Today in an interview with ABC’s David Muir, Hillary Clinton finally apologized for using a private email server while Secretary of State. However, just yesterday in an interview with The Associated Press, Clinton not only didn’t apologize for the server, but said what she did “was fully above board”:
Q: Why haven’t you directly apologized for setting up and using a private email server as secretary of state?
A: “Well, I understand why people have questions and I’m trying to answer as many of those in as many different settings as I can. What I did was allowed by the State Department. It was fully above board. Everybody in the government with whom I emailed knew that I was using a personal email, and I have said it would have been a better choice to have had two separate email accounts. And I’ve also tried to not only take responsibility, because it was my decision, but to be as transparent as possible.”
And last Friday, in an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Clinton twice refused to apologize for the email server:
In the same ABC interview, Clinton also claims that she is “trying to be as transparent as I possibly can.” But Clinton clearly set up her private server to avoid government records laws and have complete control of what the public could see.
Maybe this is Clinton‘s way of dealing with the growing chorus of criticism over the email scandal, including from the highly-respected Tom Brokaw and the hugely influential U.S. Rep James Clyburn, the dean of the South Carolina congressional delegation.
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC): “People are really concerned about those emails.” (Politico, 9/8/15)
And maybe Clinton is hoping this will reverse her major slide in recent polls. Regardless, voters will see this as another example of Clinton saying whatever it takes to win an election.