FBI, Russians hurt her candidacy, Clinton says

NEW YORK — Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that she’s taking responsibility for her 2016 election loss but believes misogyny, Russian interference and questionable decisions by the FBI also influenced the outcome.

The former Democratic presidential nominee commented about the election during the Women for Women International’s annual luncheon in New York. Clinton said she’s been going through the “painful” process of reliving the 2016 contest while writing a book.

“It wasn’t a perfect campaign. There is no such thing,” Clinton said in a question-and-answer-session with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “But I was on the way to winning until a combination of (FBI Director) Jim Comey’s letter on Oct. 28 and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off.”

“If the election were on Oct. 27, I would be your president,” Clinton said.

She also highlighted Russia’s role in hacking into her campaign’s internal emails and subsequently coordinating their release on WikiLeaks.

“He (Russian President Vladimir Putin) certainly interfered in our election,” Clinton said. “And it’s clear he interfered to hurt me and help his opponent.”

Amanpour also asked Clinton whether she was a victim of misogyny.

“Yes, I do think it played a role,” Clinton said, adding that misogyny is “very much a part of the landscape politically, socially and economically.”

Clinton is not expected to run for public office again.