August 05, 2016, 01:15 pm
Clinton: I ‘short-circuited’ in describing FBI findings
By Harper Neidig
Hillary Clinton on Friday said that she may have mischaracterized FBI Director James Comey's statements about her truthfulness during the investigation into her use of a private email server.
Clinton was asked at the National Association of Black Journalists-National Association of Hispanic Journalists Convention if she misrepresented Comey's conclusions in two recent interviews she gave.
"I may have short-circuited it, and for that I will try to clarify," she responded.
At the close of his investigation, Comey announced that the FBI had found over a hundred emails containing information that was classified at the time they were sent. The conclusions clashed with Clinton's repeated claims that no emails she sent or received had been marked classified at the time they were transmitted.
Comey laid out a number of findings that contradicted many of Clintons' claims about her email server and handling of classified information.
But in an interview with Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” this week, Clinton suggested the FBI director had concluded that she never misled the public.
"Director Comey said my answers were truthful and consistent," with what she's said in the past, she said on Sunday.
Clinton's remark in the interview drew flak.
Comey has said that Clinton was truthful with the FBI but has declined to say if he believes she misled the public.
In her remarks on Friday, Clinton clarified that she had been referring only to the answers she gave to the FBI in their investigation.
"I was pointing out in both of those instances that Director Comey has said that my answers in my FBI interview were truthful," she said. “That’s really the bottom line here.
“What I told the FBI, which he said was truthful, is consistent with what I have said publicly," she added.
Clinton also reiterated that it was a “mistake” for her to conduct official business on her private account.
Clinton's explanation, though, wasn't enough for Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Trump's campaign called her answer "painful" and accused her of jeopardizing national security.
“Clinton knows the actions she has taken are disqualifying for someone wishing to become Commander-in-Chief, and that is why today’s painful, pretzel-like response to a simple question about her illegal server was obvious to everyone watching,” said Trump spokesman Jason Miller in a statement.
This story was updated at 2:02 p.m.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/290553-clinton-i-short-circuited-in-describing-fbi-findings
