nationwide series of primaries and caucuses that began last winter in Iowa and New Hampshire.
“Then we are going to take the fight for social, economic and racial justice to Philadelphia,” he told the 3,300 people packed inside an airplane hangar. “We will continue to fight for every vote and every delegate.”
The late-night crowd was dominated by young people who have been a major key to the success of Sanders’ campaign. “I am enormously optimistic about the future of our country when so many young people have come on board and understand that our vision of social justice, economic justice, racial justice and environmental justice must be the future of America,” the senator from Vermont told the rally.
He spoke about the upcoming general election and defeating Donald Trump. “Our campaign from day one has understand that we will not allow right-wing Republicans to control our government. And that is especially true with Donald Trump as the Republican candidate,” Sanders said. “The American people in my view will never support a candidate whose major theme is bigotry who insults Mexicans, who insults Muslims and women and African Americans. We will not allow Donald Trump to become president of the United States.”
But he said the grassroots campaign that gave him victories in 22 states has another goal.
“Our mission is more than just defeating Trump it is transforming our country,” Sanders said. That mission includes ending wealth and income inequality and junking the corrupt campaign finance system that props up a rigged economy. “Democracy is not about billionaires buying elections.” He said it includes reforming the criminal justice system, breaking up big bans, providing health care as a right to all citizens, reforming our broken immigration system and making the billionaires and profitable corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
“What this is about is millions of people from coast to coast knowing that we can do much, much better as a nation,” Sanders said. “Our fight is to transform this country and to understand that we are in this together, understand that all of what we believe is what the majority of American people believe and to understand that the struggle continues.”
https://berniesanders.com/press-release/the-struggle-continues/
The STRUGGLE Continues
PRESS RELEASE
The Struggle Continues
JUNE 8, 2016
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – To chants of “Bernie or Bust,” U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders told a roaring crowd of supporters on Tuesday that he will carry his White House campaign and their fight for a political revolution to this summer’s Democratic National Convention.
“The struggle continues,” he declared to the loudest cheers of the night in the climax of the speech.
He said he would campaign in next Tuesday’s final primary in Washington, D.C., the last contest in the nationwide series of primaries and caucuses that began last winter in Iowa and New Hampshire.
“Then we are going to take the fight for social, economic and racial justice to Philadelphia,” he told the 3,300 people packed inside an airplane hangar. “We will continue to fight for every vote and every delegate.”
The late-night crowd was dominated by young people who have been a major key to the success of Sanders’ campaign. “I am enormously optimistic about the future of our country when so many young people have come on board and understand that our vision of social justice, economic justice, racial justice and environmental justice must be the future of America,” the senator from Vermont told the rally.
He spoke about the upcoming general election and defeating Donald Trump. “Our campaign from day one has understand that we will not allow right-wing Republicans to control our government. And that is especially true with Donald Trump as the Republican candidate,” Sanders said. “The American people in my view will never support a candidate whose major theme is bigotry who insults Mexicans, who insults Muslims and women and African Americans. We will not allow Donald Trump to become president of the United States.”
But he said the grassroots campaign that gave him victories in 22 states has another goal.
“Our mission is more than just defeating Trump it is transforming our country,” Sanders said. That mission includes ending wealth and income inequality and junking the corrupt campaign finance system that props up a rigged economy. “Democracy is not about billionaires buying elections.” He said it includes reforming the criminal justice system, breaking up big bans, providing health care as a right to all citizens, reforming our broken immigration system and making the billionaires and profitable corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
“What this is about is millions of people from coast to coast knowing that we can do much, much better as a nation,” Sanders said. “Our fight is to transform this country and to understand that we are in this together, understand that all of what we believe is what the majority of American people believe and to understand that the struggle continues.”
