The ruling is in response to the conservative legal group's lawsuit, "Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State" - specifically regarding "talking points or updates on the Benghazi attack."

Judicial Watch famously uncovered in 2014 that the "talking points" that provided the basis for Susan Rice's false statements were created by the Obama White House. This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit led directly to the disclosure of the Clinton email system in 2015. -Judicial Watch

Discovery in the case began in December, 2018, when Judge Royce C. Lamberth allowed Judicial Watch to explore whether Clinton's use of a private email server was intended to circumvent the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). JW also sought to determine: "whether the State Department's intent to settle this case in late 2014 and early 2015 amounted to bad faith; and whether the State Department has adequately searched for records responsive to Judicial Watch's request."