'I'm sorry': Hillary Clinton makes a direct appeal to her supporters in a sharp turnaround
In a direct appeal to campaign supporters, Clinton again said "sorry" while seeking to explain the email controversy that has dogged her presidential bid for months.
"I wanted you to hear this directly from me," Clinton wrote. "Yes, I should have used two email addresses, one for personal matters and one for my work at the State Department. Not doing so was a mistake. I'm sorry about it, and I take full responsibility."
Tuesday marked a sharp turnaround in how Clinton addressed the email issue. As recently as Monday, she was refusing to apologize for her seemingly unorthodox email system that she used for her State Department work.
Clinton exclusively used a personal email server and later let her team decide what messages were related to her government job and which ones were personal. She then made the eyebrow-raising decision to delete tens thousands of the emails deemed personal after turning the rest over to government archivists.
The controversy has appeared to damage Clinton's front-running campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Polls have found that voters view her as untrustworthy and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), running as a Democrat, has surged in key primary states. Vice President Joe Biden, who is weighing a run, has also seen a boost in his poll standing lately.
In her email to supporters, Clinton sought to portray herself as honest while admitting error in how she initially tried to explain her email use.
"As this process proceeds, I want to be as transparent as possible. That's why I've provided all of my work emails to the government to be released to the public," Clinton wrote. "I know this is a complex story. I could have -- and should have -- done a better job answering questions earlier. I'm grateful for your support, and I'm not taking anything for granted."
Whether or not Clinton's apologies help her move on from the controversy remains to be seen. The State Department has been releasing batches of her emails on a monthly basis, and dozens of those messages have been retroactively classified. This has boosted Clinton's critics, who accuse her of jeopardizing sensitive information on an insecure server.
Additionally, the FBI is reportedly looking into Clinton's server, and she is set to testify before the House Benghazi Committee next month. The Republican-led House committee has been heavily focused on Clinton's email practices.
Here's Clinton's full message to her supporters:
Friend --
I wanted you to hear this directly from me:
Yes, I should have used two email addresses, one for personal matters and one for my work at the State Department. Not doing so was a mistake. I'm sorry about it, and I take full responsibility.
It's important for you to know a few key facts. My use of a personal email account was aboveboard and allowed under the State Department's rules. Everyone I communicated with in government was aware of it. And nothing I ever sent or received was marked classified at the time.
As this process proceeds, I want to be as transparent as possible. That's why I've provided all of my work emails to the government to be released to the public, and why I'll be testifying in public in front of the Benghazi Committee later next month.
I know this is a complex story. I could have -- and should have -- done a better job answering questions earlier. I'm grateful for your support, and I'm not taking anything for granted.
I understand that you may have more questions, and I am going to work to keep answering them. If you want to read more, including my emails themselves, please go here:
https://www.hillaryclinton.com/emails/
Thank you,
Hillary