Judge rules for new Clinton deposition

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton must submit to a deposition by Judicial Watch, a conservative group that sued over her use of a private email server, a federal judge ruled.

Although Clinton has submitted extensive evidence about her use of the server while in office, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said Monday in Washington that questions remain about her precise reasons for doing so.

“The court believes those responses were either incomplete, unhelpful, or cursory, at best,” said Lamberth, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan. “Simply put, her responses left many more questions than answers.”

The judge also ruled that Clinton can be questioned about her knowledge of the existence of any emails, documents or text messages related to the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack in Libya. Conservatives have long claimed that Clinton and other President Barack Obama administration officials covered up her mismanagement of the incident, which cost four American lives.

In a statement Monday, Judicial Watch said that the lawsuit — triggered by a Freedom of Information Act request to the State Department — had “famously” exposed allegedly false talking points about the Benghazi attack.

David Kendall, Clinton’s lawyer with Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, declined to comment on the order. Clinton has repeatedly denied breaking any laws by using a private server, while Democrats have accused Republicans of manufacturing the controversy to damage the Obama administration and derail Clinton’s White House run.