During the
60 Minutes interview on October 11th, 2015 (
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-obama-60-minutes-syria-isis-2016-presidential-race), President Obama made the following comments:
Steve Kroft: Did you know about Hillary Clinton's use of private email server--
President Barack Obama: No.
Steve Kroft: --while she was Secretary of State?
President Barack Obama: No.
Steve Kroft: Do you think it posed a national security problem?
President Barack Obama: I don't think it posed a national security problem. I think that it was a mistake that she has acknowledged and-- you know, as a general proposition, when we're in these offices, we have to be more sensitive and stay as far away from the line as possible when it comes to how we handle information, how we handle our own personal data. And, you know, she made a mistake. She has acknowledged it. I do think that the way it's been ginned-up is in part because of-- in part-- because of politics. And I think she'd be the first to acknowledge that maybe she could have handled the original decision better and the disclosures more quickly. But--
Steve Kroft: What was your reaction when you found out about it?
President Barack Obama: This is one of those issues that I think is legitimate, but the fact that for the last three months this is all that's been spoken about is an indication that we're in presidential political season.
Steve Kroft: Do you agree with what President Clinton has said and Secretary Clinton has said, that this is not-- not that big a deal. Do you agree with that?
President Barack Obama: Well, I'm not going to comment on--
Steve Kroft: You think it's not that big a deal--
President Barack Obama: What I think is that it is important for her to answer these questions to the satisfaction of the American public. And they can make their own judgment. I can tell you that this is not a situation in which America's national security was endangered.So the question: Was it appropriate, given the ongoing investigation, for the President to say "
I don't think it posed a national security problem..." Isn't that what the investigation is meant to determine? And by making such a statement now, prior to the investigation wrapping up, if the investigation actually results in a finding of no wrong doing by Secretary Clinton, doesn't this comment allow political opponents to later say that the President told everyone what he expected the results to be? As someone with legal training, shouldn't Mr. Obama have known that it would be more prudent to say "Sorry, I can't comment about an ongoing investigation", and leave it at that?
