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The 7th Floor Group was the term used by an unnamed individual to discuss a group of officials as allegedly meeting regularly to discuss Clinton-related Freedom of Information Act requests. The term appeared in an FBI investigation report on the Hillary Clinton email controversy. Instead of following the State Department's usual procedure of rolling releases of FOIA documents, the group allegedly wanted to release them all in January of 2016. They were overruled by the State Department Office of Information Programs and Services (IPS).
The documents include an interview with an unnamed individual, who suggested that Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests related to Clinton went through this alleged group: "There was a powerful group of very high-ranking STATE officials that some referred to as "The 7th Floor Group" or "The Shadow Government." This group met every Wednesday afternoon to discuss the FOIA process, Congressional records, and everything CLINTON-related to FOIA/Congressional inquiries," the FBI's interview summary said." The Secretary's suite was a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), which also had a DSS security detachment outside the office. The group was described as meeting on Wednesdays and including Deputy Chief of Staff Jennifer Park Stout, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Heather Higginbottom, Under Secretary for Management Patrick F. Kennedy, Assistant Secretary of State Julia Frifield, and members of the Office of the Legal Adviser.
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