Republicans Friday slammed Hillary Clinton's effort to "clarify and explain" a statement she made that FBI Director James Comey said that her previous answers about her private email use were "truthful" to a group of journalists, with Donald Trump's campaign labeling it as "habitual lying" that endangered national security.
"Hillary Clinton's habitual lying about the use of her secret server to send and receive classified, top secret information shows her blatant disregard for national security and a continued pattern of bad judgment," said spokesman Jason Miller.
"Clinton knows the actions she has taken are disqualifying for someone wishing to become commander-in-chief — and that is why today's painful, pretzel-like response to a simple question about her illegal server was obvious to everyone watching."
Speaking to members of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in Washington, Clinton sought to "clarify and explain" the statement, which she made in an interview on Fox News Sunday.
"I may have short-circuited [her answers] and for that I will try to clarify," Clinton said.
"I was pointing out in both of those instances that Director Comey had said that my answers in my F.B.I. interview were truthful," she continued. "That's really the bottom line here."
Comey, however, was speaking solely about her responses in a closed-door FBI interview last month, and not her public comments on the issue, which have included inconsistencies.
The Trump campaign pounced on Clinton's comment from the Fox interview, labeling it "pants on fire."
The former secretary of state has long claimed she never sent or received anything marked classified — and she reiterated that position again on Friday.
But in reviewing the FBI's investigation, Comey said seven email chains dealt with matters "that were classified at the Top Secret/Special Access Program level when they were sent and received."
Clinton also acknowledged to the journalists that she could be elected to lead a country where most Americans do not trust her, saying that she takes "seriously" the work she must do to build confidence in her character, and also ripped the Republican nominee on various fronts.
The Democratic candidate took seven questions from pre-selected journalists following her remarks. The session marked Clinton's first formal news conference in more than eight months.
Her aides said that Clinton has conducted over 300 interviews since launching her campaign, though she has shied away from open forums where reporters can ask questions.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus Friday bashed Clinton's inaccessibility throughout the campaign.
"Judging from the way Hillary Clinton kept lying at today's event, it's not hard to see why she hasn't held a press conference in 244 days," Priebus said. "Despite her calls for the press to hold candidates accountable, there's no doubt Hillary Clinton is desperate to avoid a taste of her own medicine.
"By yet again falsely claiming that what Director Comey said at his press conference is consistent with what she told the American people about her reckless mishandling of classified information, Hillary Clinton is once again proving herself incapable of telling the truth to the nation.
"Instead of coming clean about her secret email setup which jeopardized national security, Hillary Clinton continues to run from transparency and accountability — and voters deciding on the next president of the United States can have no faith she will level with them on this or any other issue."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.