Obama: Clinton made mistake; security not endangered

WASHINGTON -- Hillary Rodham Clinton's use of a private email server to conduct government business when she served as secretary of state was a mistake but didn't endanger national security, President Barack Obama said during an interview airing Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes."

Obama said public officials have to be more sensitive about how they handle information and personal data. Yet he said criticism of Clinton has been "ginned up" because of politics.

"I think she'd be the first to acknowledge that maybe she could have handled the original decision better and the disclosures more quickly," Obama said.

Obama downplayed the threat to national security, and when it was pointed out his administration has prosecuted people for having classified material on their private computers, the president said he didn't get the impression there was an intent to "hide something or to squirrel away information."

He also said he was not initially aware of her use of the private email server.

There still are questions being raised about the security of that system.

Senate investigators recently discovered Clinton's private server was subjected to unspecified hacking attempts in 2013 from China, South Korea and Germany.

The FBI still is examining her system, and that review could reveal evidence, if any, of unauthorized intrusions into her server or any attempts to siphon off her data.

Clinton hasn't answered specific questions about the security protections in her email setup, which ran out of her New York home and not in a professional data center during her time as secretary of state.

Obama also weighed in on the 2016 presidential election. The president called current GOP front-runner Donald Trump "the classic reality TV character" and a "great publicity-seeker."

On Trump's election prospects, Obama said: "I don't think he'll end up being president of the United States."