WASHINGTON (AP) - Hillary Clinton contends a new government audit critical of her use of a private email server as secretary of state won't affect her Democratic presidential campaign.
In an interview with Univision's Los Angeles affiliate, Clinton said "nothing has changed" following Wednesday's release of a report by the State Department's inspector general. That analysis found Clinton ignored clear guidance her email setup broke agency rules and could have left government secrets vulnerable to hackers.
"There may be reports that come out, but nothing has changed," Clinton said. "It's the same story. Just like previous secretaries of state, I used a personal email. Many people did. It was not at all unprecedented. I have turned over all my emails. No one else can say that."
Clinton added she had been "incredibly open" about her emails, which were routed through a server located in the basement of her New York home during her tenure as the nation's top diplomate from 2009-13.
The inspector general found that of Clinton's predecessors, only former Secretary Colin Powell exclusively used private email as she did, though he didn't rely on a server in his home. However, Clinton's failings were singled out in the audit as being more serious because there was far more extensive guidance available by the time she took office.
Clinton turned over more than 52,000 pages of work-related emails to the State Department, but only following media reports that revealed her private email setup after she had returned to the private sector. However, Clinton has withheld thousands of additional emails, claiming they are personal. She also waited seven days after the Associated Press first revealed in March 2015 her use of the private server to publicly acknowledge it.
Clinton declined to talk to the inspector general, as did four of her closest aides, although she said as recently as this month that she was happy to "talk to anybody, anytime" about the matter and would encourage her staff to do the same.