State Department Email Report Complicates Clinton's Message
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LAS VEGAS, Nev. (CBSMiami/AP) — While Hillary Clinton tells voters not to trust Donald Trump, a new government report about her usage of a private email server as secretary of state is complicating that message.
The sharp rebuke from the State Department's inspector general, which found Clinton did not seek legal approval for her personal email server, guarantees that the issue will remain alive and well for the likely Democratic presidential nominee for a second summer.
On Thursday, the former Secretary of State insisted that she had done nothing wrong.
"Well, it was allowed. And the rules have been clarified since I left about the practice. Having said that, I have said many times, it was a mistake. And, if I could go back, I would do it differently" Clinton said, according to an interview transcript provided by ABC News.
Asked why she did not talk with State Department investigators, Clinton said she had "answered numerous questions, we have posted information on our website and the information that we had is out there." Clinton added that she has not been interviewed as part of the ongoing FBI investigation into the email server, but said she has offered and is "looking forward to seeing this matter wrapped up."
The new report comes at a particularly challenging time for the Clinton campaign, as she faces a two-front war against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump and primary rival Bernie Sanders.
Already, Clinton faces questions about her trustworthiness, with months of polling showing voters give her low marks for integrity.
It's a narrative that Trump has been eager to encourage. In the early weeks of his general election campaign he's dubbed Clinton "Crooked Hillary" — a moniker intended to underscore questions about integrity.
And he's focused on the scandals of her husband's administration, insinuating that questions still remain about those controversies.
"She had a little bad news today, as you know. Some reports came down, weren't so good," Trump told thousands of supporters packed into the Anaheim Convention Center. "Not so good. The inspector general's report - not good."
Sanders made no mention of the inspector general report during a rally in Cathedral City, near Palm Springs, choosing instead to point to polls that show him faring better against Trump than Clinton in hypothetical matchups.
Though he's declined to turn the email inquiries into a pivotal issue during the primaries, Sanders has spent months questioning Clinton's record on economics, foreign policy and even social issues, including same-sex marriage.
While she's a mere 74 delegates from capturing her party's nomination, Clinton has been unable to edge her primary rival out of the race — or win over his most passionate backers.
Clinton argued Thursday that the report was just a rehash of existing information about her email setup.
"You know, this report makes clear that personal email use was the practice for other secretaries of state. And I know that because it is well known, it's pointed out in the report. But it was still a mistake," she said.
She also said that voters would look "at the full picture of what I have to offer, my life, and my service," contrasting that with Trump, who she described as an "unqualified loose cannon."
Clinton's campaign made the candidate available to one reporter Thursday and did not give the Associated Press an opportunity to ask questions.
Clinton aides have highlighted that other officials failed to follow department policy by using a personal account to conduct government business — specifically Republican Colin Powell, who used a personal email account, but left them in a government server at the end of his tenure.
But the new information released by the State Department does call into question some claims made by Clinton herself, most notably her argument that she appropriately preserved her correspondence and that she was happy to "talk to anybody, anytime" about the matter.
Clinton and her aides declined to be interviewed for the investigation by the State Department. She's said she made a mistake by setting up server in her New York home and that she never sent or received anything marked classified at the time.
Republicans seized upon those inconsistencies on Wednesday.
"This report underscores what we already know about Hillary Clinton: she simply cannot be trusted," said House Speaker Paul Ryan, in a statement.
What worries Democrats more is what may be coming. The FBI investigation into whether Clinton's use of a private server caused her to mishandle classified information is still ongoing. Officials recently interviewed Clinton's top aides, including former chief of staff Cheryl Mills and deputy chief of staff Huma Abedin.
A federal indictment would cause serious damage to her campaign.
At least a few Democrats hope that voter's uneasiness with Clinton will be outweighed by their dislike of Trump. Polling shows him performing little better than Clinton. In a Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted earlier this month, 42 percent of Americans rated Clinton more trustworthy, while 40 percent said Trump.
"Hillary has said it was a mistake to use private email, and has apologized for it," said longtime Clinton aide Paul Begala. "Meanwhile Donald Trump is promoting wild, cynical, noxious conspiracy theories about Vince Foster's suicide. Has anyone asked him to apologize for that?"
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
