By Holly LaFon
WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court heard oral arguments Thursday in one of the first court tests for Hillary Clinton regarding the private email account she used while serving as secretary of state.
Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch, a conservative advocacy group, is appealing a dismissal of his Freedom of Information Act request to obtain records he believes show Clinton leaked classified information to a New York Times reporter.
“I think her party would like to see her gone,” Klayman said at a news conference on the steps of the courthouse following the hearing. “I’d just like to see justice.”
Although she has yet to formally announce her candidacy, Clinton is viewed as the frontrunner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
Klayman thinks the case could provide grounds to launch an investigation into Clinton’s private email account which she used during her time as secretary of state under President Barack Obama. Klayman asked the court to send the case to a lower court with instructions to seize Clinton’s private server, which the House Select Committee on Benghazi said has been wiped clean.
“But even if it’s wiped clean, who wiped it clean? What do they know about what was wiped?” Klayman asked.
He said he expects a decision within a matter of days on his suit, which is one of several regarding the Clinton email account.
Klayman also filed a racketeering lawsuit against Clinton in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida accusing her of using her private email account to sell access in return for political contributions.
The email problem comes at a crucial time for Clinton, who is expected to launch an official candidacy for president later this year.
An ABC News-Washington Post poll released Thursday showed Clinton leading in a 2016 general election matchup presidential election 53 percentto former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s 41 percent. The poll also showed her ahead of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the only announced GOP candidate.
Clinton’s office released a Q&A about the personal email account following a news conference last month.
“Her usage was widely known to the over 100 Department and U.S. government colleagues she emailed, as her address was visible on every email she sent,” the statement said. “To address requirements to keep records of her work emails, it was her practice to email government officials on their ‘.gov’ accounts. That way, they would be immediately captured and preserved in the Department’s system.”
“The laws and regulations allowed her to use her own email for work,” it added.
Clinton’s office did not respond to requests for comment on this story.