Government lawyers attempted Monday to explain why they need more time to sort through Hillary Clinton's emails before releasing them to the public or the Select Committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attack.

According to the Washington Times, Justice Department lawyers also "bristled at accusations" that the government was complicit in fraud over Clinton's use of a secret, private email server instead of a government issued account. Clinton has been able to shield her official government email record from scrutiny through the complex scheme. She turned over 30,000 emails late last year but has since said the rest of the emails are gone claiming she wiped her email server clean.

As pressure mounts for the release of more records from Clinton, DOJ lawyers told a federal court it will take time.

“The department’s processing of the former secretary’s emails is underway,” John F. Hackett, acting director of the department’s Office of Information Programs and Services, said in a declaration filed in court saying they have to run the documents by other government agencies. “The department anticipates that processing this large volume of records will take several months.”

Mr. Obama’s lawyers are trying to head off a court inquiry into the emails after Judicial Watch, a conservative public interest law firm, asked a federal judge to reopen a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking to pry loose communications by Huma Abedin, one of Mrs. Clinton’s top aides, who reportedly also used Mrs. Clinton’s server.

Judicial Watch is one of many groups trying to pry free information on Clinton's emails. Tom Fitton, president of the group said given that the government has had the emails for months already it shouldn't take that long.