DOJ to Judge: Hillary Right to Have Private Account, Delete Emails

Lawyers with the Justice Department on Thursday told a federal court that Hillary Clinton had the legal right to use her own email account and broke no laws in how she handled those messages, The Washington Times is reporting.

The lawyers defended the former secretary of state in a legal filing, saying they have no right to order Clinton to turn over any more emails or documents than those she has already given back to the government.

"There is no question that Secretary Clinton had authority to delete personal emails without agency supervision — she appropriately could have done so even if she were working on a government server," the DOJ lawyers said, according to the Times. "Under policies issued by both the National Archives and Records Administration (‘NARA’) and the State Department, individual officers and employees are permitted and expected to exercise judgment to determine what constitutes a federal record."

Clinton used her private email account and home server in lieu of the official government email system while she served as top diplomat from 2009 to 2013.

Judicial Watch, which has filed several law suits and records requests regarding Clinton's emails said the administration is ignoring its own rules.

“Indeed, the State Department’s own rules specify that personal records of a departing presidential appointee may not be removed from the government until the State Department ‘records officer in cooperation with the S/ES or appropriate administrative office’ approves of the removal, a process which ‘generally requires a hands-on examination of the materials,’ ” Judicial Watch said to the Times.

Clinton apologized Tuesday for using a private email server while secretary of state, calling the decision, which has dogged her Democratic presidential bid, a "mistake."

The Democratic frontrunner, who is facing eroding support, has long dismissed the email uproar as a manufactured imbroglio.

But in an interview Tuesday evening, Clinton told ABC's "World News Tonight" that she took full responsibility for the episode, which she regretted.

"That was a mistake. I'm sorry about that. I take responsibility," she told the news network.

Until Tuesday, Clinton had demurred from issuing a direct apology.

"I certainly wish that I had made a different choice," Clinton said last week, adding that she was "sorry" that the controversy was "confusing" for the public.

Clinton has maintained that during her tenure at the State Department she "did not send or receive any information that was marked classified at the time."

She also added that "everyone" she had emailed with, including "people in the White House, of course across the State Department," knew that she was using a personal email account.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining the server to determine whether the arrangement has compromised government secrets.

Material from AFP was used in this report.