Clinton apologises for using private email as US secretary of state

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign stop at the Quad City Federation of Labor's Salute to Labor Chicken Fry in Hampton, Illinois 7 September, 2015 -

REUTERS

US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for the first time apologised early this week for using a private email server at her New York home for her official communications as secretary of state.

“That was a mistake. I’m sorry about that. I take responsibility,” Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 2016 presidential election, said in an interview with ABC News, while still insisting that she violated no rules.

“What I had done was allowed, it was above board,” she said. “But in retrospect, as I look back at it now, even though it was allowed, I should have used two accounts. One for personal, one for work-related emails.”

In two earlier interviews in the past week, Clinton had declined to apologise for the controversial email arrangement while working as the nation’s top diplomat, saying it was allowed by the State Department.

Clinton has been forced to defend herself against growing public scrutiny of how she handled sensitive government information since the email arrangement first came to light in March.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now examining the email server to see whether any information, including classified information, was mishandled.

In addition to persistent criticism from opponents and media questions, the State Department’s court-ordered monthly releases of the more than 30,000 emails in question has kept the issue in the public eye, roiling Clinton’s efforts to nail down the nomination.

Recent polls have found more than half of all voters say she is untrustworthy.