US Electoral 2016 Update: State Department to Issue Clinton's Schedule as Secretary of State Under Obama Administration
State Department will release Clinton's schedule earlier than its late-December announcement
In response to a request made by the Associated Press, the State Department will produce records of the schedule of Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton while she served as Secretary of State under the administration of Barack Obama.
This controversial request was related to AP's reports that most of the private citizens that Clinton met or spoke to by phone during her term as secretary of state, contributed or donated to her Clinton Foundation.
To be released mid-October
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Initially, the State Department said that they will be able to procure the records requested by AP late December however; the department recently announced that they will be able to prioritize this and release the records by October 17.
State spokesman John Kirby said that earlier ruling of the court required the department to handle only 600 pages in a month which will lead to the completion of these reports in December. He also said that the department had no problems with shifting their resources as long as the overall work was not increased.
Campaign challenge
This announcement presents another hindrance to Clinton's campaign. The presidential candidate recently dodged critics as they suggested that she used her contacts as secretary of state to gather funds for her charity.
Brian Fallon, Hillary Clinton's spokesman said that they are not affected and even welcomed the recent development as a challenge. He said that they are glad that these could be released as soon as possible. He also mentioned that this will allow the public to have a look at the bigger picture.
Meanwhile, Republicans that have questioned Clinton about her honesty were not too satisfied with the release of the documents.
Jason Miller, spokesman for Donald Trump said that voters need to know the truth before they vote. He argued that the system is again protecting Clinton. Miller also challenged Clinton saying that instead of counting on her friends in the administration to protect her, she should ask for these records to be shown before Election Day.
Meanwhile, latest polls show that Clinton and Trump are in a virtual tie in a four-way race. In a recent tracking poll released by Reuters/Ipsos, Trump has closed in on Clinton with 40 percent of the respondents likely voting for the Republican and 39 percent backing up the Democratic nominee. This poll was taken August 26 to September 1.
Trump's popularity among Republicans has increased 6 percentage points despite his stance on immigration. It seemed that he was able to win more votes after he declared that he will deport millions of illegal immigrants during his first hour in office.
