State Department email report complicates Clinton's message

LAS VEGAS -- Hillary Clinton is telling voters not to trust Donald Trump. But a new government report about her usage of a private email server as secretary of state is complicating that message.

The sharp rebuke from the State Department's inspector general, which found Clinton did not seek legal approval for her personal email server, guarantees the issue will remain alive and well for the likely Democratic presidential nominee for a second summer.

The former secretary of state insisted Thursday she had done nothing wrong.

"Well, it was allowed. And the rules have been clarified since I left about the practice. Having said that, I have said many times, it was a mistake. And, if I could go back, I would do it differently," Clinton said, according to an interview transcript provided by ABC News.

Asked why she did not talk with State Department investigators, Clinton said she had "answered numerous questions, we have posted information on our website and the information that we had is out there." Clinton added she has not been interviewed as part of the ongoing FBI investigation into the email server, but said she has offered and is "looking forward to seeing this matter wrapped up."

The new report comes at a particularly challenging time for the Clinton campaign, as she faces a two-front war against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump and primary rival Bernie Sanders.

Already, Clinton faces questions about her trustworthiness, with months of polling showing voters giving her low marks for integrity.

It's a narrative Trump has been eager to encourage. In the early weeks of his general election campaign he's dubbed Clinton "Crooked Hillary" -- a moniker intended to underscore questions about integrity.

And he's focused on the scandals of her husband's administration, insinuating questions still remain about those controversies.

"She had a little bad news today, as you know. Some reports came down, weren't so good," Trump told thousands of supporters packed into the Anaheim Convention Center. "Not so good. The inspector general's report -- not good."

Sanders made no mention of the inspector general report during a rally in Cathedral City, near Palm Springs, choosing instead to point to polls that show him faring better against Trump than Clinton in hypothetical matchups.

Though he's declined to turn the email inquiries into a pivotal issue during the primaries, Sanders has spent months questioning Clinton's record on economics, foreign policy and even social issues, including same-sex marriage.

While she's a mere 74 delegates from capturing her party's nomination, Clinton has been unable to edge her primary rival out of the race -- or win over his most passionate backers.

Clinton argued Thursday the report was just a rehash of existing information about her email setup.

"You know, this report makes clear that personal email use was the practice for other secretaries of state. And I know that because it is well known, it's pointed out in the report. But it was still a mistake," she said.

She also said voters would look "at the full picture of what I have to offer, my life, and my service," contrasting that with Trump, who she described as an "unqualified loose cannon."

Clinton's campaign made the candidate available to one reporter Thursday and did not give the Associated Press an opportunity to ask questions.

Clinton aides have highlighted that other officials failed to follow department policy by using a personal account to conduct government business -- specifically Republican Colin Powell, who used a personal email account, but left them in a government server at the end of his tenure.

But the new information released by the State Department does call into question some claims made by Clinton herself, most notably her argument she appropriately preserved her correspondence and she was happy to "talk to anybody, anytime" about the matter.

Clinton and her aides declined to be interviewed for the investigation by the State Department. She's said she made a mistake by setting up server in her New York home and she never sent or received anything marked classified at the time.

Republicans seized upon those inconsistencies Wednesday.

"This report underscores what we already know about Hillary Clinton: she simply cannot be trusted," said House Majority Leader Paul Ryan, in a statement.

What worries Democrats more is what may be coming. The FBI investigation into whether Clinton's use of a private server caused her to mishandle classified information is still ongoing. Officials recently interviewed Clinton's top aides, including former chief of staff Cheryl Mills and deputy chief of staff Huma Abedin.

A federal indictment would cause serious damage to her campaign.

At least a few Democrats hope voters' uneasiness with Clinton will be outweighed by their dislike of Trump. Polling shows him performing little better than Clinton. In a Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted earlier this month, 42 percent of Americans rated Clinton more trustworthy, while 40 percent said Trump.

"Hillary has said it was a mistake to use private email and has apologized for it," said longtime Clinton aide Paul Begala. "Meanwhile Donald Trump is promoting wild, cynical, noxious conspiracy theories about Vince Foster's suicide. Has anyone asked him to apologize for that?"