Another batch of emails released, another opportunity for Hillary Clinton’s camp to tell the public — and nervous Democrats — See? Nothing to worry about.
The Democratic front-runner’s campaign circulated talking points, obtained by CNN, to her friends and supporters on Tuesday that downplay the email imbroglio that is generating negative headlines for her seemingly every month.
The latest batch of emails from Clinton’s time as secretary of state were released Monday evening, the result of a court order requiring access to her public records. Clinton chose to use a private email address while in office, rather than a government one, as well as a private server that was located in her house, leading to transparency concerns.
The talking points mirror what she is saying publicly: That her actions were legal, transparent and that she has nothing to hide.
“This latest batch of emails backs up what we’ve said all along — that the emails simply provide an interesting window into the day-to-day life and work of the secretary of state,” the memo says. “This group of emails include 125 that have had portions classified after the fact, but as confirmed again by the State Department, nothing she sent or received was marked classified.”
Republicans charge that Clinton may have posed a security risk — or even violated the law — by discussing damaging information over email on her own private server. But it’s a criticism swatted away by her campaign.
Yet key poll ratings for Clinton show that the number of Americans who view her as honest and trustworthy has decreased. And about 57% saying in a CNN/ORC poll in June that they wouldn’t use those words to describe her.
That’s helped open up somewhat of a vacuum on the Democratic side for candidates like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is showing surprising strength in some early states, and Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to decide whether to enter the race in the coming weeks.