Hillary Clinton posted a lawyerly apology to Facebook on Tuesday, expressing sorry over her use of a personal email account as secretary of state.
The note was posted hours after the Democratic presidential candidate apologized for her email use during an interview on ABC News.
“I wanted you to hear this directly from me,” Clinton’s message begins.
“Yes, I should have used two email addresses, one for personal matters and one for my work at the State Department. Not doing so was a mistake. I’m sorry about it, and I take full responsibility.”
The apology tour marks a new shift for Clinton, who has avoided admitting wrongdoing since the email scandal erupted in March.
Clinton began shifting her tone on the emails during an interview on Friday when she said that she was sorry that the email controversy has proved to be “confusing” to the American people. Clinton seemed to back away from a full apology during an interview with the Associated Press on Monday. She said that she would not apologize for using the personal email account and private server because it was allowed by the State Department.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Clinton’s campaign conducted a focus group in New Hampshire last week in which respondents said they wanted to know more about the email fiasco.
While Clinton wrote on Tuesday that she wanted the public to know “a few key facts” about her email use, she avoided some key context.
She stated that her use of the personal email account “was aboveboard and allowed under the State Department’s rules.”
However, federal regulations under the Obama administration do not allow government officials to exclusively use a personal email account to conduct government business.
She added: “Everyone I communicated with in government was aware of it.”
While many current and former government officials have admitted that they exchanged emails with Clinton, at least one, former White House advisor David Axelrod, said that he was not aware when he corresponded with Clinton that she was only using only that email account.
Clinton also wrote that “nothing I ever sent or received was marked classified at the time.”
Clinton adopted that line after the Intelligence Community inspector general found two emails that contained information that was considered “top secret” at the time it was sent. Members of the intelligence community have been among the biggest critics of Clinton’s email practices. They say that Clinton should have been able to spot classified information even without markings.
“As this process proceeds, I want to be as transparent as possible,” Clinton continued in her social media mea culpa.
She also wrote: “That’s why I’ve provided all of my work emails to the government to be released to the public.”
Clinton did not mention that she had failed to turn over the emails for nearly two years after she left office. She handed over more than 55,000 pages of emails in December, only after the State Department asked for them.
“I know this is a complex story. I could have—and should have—done a better job answering questions earlier. I’m grateful for your support, and I’m not taking anything for granted,” Clinton concluded.