Politicians and pundits took aim at Hillary Clinton Sunday after a week of revelations about her family’s finances and her private email use during her time at the State Department.
While some defended Clinton as the victim of partisan attacks, others claimed the 2016 presidential candidate subverted open records laws as secretary of state.
The House Select Committee on Benghazi, led by Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., has called Clinton to testify again about her agency’s response to a 2012 terror attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi and also on her use of a private email account and server to conduct government business.
“To assume a self-selected public record is complete, when no one with a duty or responsibility to the public had the ability to take part in the selection, requires a leap in logic no impartial reviewer should be required to make and strains credibility,” Gowdy said of the Benghazi-related emails released Friday.
Julian Castro, who heads the Department of Housing and Urban Development, called the congressional probe a “witch hunt” and a “side-show” Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“Secretary Clinton was not in any way at fault,” Castro said, accusing Gowdy of “very intentionally trying to manipulate this witch hunt” to harm Clinton’s presidential prospects.
Sen. John McCain avoided commenting on Clinton’s email imbroglio but questioned the value of her time at the State Department.
“I do believe it’s a legitimate question to say, what were the concrete accomplishments of her four years as secretary of state?” the Arizona Republican said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Clinton has also been dogged by criticism of the high fees she and her husband have raked in for speeches over the past several years. Many of the six-figure speeches were included on the financial disclosure forms she was forced to release earlier this month.
Critics have accused the Democratic candidate of being tone-deaf about money by railing against the wealthiest Americans while amassing an enormous fortune for herself.
Robert Costa of the Washington Post highlighted the tension between the Clinton campaign’s populist rhetoric and the wealth and power the former first lady and her husband have amassed over several decades.
“She’s doing these round-table events day in and day out, but she comes with her whole Secret Service, her motorcade, it’s hard for regular people to get inside of these events,” Costa said Sunday on CNN’s “Inside Politics.” “And so her message is ‘I’m one of you,’ but it’s just a difficult one to make.”
Democratic strategist Donna Brazile suggested Clinton would succeed by focusing on her campaign while the crowded GOP field battled for the nomination.
“I don’t think anyone is scared of Hillary Clinton,” Brazile said on ABC’s “This Week.” “While [Republicans] try to question her level of trust and transparency, what most Americans are saying … we know who she is, she’s the only candidate right now who’s talking about big issues.”
Clinton has also come under fire for her refusal to engage with reporters. She took questions from journalists for the first time in weeks after a campaign event in Iowa Tuesday.
