Clinton mum on charges reports
HILLARY Clinton says she was “pleased” to speak with the FBI about her use of personal e-mail, but refused to discuss reports that she will not face charges.
HILLARY Clinton says she was “pleased” to speak with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about her use of personal e-mail while serving as secretary of state, but refused to discuss reports that she will not face charges.
In an interview aired on Sunday, Clinton acknowledged it was unwise for her husband to meet the US’s top law enforcement officer, attorney-general Loretta Lynch. The encounter came amid the FBI investigation that has dogged her campaign to become the first female president of the US.
“Hindsight is 20/20,” Clinton told the Meet the Press programme, noting that both Bill Clinton and Lynch had said they would not do it again.
The pair held an impromptu meeting at the airport in Phoenix, Arizona, last week.
Clinton, who was interviewed by the FBI on Saturday for about three-and-a-half hours, refused to speculate on the timeline or possible conclusions of the FBI investigation, and would not comment about reports saying she would not be charged. “I was eager to do it and I was pleased to have the opportunity to assist the department in bringing its review to a conclusion,” Clinton said.
She has apologised for exclusively using a private e-mail account and her own server during her time as secretary of state in 2009 to 2013. Opponents argue that this breached rules about protecting classified documents from cyberattack and may have amounted to a crime.
The latest NBC News/WSJ poll shows Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump with a strong lead over Clinton — 41% to 25% — on honesty and trustworthiness.
“I’m going to continue to put forth my record, what I have stood for, do everything I can to earn the trust of the voters of our country. I know that’s something that I’m going to keep working on, and I think that’s, you know, a clear priority for me,” she said.
“When you’ve been in the eye of the tornado for as long as I have, I know there’s a lot of incoming fire, I accept that.”
Clinton is expected to be formally nominated as the Democratic candidate for the November 8 presidential election at the party’s convention in less than four weeks.
“Timing of FBI interview, between primaries and convention, probably good timing for @HillaryClinton,” tweeted David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama who served as the chief strategist for his two presidential campaigns. “Best to get it behind her.”
Polls show Clinton leading Trump in the race for the White House.
In a tweet on Saturday, Trump said it was “impossible for the FBI not to recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton. What she did was wrong!”
Trump has said the investigation should disqualify her from being president.
FBI director James Comey told Congress in March that he felt pressure to complete the investigation quickly.
Adding to the uncertainty over Clinton is the FBI’s refusal to say who is the target of its investigation.