House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) delivered a rare reproach of Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWe must mount an all-country response to help our Afghan allies Biden nominates ex-State Department official as Export-Import Bank leader Obamas, Bushes and Clintons joining new effort to help Afghan refugees MORE on Thursday, saying the former secretary of State should not have sent classified material on private email servers.
Pelosi emphasized that the number of sensitive emails are a drop in the bucket relative to those scrutinized by federal investigators — 110 of the roughly 30,000 emails Clinton turned over to the State Department were classified, according to the FBI.
But even that, Pelosi said, is "too many."
"There should not even be one," the Democratic leader said during a press briefing in the Capitol.
Pelosi, a fervent Clinton supporter, stressed that the presumptive Democratic nominee has acknowledged her error in using a private server. And she was quick to hail Clinton as among the best qualified presidential candidates in the nation's history — a resume untainted, in Pelosi's eyes, by the email controversy.
"The secretary has said she made a mistake, she wouldn't do it that way again," Pelosi said. "Am I comfortable with it? Secretary Clinton ... is going to be the president of the United States."
But of the sensitive emails "in question," Pelosi conceded, "It would be better if they weren't."
The comments came as FBI Director James Comey was facing off against Republicans on the House Oversight Committee over the agency's year-long investigation into Clinton's private email use. On Tuesday, Comey announced that, while Clinton had been "extremely careless" in managing her email, the use of a private account was not enough to merit criminal charges.
“Our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case,” Comey said.
Republicans have pounced, accusing Comey and the FBI of lending special favors to Clinton for political purposes.
“We believe that you have set a precedent, and it’s a dangerous one,” Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz
Jason ChaffetzCongress's latest hacking investigation should model its most recent Fox News Audio expands stable of podcasts by adding five new shows The myth of the conservative bestseller MORE (R-Utah) said during Thursday's hearing.
Democrats have countered that Republicans are simply playing politics, inviting Comey to testify just to keep the email controversy alive in order to undermine Clinton's presidential chances.
"I won't say it's a political stunt, but I will say it's political," Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the minority whip, said Wednesday. "There's no doubt: They've got seven days left to go in session, and they're having difficulty getting the session done, and they want to get their political licks in before they go home."
Republicans have rejected that charge, saying Clinton's email habits had made the United States unnecessarily vulnerable to foreign hackers in a manner threatening national security — and deserving criminal charges.
"This is not political theater," Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), a former CIA officer, said during Thursday's hearing. "This is about protecting information — the most sensitive information the American government has."
Pelosi on Thursday suggested such hacking is a threat regardless of the server being used.
"Do any of you think of any circumstance under which all communications are intact and safe?" she asked a room of reporters. "I don't."
Pelosi also said the email controversy should in no way disqualify Clinton from receiving classified material on the presidential trail — a privilege she said should be extended to the nominees of both parties.
"I think that both of the candidates for president of the United States should have access to the security that is appropriate. It is necessary," she said. "And I have no problem with Hillary Clinton and those she relies on having that information."
—Julian Hattem contributed.
