For the second time in a week, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has told an interviewer that the director of the FBI backs up her claims that answers she gave about the use of a private email server were “consistent and truthful.”
But what she has said and what FBI Director James Comey testified to aren't exactly lining up.
Clinton was taken to task by several independent fact checkers (she got a "Pants on Fire" from PolitiFact) after she told Fox News host Chris Wallace on Sunday that Comey, "…said that 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."
Wallace argued that that was not what Comey had testified to.
Comey testified in front of a Congressional committee in July saying that Clinton had, indeed, sent government material that was marked "classified" from her home server.
Clinton told TV station KUSA Wednesday, "It was all personal stuff, and we've said that consistently. And as the FBI said, everything that I've said publicly has been consistent and truthful with what I've told them." After that interview, Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler said Clinton was repeating claims that were "roundly debunked."
Here’s what other media outlets are saying about the story.
Sticking to her claim
"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."
Four Pinocchios on the claim
"As the FBI said, everything that I've said publicly has been consistent and truthful with what I've told them."
— Hillary Clinton, interview with Brandon Rittiman of KUSA, Aug. 3, 2016
One would think the talking points would change after receiving Four Pinocchios from The Washington Post Fact Checker, "Pants on Fire" from PolitiFact and "false" from FactCheck.org. But, nope, Clinton fell back on a claim that has been roundly debunked by fact checkers."
What did Comey say?
“Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton maintained this weekend that FBI Director James Comey concluded she had been "truthful" in public statements about her use of a private email server as secretary of state. But is that really what Comey said? Here is a comprehensive summary of Comey's remarks — under oath before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee — about his agency's findings and his decision not to recommend charges in the case. It's a complete guide for any informed discussion citing Comey's conclusions and comments.”
Conflicting statements
"Hillary Clinton wrongly claimed that FBI DirectorJames Comey found her public statements about not sending or receiving classified email on her private server to be "truthful." On Fox News Sunday, Clinton had been asked about her public statements that "there is no classified materials" among the emails she sent and received using a personal email account and server while she was secretary of State. Clinton claimed Comey "said my answers were truthful." To the contrary, Comey told Congress, "There was classified material emailed," when he was specifically asked about Clinton's statements."
‘I am confident that I never sent nor received any information that was classified at the time’
"Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is coming under fire for her claim that FBI Director James Comey said her past statements about the use of emails were "truthful" and that she never sent or received classified materials from her personal server. The email issue, which has dogged the Clinton campaign for months, was brought up again during a sit-down interview with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace."
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