Judicial Watch: Undisclosed emails from Clinton server found

WASHINGTON, March 25 (UPI) -- A conservative legal watchdog group said it found emails from former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private server that had been previously undisclosed.

Judicial Watch said the emails, sent in February 2009, raise questions about Clinton's assertion she did not start using her private email until March 2009 and about State Department record keeping. Judicial Watch released anemail between Clinton and her former chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, discussing the National Security Agency's efforts to get Clinton a secure BlackBerry phone for official use.

A State Department official told The Hill Clinton "has previously acknowledged that she emailed with department officials before March 18, 2009, the date of the first email in the collection that Clinton provided to the department in December 2014."

"Former Secretary Clinton has also indicated that she does not have access to work-related emails beyond those she turned over to the department," the official said, noting Clinton had confirmed in court proceedings she turned over all the work-related messages she had.

Clinton has been facing backlash for months after using her private email for official work while secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

The State Department's Freedom of Information Act office said it has reviewed more than 52,000 pages of Clinton's emails. Judicial Watch and others are seeking to determine Clinton violated privacy laws by using her private email and determine if classified, confidential or secret information was sent via an easily hackable system. Judicial Watch received the newest emails in response to an April court order requiring the release of some documents.

Judicial Watch's announcement comes after a federal judge granted a motion allowing Clinton's top aides and other State Department officials to be questioned under oath regarding the email use. Clinton could be called to testify. A judge set an April 12 deadline for Judicial Watch to propose a plan to proceed.

In early March, the Republican National Committee filed two lawsuits for access to her texts and BlackBerry messages while secretary of state and all communications between State Department officials and Clinton's presidential campaign after she left office.