https://berniesanders.com/press-release/the-struggle-continues/
June 8, 2016
Jason Leopold v. DoJ on FBI Clinton Emails
-snip-
INTRODUCTION
Defendant the United States Department of Justice’s (“defendant”) memorandum in support of its motion for summary judgment (“Summary Judgment Memorandum” or “Def.’s Summ. J. Mem.”), ECF No. 7, demonstrated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) conducted a reasonable search for records responsive to plaintiff Jason Leopold’s (“plaintiff”) Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 (“FOIA”), request, properly withheld responsive information pursuant to FOIA Exemption 7(A), and released all non-exempt, reasonably segregable information. Rather than providing a persuasive basis to question these showings, plaintiff’s opposition to defendant’s motion (“Pl.’s Opp’n”), ECF No. 14, relies on inapposite legal standards and speculation. Therefore, defendant’s motion for summary judgment should be granted.
cont'
https://cryptome.org/2016/06/leopold-016-017.pdf
Defendant the United States Department of Justice’s (“defendant”) memorandum in support of its motion for summary judgment (“Summary Judgment Memorandum” or “Def.’s Summ. J. Mem.”), ECF No. 7, demonstrated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) conducted a reasonable search for records responsive to plaintiff Jason Leopold’s (“plaintiff”) Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 (“FOIA”), request, properly withheld responsive information pursuant to FOIA Exemption 7(A), and released all non-exempt, reasonably segregable information. Rather than providing a persuasive basis to question these showings, plaintiff’s opposition to defendant’s motion (“Pl.’s Opp’n”), ECF No. 14, relies on inapposite legal standards and speculation. Therefore, defendant’s motion for summary judgment should be granted.
cont'
https://cryptome.org/2016/06/leopold-016-017.pdf
June 7, 2016
The Bernie Sanders campaign and progressives across the nation expressed mixtures of frustration and contempt Monday night after major news outlets—following declarations by the Associated Press and NBC News—ignored the explicit instructions about how primary delegates should be tallied and declared that Hillary Clinton has won the nomination of the Democratic Party. It was feared this would happen—and news outlets were repeatedly warned they would be reporting the results inaccurately if they counted so-called "superdelegates" in their totals before next month's national convention—but they did it any way.
cont'
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/6/7/1535401/--Shame-On-You-AP-and-John-King-David-Brock-NBC-Voters-Outraged-By-False-Clinton-Coronation
“Shame On You AP!” (and John King, David Brock, NBC) “Voters Outraged” By FALSE Clinton Coronation
Among many others in the lead-up to this weekend’s news cycle, Bernie Sanders saw this coming. On Sunday morning, CNN’s John King "leaked" an anonymously-sourced "story," complete with “anonymous content.” Shortly thereafter on Sunday afternoon, Clinton Campaign PAC-Master and Director of Dirty Tricks David Brock’s new “subsidiary,” Benchmark Politics, was all over this "media-created news" like a cheap suit. Over the next 24 hours, by early Monday evening, it all culminated with the AP (with an assist from NBC) taking their queues, expanding upon the story, and running with this ball. So, once again, we have the media creating the news, instead of reporting it.
Of course, a Clinton campaign story such as this just wouldn’t be complete without publicly-feigned disappointment about this “news” leaking so early from the former Secretary of State, herself—claiming she was “hoping” this story wouldn’t hit the media until late Tuesday, after the votes were in--would it?
# # #
“Voters Outraged as Media Accused of Falsely,
Preemptively Crowning Clinton”
by Jon Queally, senior editor and staff writer
Common Dreams
Monday, June 06, 2016
"Shame on you AP! Superdelegates don't vote until the convention,"
tweeted documentary filmmaker Josh Fox.
"Story of [Clinton nomination] is false
and aims to suppress voters."
“Voters Outraged as Media Accused of Falsely,
Preemptively Crowning Clinton”
by Jon Queally, senior editor and staff writer
Common Dreams
Monday, June 06, 2016
"Shame on you AP! Superdelegates don't vote until the convention,"
tweeted documentary filmmaker Josh Fox.
