House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday defended Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server even after a State Department watchdog reported that she broke federal rules.
“What Secretary Clinton did was consistent with what other secretaries of state have done, including Colin Powell,” the California Democrat said as she noted the watchdog’s reference to Clinton predecessors using private email communications.
Clinton, she said, “did act in good conscience” when she was secretary of state.
Pelosi focused her comments on the report’s finding that Clinton was not the only one to use private email for State department business. But she did not comment on the watchdog’s finding that Clinton’s misuse was far more extensive than those who held the job before her.
“The report references longstanding systemic weaknesses that go well beyond the tenure of any secretary of state,” Pelosi said, adding that Clinton “has released her emails; others have not.”
