Supreme Court rejects bid to make Hillary Clinton testify about private email server

The Supreme Court rejected a case Monday seeking to have Hillary Clinton testify about her use of a private email for official business as secretary of state in the Obama administration.

Without comment, the justices declined to hear the challenge by the conservative activist group Judicial Watch.

It would have taken four justices to vote to grant review on the matter.

“Hillary Clinton ignored the law but received special protection from both the courts and law enforcement. For countless Americans, this double standard of justice has destroyed confidence in the fair administration of justice,” said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch.

David Kendall, who represented Mrs. Clinton, said the Supreme Court’s decision “speaks for itself.” He declined to elaborate.

Judicial Watch originally brought the challenge in 2014 under the Freedom of Information Act. The organization sought records from the State Department about Mrs. Clinton’s communications and the Benghazi terrorist attack in 2012.

In using a private email server, Mrs. Clinton skirted transparency laws by keeping her communications hidden from public scrutiny. Critics also said she jeopardized national security by transmitting and storing government secrets on an unsecured email server.

Her use of the private email server was not discovered until after she left office, at which time Mrs. Clinton permanently erased more than 30,000 email messages that she said were of a personal nature.

Mrs. Clinton defended her actions by saying she followed the protocols of several previous secretaries of states.

The email scandal prompted an FBI investigation and loomed over the 2016 presidential race between Mrs. Clinton and Donald Trump. Then-FBI Director James Comey ultimately concluded that Mrs. Clinton’s actions were “extremely careless” but eventually cleared her of any criminal wrongdoing.

The district court originally ruled Judicial Watch could depose Mrs. Clinton, her chief of staff Cheryl Mills and two other aides.

A federal appeals court overturned the district court, preventing Judicial Watch from questioning Mrs. Clinton under oath.

The group is still trying to quiz Ms. Mills, a top aide to Mrs. Clinton, as part of the litigation.

The Justice and State Departments have been objecting to the deposition in an attempt to “shut the case completely down,” Mr. Fitton said.