Bernie Sanders Finally Weighs In On Hillary Clinton Email Scandal, Says Voters Should Review State Department Findings

Democratic Contender Bernie Sanders and conservative radio pundits like Sean Hannity will readily admit that they do not have many common beliefs. But both Sanders and the GOP faithful apparently do share the opinion that Hillary Clinton’s infamous use of a private email during her tenure as Secretary of State is a significant cause for concern. Indeed, after many months of declining to use Clinton’s email scandal as a campaign issue, Bernie Sanders is finally wading into the contentious imbroglio as the race for the Democratic party’s nomination draws tight.

During an interview that aired Sunday morning on the CBS show Face the Nation, Bernie Sanders took a swipe at Hillary Clinton, encouraging the electorate to scrutinize recent findings over her conduct as Secretary of State with regard to her email setup.

“The Inspector General just came out with a report, it was not a good report for Secretary Clinton,” Sanders said on Face the Nation. “That is something that the American people, Democrats and delegates are going to have to take a hard look at. “But for me right now, I continue to focus on how we can rebuild a disappearing middle class, deal with poverty, guarantee health care to all of our people as a right.”

Donald Trump expressed very similar sentiments the day the above-noted report was released, telling those in attendance at an Anaheim, California rally that the Inspector General’s report was “not good” for his Democratic foil.

While Trump’s sentiments were largely predictable, the aforementioned comments by Bernie Sanders signal a new tack in an increasingly contentious battle for the Democratic nomination. Indeed, during a debate with Hillary Clinton much earlier in the campaign, the Vermont Senator denounced efforts by Republicans and the media to make an issue out of the controversy. After famously commenting that he was sick of hearing about the former Secretary of State’s “damn emails,” Sanders later expounded on the matter in an interview with CNN.

“I think the American people get tired of seeing front page stories from the media day after day about emails,” Sanders said back in November 2015. “They want to know why their kids can’t afford to go to college. They want to know why they can’t afford health care, why we have the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality. That’s what they want.”

Nevertheless, the findings of the inspector general are likely too eyebrow-raising for any of Hillary Clinton’s detractors – including Bernie Sanders – to ignore altogether. As noted by The Washington Times, the report criticized Clinton for violating government policies by setting up the server and storing her messages in a manner that was not consistent with security requirements.

Hillary Clinton also drew fire for an apparent failure to report attempts by hackers to compromise her email server, lending credibility to Republican claims that her email arrangements put matters of national security in jeopardy. In April, a Romanian hacker known by the pseudonym “Guccifer” told authorities that he actually did gain access to Hillary Clinton’s email server, although his claims have not been fully substantiated. A pending FBI probe may involve the hacker, according to a report by The Hill.

For his part, Bernie Sanders has indicated that he does not intend to spend too much time speaking about Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, as he believes all of those who need to make an informed decision – from superdelegates at the convention to voters in the general election – have all of the information they need at this point.

[Photo by David McNew/Getty Images]