"Story of [Clinton nomination] is false
and aims to suppress voters."
The Bernie Sanders campaign and progressives across the nation expressed mixtures of frustration and contempt Monday night after major news outlets—following declarations by the Associated Press and NBC News—ignored the explicit instructions about how primary delegates should be tallied and declared that Hillary Clinton has won the nomination of the Democratic Party. It was feared this would happen—and news outlets were repeatedly warned they would be reporting the results inaccurately if they counted so-called "superdelegates" in their totals before next month's national convention—but they did it any way.
"It is unfortunate that the media, in a rush to judgement,
are ignoring the Democratic National Committee’s clear statement
that it is wrong to count the votes of super delegates
before they actually vote at the convention this summer."
—Michael Briggs, Sanders campaign
are ignoring the Democratic National Committee’s clear statement
that it is wrong to count the votes of super delegates
before they actually vote at the convention this summer."
—Michael Briggs, Sanders campaign
cont'
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/6/7/1535401/--Shame-On-You-AP-and-John-King-David-Brock-NBC-Voters-Outraged-By-False-Clinton-Coronation
June 7, 2016
The move by AP, which critics slammed as a blatant and despicable attempt to undermine the electoral process by suppressing voter turnout, came on the eve of six primaries on Tuesday, including the crucial state of California. The Sanders campaign responded by saying the reporting was not only poorly timed, but wholly inaccurate.
-snip-
Outside observers, meanwhile—including journalists and commentators who have covered the race closely and progressive supporters of Sanders—expressed various forms of outrage for the announcements by AP, NBC News, and the countless other outlets which subsequently parroted their headlines. The timing of the declarations were seen by many as a deplorable, given the stakes of Tuesday's primary, especially in California.
"It's crazy," said anti-fracking activist and documentary filmmaker Josh Fox during an interview on San Francisco's KPFK Monday night. "I want this to fire up Sanders supporters," he added while expressing hope that people would react to the media's behavior by feeling even more compelled to go to the polls on Tuesday. He encouraged people to bring even more people along. His contempt for AP was made plain in a series of earlier tweets:
Media critic and political commentator Adam Johnson, as well as political journalist Doug Henwood, added their thoughts: What benefit could this serve on the eve of the California primary other than to prejudice the voters? Why not wait 24 hours?
cont'
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/06/06/voters-outraged-media-accused-falsely-preemptively-crowning-clinton
Voters OUTRAGED as Media Accused of FALSELY, Preemptively Crowning Hillary Clinton
The Bernie Sanders campaign and progressives across the nation expressed mixtures of frustration and contempt Monday night after major news outlets—following declarations by the Associated Press and NBC News—ignored the explicit instructions about how primary delegates should be tallied and declared that Hillary Clinton has won the nomination of the Democratic Party. It was feared this would happen—and news outlets were repeatedly warned they would be reporting the results inaccurately if they counted so-called "superdelegates" in their totals before next month's national convention—but they did it any way. The AP reported that newly captured "commitments" from superdelegates—current and former party insiders who are allowed to declare their support and ultimately cast a vote of their choice at the convention—gave Clinton on Monday enough total delegates to win the nomination. According to the prominent news agency's count:
Clinton has 1,812 pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses. She also has the support of 571 superdelegates [...]
The AP surveyed all 714 superdelegates repeatedly in the past seven months, and only 95 remain publicly uncommitted.
Sanders plans to make the case to superdelegates that he is better positioned to beat Trump in November. While superdelegates can change their minds, those counted in Clinton's tally have unequivocally told the AP they will support her at the party's summer convention.
The AP surveyed all 714 superdelegates repeatedly in the past seven months, and only 95 remain publicly uncommitted.
Sanders plans to make the case to superdelegates that he is better positioned to beat Trump in November. While superdelegates can change their minds, those counted in Clinton's tally have unequivocally told the AP they will support her at the party's summer convention.
