JUNE 3, 2015
Judge orders Clinton Foundation racketeering case to trial
Florida judge has set a trial date in the racketeering case against the Clinton Foundation and Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Judge Donald Middlebrooks of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ordered the racketeering, influenced and corrupt organizations, or RICO, case to head to trial January 20, 2016.
The order, entered Friday and obtained by the Washington Examiner, came days after Larry Klayman of Freedom of Watch filed a lengthy civil complaint against the Clintons and their foundation in the same court.
While the Clinton legal team could settle the case or enter a variety of motions in an effort to derail the lawsuit before the trial, the judge's swift decision means the matter could go to court before the Feb. 1 Iowa caucus and Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary.
Klayman, who has filed dozens of lawsuits against the Clintons and other prominent politicians, suggested the former first couple and their family philanthropy used their political clout to drum up foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation and lavish diplomatic favors for contributors while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state.
Klayman also asked the judge to order a "neutral forensic expert ... to take custody and control of the private email server and reconstruct and preserve the official U.S. Government records relating to the conduct of U.S. foreign policy during Defendant Secretary Clinton's term as Secretary of State."
Judge Middlebrooks has not yet ruled on Klayman's request that the court seize Hillary Clinton's server.
The court documents also state the Clinton Foundation and the former first couple must discuss the Cameras in the Courtroom pilot project, an initiative in the Southern District of Florida aimed at incorporating video recordings into civil cases.
"I am pleased that the Court has set this case for early jury trial," Klayman told the Examiner. "This is a matter of extreme national importance and before now, for decades, the Clintons have not had to answer to a jury for their alleged crimes. Now, justice will be done."
The Clinton Foundation declined a request for comment Friday.
