U.S. judge says Clinton may be required to testify over email scandal

PanARMENIAN.Net - A federal judge has said Hillary Clinton may be required to testify about her private email system while secretary of state as part of a freedom of information act lawsuit brought by a conservative watchdog group, AFP reports.

It was the latest twist in a long-running email saga that continues to dog Clinton as she runs for president as the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Judge Emmet Sullivan on Wednesday, May 4 gave the go ahead for Judicial Watch to take testimony from several of Clinton's close aides when she was secretary of state.

"Based on information learned during discovery, the deposition of Mrs Clinton may be necessary," Sullivan said in an order granting Judicial Watch discovery.

The order authorizes depositions of seven former State Department officials about the private email system Clinton used for much of her electronic correspondence while secretary of state, AFP says.

Clinton's use of a private server for both official and private correspondence first came to light in 2015 during Republican-led congressional investigations into her handling of a militant attack on the U.S. mission in Bengazi, Libya.

The assault in 2012 left the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans dead.

The FBI has since launched a criminal investigation amid Republican charges that use of the unsecured system endangered national security.