David Brock, a Democratic Party operative who founded Media Matters and other groups with a mission to defend Hillary Clinton, turned to one of the former secretary of state's harshest critics, Rep. Trey Gowdy, and told him: If you want her to release her emails, you should do the same.
Congress, however, is not subject to Freedom of Information Act requests, and several lawmakers use personal email addresses for their government business.
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"Most of us used our own private emails," said Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, in an interview with MSNBC. "Frankly, none of us really use [official government accounts]. We have our own private emails. There's no rule here."
Still, Brock said perception counts.
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In a letter to Gowdy, Brock painted the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, which is investigating Clinton's role in the 2012 attacks on the U.S. facility in the Libyan city, as unreasonable. His demands for Clinton to release the email server she set up in her own New York home are "Orwellian," and have "no basis in law or precedent," he wrote, MSNBC reported.
"[S]ince you insist that Clinton's private email be accessed, I'm writing today to ask you and your staff to abide by the same standard you seek to hold the secretary to by releasing your own work-related and private email and that of your staff to the public," Brock wrote.
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Clinton addressed her growing email controversy for the first time in New York City on Tuesday, claiming she didn't break any laws. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill, however, have launched an investigation to see if she did. Gowdy and his Republican colleagues are demanding she turn over her server for independent analysis.
"Every government employee decides for themselves what email is work-related and what is strictly private," Brock continued in his letter. "There is no reason to hold Secretary Clinton to a different standard, except partisan politics.
Brock founded Media Matters, American Bridge and Correct the Record, three groups that aggressively defend the presumptive Democratic Party presidential candidate.
See the WND report on Hillary Clinton's emails:
Democrat FOIA expert: Hillary's claims 'laughable'
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