During an interview on “Morning Joe” Tuesday, co-host Mika Brzezinski grilled Media Matters founder David Brock over the new book “Clinton Cash” and Clinton’s deleted emails.
Brzezinski, who has consistently questioned Clinton’s email practices, pushed back on Brock’s insistence that Clinton followed the law by deleting any email that could be deemed personal.
The back-and-forth started when Brock said that people should “go to and look at Secretary Clinton’s actions,” adding that they are “public.”
Brzezinski seized upon that line immediately.
“But we kind of can’t,” she said. “Because what should be in the public record or at least viewed by the State Department, has been scrubbed. So how can we do that, David?
Brock tried telling her and co-host Joe Scarborough that the 55,000 pages of emails she turned over would reveal if anything is in there, but Brzezinski wasn’t satisfied.
“Well, 55,000 pages of email have been turned over to the State Department, and those are going to become public. And so, if there’s anything relevant in there, sure, then we’ll find that out. And Secretary Clinton has asked that they become public quickly.”
“But David, I’m talking about the ones that were scrubbed. David, don’t deflect. I’m talking about the ones that were scrubbed. How can you get answers from the ones that were scrubbed that might be considered ‘personal business’?” Brzezinski questioned. “There is no answer, is there?”
“Everything relevant to her public duties is in those 55,000 pages,” Brock asserted.
“Says who, David?” Brzezinski asked.
“That’s the way the law works, Mika,” Brock said.
“No, actually David you don’t have to give me a lesson on the regulations at the State Department,” she said. “She scrubbed emails because she felt like it, and that went against regulation, and she says they were her private –”
“It did not go against regulation. It totally followed regulation,” Brock said.
“It is her call, David, that she scrubbed emails that she wanted to scrub,” Mika fired back. “Not anyone else’s.”
“It’s everybody’s call in government to make those choices, Mika,” Brock said in a full-throated defense. “That’s how the law works. So let’s not create a double-standard for Hillary Clinton.”
“Are we going to do this again?” an exasperated Brzezinski asked.