The move by AP, which critics slammed as a blatant and despicable attempt to undermine the electoral process by suppressing voter turnout, came on the eve of six primaries on Tuesday, including the crucial state of California. The Sanders campaign responded by saying the reporting was not only poorly timed, but wholly inaccurate.
"It is unfortunate that the media, in a rush to judgement, are ignoring the Democratic National Committee’s clear statement that it is wrong to count the votes of superdelegates before they actually vote at the convention this summer," said campaign spokesperson Michael Briggs in a statement. "Secretary Clinton does not have and will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination. She will be dependent on superdelegates who do not vote until July 25 and who can change their minds between now and then. They include more than 400 superdelegates who endorsed Secretary Clinton 10 months before the first caucuses and primaries and long before any other candidate was in the race."
-snip-
Outside observers, meanwhile—including journalists and commentators who have covered the race closely and progressive supporters of Sanders—expressed various forms of outrage for the announcements by AP, NBC News, and the countless other outlets which subsequently parroted their headlines. The timing of the declarations were seen by many as a deplorable, given the stakes of Tuesday's primary, especially in California.
@AP shame on you. #CAVotesCOUNT @kendrick38
— peggerz (@pegggerrzzz123) June 7, 2016
Shame on U @ap HRC has NOT clinched the nomination! Super-dels haven't voted. @JerryBrownGov Make a statement!! #CAVotesCount #FeelTheBern
— Frances Fisher I❤️99 (@Frances_Fisher) June 7, 2016
EXACTLY @ninaturner @AP @MSNBC @CNN FRAUDULENTLY ANNOUNCED TO SUPPRESS #CAPrimary VOTE! LETS TURN IT ON THERE HEADS AND CRUSH #HRC tomorrow
— OaklandForBernie (@clearception) June 7, 2016
— peggerz (@pegggerrzzz123) June 7, 2016
Shame on U @ap HRC has NOT clinched the nomination! Super-dels haven't voted. @JerryBrownGov Make a statement!! #CAVotesCount #FeelTheBern
— Frances Fisher I❤️99 (@Frances_Fisher) June 7, 2016
EXACTLY @ninaturner @AP @MSNBC @CNN FRAUDULENTLY ANNOUNCED TO SUPPRESS #CAPrimary VOTE! LETS TURN IT ON THERE HEADS AND CRUSH #HRC tomorrow
— OaklandForBernie (@clearception) June 7, 2016
"It's crazy," said anti-fracking activist and documentary filmmaker Josh Fox during an interview on San Francisco's KPFK Monday night. "I want this to fire up Sanders supporters," he added while expressing hope that people would react to the media's behavior by feeling even more compelled to go to the polls on Tuesday. He encouraged people to bring even more people along. His contempt for AP was made plain in a series of earlier tweets:
Shame on you AP! Superdelegates dont vote until the convention. Story of #Hillary nom is false and aims to suppress voters. #CAvotesCount
— Josh Fox (@joshfoxfilm) June 7, 2016
Disgusted with the main stream media for participating in voter suppression tonite. Hillary nomination story is incorrect, fabricated trash.
— Josh Fox (@joshfoxfilm) June 7, 2016
— Josh Fox (@joshfoxfilm) June 7, 2016
Disgusted with the main stream media for participating in voter suppression tonite. Hillary nomination story is incorrect, fabricated trash.
— Josh Fox (@joshfoxfilm) June 7, 2016
Media critic and political commentator Adam Johnson, as well as political journalist Doug Henwood, added their thoughts: What benefit could this serve on the eve of the California primary other than to prejudice the voters? Why not wait 24 hours?
cont'
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/06/06/voters-outraged-media-accused-falsely-preemptively-crowning-clinton
June 7, 2016
PRESS RELEASE
Sanders Campaign Statement
JUNE 6, 2016
SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ spokesman, Michael Briggs, on Monday issued the following statement:
“It is unfortunate that the media, in a rush to judgement, are ignoring the Democratic National Committee’s clear statement that it is wrong to count the votes of superdelegates before they actually vote at the convention this summer.
