Intelligence officials assigned to review emails from Hillary Clinton’s server for classified information have so far recommended that 305 documents be referred to agencies for further consultation, according to a report filed with a federal judge Monday.
In court papers filed with U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras, the State Department updated its progress. It said that as of last Friday, Intelligence Community reviewers had completed a preliminary screening and determined that “out of a sample of approximately 20% of the Clinton emails,” the reviewers have “recommended 305 documents – approximately 5.1% – for referral to their agencies for consultation.”
In the filing, the government stressed that the process involves reviewers conducting “a preliminary screenings step” and determining whether a document should be referred back to an agency for consultation.
Government lawyers had said that after officials from the Intelligence Community were added to the review process in July, the government expected to fall slightly behind in its production schedule, but that it thought the setback was temporary.
After inspectors general for the State Department and for the Intelligence Community raised concerns about the content of the emails, the State Department added intelligence staff to assist in the process.
Jason Leopold, a journalist who has brought a Freedom of Information suit against the State Department, has expressed concern that the government has fallen behind in its production schedule — ordered in May by Contreras – and provided no detailed plan on how it intends to catch up. Leopold asked the Court to require more information particularly since it has expanded the review to include the intelligence staff.