Clinton sticks to debunked claim that the FBI said she was truthful
Hillary Clinton is sticking to her claim that the FBI said she was truthful in what she said about her private email server, despite numerous fact checking efforts debunking the campaign's assertion.
In an interview with NBC News' local affiliate in Denver earlier this week, Clinton was pressed on the email probe, which her general election rival Donald Trump continues to harp on though no criminal charges were pressed.
"It was all personal stuff, and we've said that consistently," Clinton told KUSA Wednesday. "And as the FBI said, everything that I've said publicly has been consistent and truthful with what I've told them."
Clinton then pivoted to a common attack on Trump, who has so far refused to release his tax returns because they are undergoing an IRS audit.
"He can say whatever he wants, but the facts remain he owes the American people his tax returns," she added, "and we all are going to keep pushing him until he releases them."
This wasn't the first time Clinton made the claim that the FBI had said she was "consistent and truthful" about her use of a private email server while she led the State Department.
In an interview with Fox News this past Sunday, Clinton said, "[FBI] Director Comey said my answers were truthful, and what I've said is consistent with what I have told the American people, that there were decisions discussed and made to classify retroactively certain of the emails."
Comey, however, never said that of Clinton -- and the Democratic nominee's continued parroting of the claim has earned her both a "four Pinocchios" rating from the Washington Post's Fact Checker and a "Pants on Fire" grade from Politifact.
What Comey did tell Congress was that investigators "have no basis to conclude she lied to the FBI." It was not a blanket statment. When Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, asked Comey whether Clinton had lied to the public, Comey replied, "That's not a question I'm qualified to answer."
In one exchange between Comey and Rep. Trey Gowdy during the FBI director's testimony on Capitol Hill last month, Comey contradicted several statements made by Clinton throughout her campaign.
When Gowdy asked if it was true when "Clinton said there was nothing marked classified on her emails either sent or received," Comey responded: "That's not true."
He later added that "there were a small number of portion markings on, I think, three of the documents."
Gowdy then asked if it was true when Clinton said "I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material."
Comey's response: "There was classified material emailed."
As for Clinton's public assertions to the press and the American people about her private email use, Comey refused to weigh in, saying he could only "speak about what she said to the FBI."