ADVERTISEMENT

Schultz: Clinton Used Private Email The Same Way as Previous Secretaries of State ... 'Other Than the Private Server'

April 24, 2016

Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.) stumbled while trying to defend Hillary Clinton's private email troubles on Fox News Sunday, claiming Clinton used a private email the same way as previous secretaries of state "other than the private server."

She also added the scandal was "ludicrous" but claimed she didn't want to comment on it.

Schultz has been accused by fellow Democrats of rigging the primary process for Clinton, who she is close friends with, against rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), facing consistent questions about the number of Democratic debates and the role of so-called "superdelegates."

Fox host Chris Wallace closed his interview with her by asking about her prior dismissal of the email allegations against Clinton.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"I'm simply confident that as the investigation continues that Hillary Clinton has made it clear, and there are scores of individuals who are associated with the federal government that have indicated that it's clear that she conducted herself completely legally, that she was able to use private email just like previous Republican and Democratic secretaries of state, and I think that at the end of the day this is going to amount to nothing more than an investigation when they take a close look," she said. "I think she's going to be fine."

Wallace pointed out the FBI had dozens of agents that had investigated the issue for months, adding Director James Comey revealed the probe could potentially go past this summer's Democratic Convention.

"Are you saying it's all a waste of time?" Wallace asked.

"I'm not commenting on it one way or the other, other than to say—" Schultz started.

"Wait a minute, you have. You said it's ludicrous," Wallace said.

"Yes, and I'm going to say it again," Schultz said. "It's ludicrous to keep raising the question of whether this plays out to an unfortunate end. Hillary Clinton has released 55,000 pages of emails, has provided the most transparency of probably any previous presidential candidate in terms of the conversations that she's had as secretary of state, as a public official."

Schultz said Clinton had used private email "in the same way that previous secretaries of state have done."

"You know that's not true," Wallace said. "Nobody says that's true."

"Other than the private server," Schultz said.

"Well, other than the private server is a big deal, and nobody had 30,000 work emails on their private server or their private email, period," Wallace said. "So the comparisons to Colin Powell ... that's just not true, Congresswoman."

"It certainly is true, because Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, John Kerry all used private email to communicate with their staff," Schultz said.

"Maybe a dozen, not 30,000," Wallace said.

"I'm, I'm not counting," Schultz said. "But over the course of her term, she used private email and was allowed to use private email. That's not in dispute ... At the end of the day, this is a distraction."