Clinton aide tries to block release of deposition tape in email case

Lawyers for a former top aide to Hillary Clinton filed a motion on Wednesday asking a federal court to bar a conservative watchdog group from releasing a videotape of her upcoming deposition as part of a lawsuit related to Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of State.

The aide, Cheryl Mills, “supports the release of the written transcript of her deposition to the public,” her lawyers wrote in a filing on Wednesday. “But no additional public interest would be served by the publication of the audiovisual recording.”

{mosads}The lawyers said they “are concerned that snippets or soundbites of the deposition may be publicized in a way that exploits Ms. Mills’ image and voice in an unfair and misleading manner.”

“Judicial Watch should not be allowed to manipulate Ms. Mills’ testimony, and invade her personal privacy, to advance a partisan agenda that should have nothing to do with this litigation,” they said.

The court afternoon filing comes as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit launched by Judicial Watch, a watchdog group. Judicial Watch has claimed that Clinton and her top aides may have thwarted federal recordkeeping laws and have been granted permission to interview multiple officials under oath.

Earlier this month, lawyers for the organization began conducting those depositions.

Mills, Clinton’s former chief of staff, is scheduled to be deposed on Friday in a session that could last as long as seven hours.

Lawyers for Mills said in their Wednesday filing that Judicial Watch had “refused” to agree not to publicize any portion of the video from the deposition.

“That refusal raises a serious concern that Judicial Watch plans to use the recording of Ms. Mills’ deposition, and exploit her image and words, as part of a partisan attack against Secretary Clinton and her presidential campaign,” the lawyers claimed, citing Judicial Watch’s “long-standing antagonism” to Clinton.

Judge Emmet Sullivan gave Judicial Watch and the State Department — the two parties involved in the case — until Thursday to file their responses.

The Judicial Watch lawsuit is one of several avenues through which public scrutiny is mounting on Clinton and her email arrangement.

Earlier on Wednesday, the State Department’s inspector general sent to Capitol Hill a report criticizing Clinton and other State Department officials for poor record-keeping practices. The report claimed that Clinton’s use of the server violated department rules.