State Department officials withheld dozens of documents related to the unusual employment status of Huma Abedin, a former aide to Hillary Clinton who held two separate jobs in addition to her government position during Clinton’s tenure.
Despite a court order requiring the agency to hand over 68 pages of records to the Associated Press by Tuesday, the State Department delivered just seven pages to the news outlet in its response to its pending Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
The batch contained just five emails, two of which had been partially redacted, the Associated Press said.
Attorneys representing the State Department asked a federal judge to delay the production of additional Clinton-related documents until January 2016, citing the “strain” that more than 16,500 new requests for Clinton documents has placed on the agency.
The Associated Press is one of multiple organizations, including conservative nonprofit Judicial Watch, that is seeking records related to Abedin’s employment status.
Critics have questioned why Abedin was permitted to work simultaneously for the State Department, the Clinton Foundation and a consulting firm called Teneo Strategies, arguing the arrangement opened her up to potential conflicts of interest.
Abedin’s employment has also become the subject of an inquiry from Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The State Department fell short of a different court order for document production in July, publishing fewer of Clinton’s private emails than a judge had required in a FOIA lawsuit filed by Vice News.
