NEW YORK — Breaking her silence, Hillary Rodham Clinton conceded Tuesday that she should have used a government email as secretary of state, but insisted she was not violating any rules or seeking to hide her communications.
"I fully complied by every rule I was governed by," Clinton said in her first public comments since it was disclosed last week that she exclusively used a private email and server for government business.
In a 20-minute news conference, Clinton described her decision to rely on her private account as a matter of "convenience" and a way to avoid carrying two devices. She said she had never used her personal email to discuss any classified information.
Clinton said her server would remain private. She also said she had discarded thousands of personal emails, such as communications related to her daughter's wedding or her mother's funeral, but she insisted she had given the State Department all relevant emails.
"Everything that would be in any way connected to work is now in possession in the State Department," Clinton said.
The controversy has upended Clinton's careful blueprint for the rollout of her 2016 presidential campaign. The clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination, Clinton had planned to spend March touting her work on women's issues and giving a handful of paid speeches before announcing her candidacy in early April.
Clinton tried to stick to that plan in the days following revelations that she relied on her private email for government business and controlled her communications on her own server. But as criticism from Republicans mounted and Democratic allies started publicly pushing Clinton to address the matter, her team hastily arranged Tuesday's brief news conference.
Clinton spoke shortly after delivering remarks at a women's empowerment event at the United Nations.
Before the question-and-answer session, Clinton's only comment on the matter had been a late-night tweet last week saying she wanted the State Department to the release her emails.
Read Wednesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
I want the public to see my email. I asked State to release them. They said they will review them for release as soon as possible.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 5, 2015