“Secretary Clinton does not have and will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination. She will be dependent on superdelegates who do not vote until July 25 and who can change their minds between now and then. They include more than 400 superdelegates who endorsed Secretary Clinton 10 months before the first caucuses and primaries and long before any other candidate was in the race.
“Our job from now until the convention is to convince those superdelegates that Bernie is by far the strongest candidate against Donald Trump.”
https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-campaign-statement/
Bernie Sanders CAMPAIGN Statement
PRESS RELEASE
Sanders Campaign Statement
JUNE 6, 2016
SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ spokesman, Michael Briggs, on Monday issued the following statement:
“It is unfortunate that the media, in a rush to judgement, are ignoring the Democratic National Committee’s clear statement that it is wrong to count the votes of superdelegates before they actually vote at the convention this summer.
“Secretary Clinton does not have and will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination. She will be dependent on superdelegates who do not vote until July 25 and who can change their minds between now and then. They include more than 400 superdelegates who endorsed Secretary Clinton 10 months before the first caucuses and primaries and long before any other candidate was in the race.
“Our job from now until the convention is to convince those superdelegates that Bernie is by far the strongest candidate against Donald Trump.”
https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-campaign-statement/
June 6, 2016
JW Releases Clinton Email DEPOSITION Testimony of Amb. Stephen Mull, Frm.Exe. SoS Dept.
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch today released the deposition transcript of Ambassador Stephen D. Mull, executive secretary of the State Department from June 2010 to October 2012, who suggested that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton be issued a State Department BlackBerry, which would protect her identity and would also be subject to FOIA requests. The Mull transcript is available here. Amb. Mull now serves as the State Department’s lead coordinator for Iran nuclear implementation.
Amb. Mull’s testimony and other discovery arises in a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit that seeks records about the controversial employment status of Huma Abedin, former deputy chief of staff to Clinton. The lawsuit was reopened because of revelations about the clintonemail.com system. (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:13-cv-01363)). Judge Sullivan ordered that all deposition transcripts be made publicly available.
Mull is among seven depositions of former Clinton top aides and State Department officials that Judicial Watch has scheduled over the next three weeks. The next witness is a State Department official designated by the agency, (30(b)(6)), who will testify Wednesday, June 8.
Former State IT employee Bryan Pagliano had been scheduled to testify today, June 6, but will be rescheduled pending further order of Judge Sullivan who ruled Friday that Pagliano must provide to the court his reported immunity agreement and the legal basis for making Fifth Amendment claims.
Huma Abedin is scheduled to testify on June 28, and top State Department official Patrick Kennedy on June 29.
Judicial Watch
Amb. Mull’s testimony and other discovery arises in a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit that seeks records about the controversial employment status of Huma Abedin, former deputy chief of staff to Clinton. The lawsuit was reopened because of revelations about the clintonemail.com system. (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:13-cv-01363)). Judge Sullivan ordered that all deposition transcripts be made publicly available.
Mull is among seven depositions of former Clinton top aides and State Department officials that Judicial Watch has scheduled over the next three weeks. The next witness is a State Department official designated by the agency, (30(b)(6)), who will testify Wednesday, June 8.
Former State IT employee Bryan Pagliano had been scheduled to testify today, June 6, but will be rescheduled pending further order of Judge Sullivan who ruled Friday that Pagliano must provide to the court his reported immunity agreement and the legal basis for making Fifth Amendment claims.
Huma Abedin is scheduled to testify on June 28, and top State Department official Patrick Kennedy on June 29.
Judicial Watch
June 6, 2016
While Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton has publicly reversed her position on the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), it remains unknown how much she helped advance, or even craft, the international trade deal while serving as U.S. Secretary of State—and the Obama administration appears interested in keeping it that way. On Monday, International Business Times (IBT) senior editor David Sirota reported that the State Department is refusing to release correspondence between Clinton's State Department office and the United States Trade Representative related to the TPP until after the 2016 presidential election.
After initially saying that the requested materials would be made available in April, a U.S. State Department representative "abruptly" told Sirota last week, "Our office was recently informed that the search process has been completed and that the information located from that search is currently being prepared for the review process. The new estimated completion date for your request is November 31, 2016." At the intersection of the 2016 presidential contest, Clinton's ongoing email scandal, and the contentious TPP negotiations, the contents of these emails are considered to be of public interest.
As Sirota notes, "IBT’s request was designed to provide a comprehensive view of how involved Clinton and her top aides were in shaping the trade agreement, and whether her agency had a hand in crafting any particular provisions in the pact." He further notes that "the delay was issued in the same week the Obama administration filed a court motion to try to kill a lawsuit aimed at forcing the federal government to more quickly comply with open records requests for Clinton-era State Department documents."
This is not the only query related to Clinton's emails that the State Department has suspiciously postponed until after the election. VICE News journalist Jason Koebler wrote last month that the "estimated completion time" for his request of "communications, presentations, and procedures created by the State Department to secure Hillary Clinton’s email from electronic threats" was moved from January 2015 to December 2016. Given that the initial FOIA request was made by the IBT in July 2015, even if the delay itself isn't "politically motivated," Nate Jones of the National Security Archive, a nonprofit investigative journalism center based at George Washington University, told Sirota that it reflects a systemic problem.
"In my opinion it is more incompetence than maliciousness, but either way, it is a gross error by FOIA processors to not get these documents out before the election," Jones said. "Their inefficiency is doing great harm to the democratic process."
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/06/06/obama-administration-bars-release-clintons-tpp-emails-until-post-election
Obama Administration BARS RELEASE of Clinton's TPP EMAILS Until Post-Election
While Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton has publicly reversed her position on the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), it remains unknown how much she helped advance, or even craft, the international trade deal while serving as U.S. Secretary of State—and the Obama administration appears interested in keeping it that way. On Monday, International Business Times (IBT) senior editor David Sirota reported that the State Department is refusing to release correspondence between Clinton's State Department office and the United States Trade Representative related to the TPP until after the 2016 presidential election.
After initially saying that the requested materials would be made available in April, a U.S. State Department representative "abruptly" told Sirota last week, "Our office was recently informed that the search process has been completed and that the information located from that search is currently being prepared for the review process. The new estimated completion date for your request is November 31, 2016." At the intersection of the 2016 presidential contest, Clinton's ongoing email scandal, and the contentious TPP negotiations, the contents of these emails are considered to be of public interest.
As Sirota notes, "IBT’s request was designed to provide a comprehensive view of how involved Clinton and her top aides were in shaping the trade agreement, and whether her agency had a hand in crafting any particular provisions in the pact." He further notes that "the delay was issued in the same week the Obama administration filed a court motion to try to kill a lawsuit aimed at forcing the federal government to more quickly comply with open records requests for Clinton-era State Department documents."
This is not the only query related to Clinton's emails that the State Department has suspiciously postponed until after the election. VICE News journalist Jason Koebler wrote last month that the "estimated completion time" for his request of "communications, presentations, and procedures created by the State Department to secure Hillary Clinton’s email from electronic threats" was moved from January 2015 to December 2016. Given that the initial FOIA request was made by the IBT in July 2015, even if the delay itself isn't "politically motivated," Nate Jones of the National Security Archive, a nonprofit investigative journalism center based at George Washington University, told Sirota that it reflects a systemic problem.
"In my opinion it is more incompetence than maliciousness, but either way, it is a gross error by FOIA processors to not get these documents out before the election," Jones said. "Their inefficiency is doing great harm to the democratic process."
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/06/06/obama-administration-bars-release-clintons-tpp-emails-until-post-election
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