According to Katie Couric, "plenty of politicians" use private e-mail for work and it's not a big a deal. The veteran journalist interviewed Mitt Romney for Yahoo on Thursday and pressed the 2012 Republican nominee on why Hillary Clinton's secret e-mail system is a source of concern.
Initially, Couric asked Romney what he would do "if you were in Hillary Clinton's shoes." She defended, "Plenty of other politicians though, as you know, governor, have used personal e-mail while in office. You did while you were governor of Massachusetts. So, what is the difference and why is what she did more egregious?"
Romney hit the likely 2016 candidate, insisting, "What you see here is Clintons behaving badly. We've seen this before. It's always something with the Clintons." He added, They decide they don't have to follow their own rules. And that, I think, is going to be a real problem for her."
In response to Couric's question about using private e-mail while governor of Massachusetts, Romney retorted, "There are no state of Massachusetts rules about using private e-mail."
The Republican assailed:
ROMNEY: But [Mrs. Clinton] chose to say, "No, I'm not going to follow those rules and regulations. Not only am I going to have private e-mail, I'm going to put the server in my house so that there is no way that anyone can find out what was said."
Couric repeatedly hit Romney on his "biggest mistake" in 2012: "You said that if you were to have run this time, it would have been a very different campaign. How so? How would it be different this time?...What do you think was the biggest mistake?...Like binders full of women?...But you do wish you had said it differently?"
After the former Massachusetts governor denied claims by David Axelrod that he made recially charged comments during his 2012 concession call to the President, Couric pressed, "So, you didn't suggest it was the black vote or you didn't say anything that would have caused him to interpret your remarks as giving credit to the black vote?"
Romney also knocked Obama as the "the Pete Carroll of foreign policy play calls."
A partial transcript is below:
Katie Couric
3/19/15KATIE COURIC: You said that if you were to have run this time, it would have been a very different campaign. How so? How would it be different this time?
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KATIE COURIC: What do you think was the biggest mistake?
...COURIC: Like binders full of women?
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COURIC: But you do wish you had said it differently?
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COURIC: In January, you used the phrase income inequality and said it's gotten worse. And some people were a bit surprised to hear you use that term an a little bit put off because, in 2012, governor, you accused the president, when he used income inequality of promoting envy politics and class warfare. So, why the change of heart, particularly given that now infamous clip of you referring to the 47 percent?
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COURIC: Do you wish you had uttered that phrase in 2012 or embraced it or talked about it more?
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COURIC: But in 2015, all 50 states saw their unemployment rates fall and that hasn't happened since a man named Ronald Reagan was President. So, do you give the President any credit at all for that?
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COURIC: If you were in Hillary Clinton's shoes right now, what would you do about this controversy surrounding her e-mails?
MITT ROMNEY: Well, I think it's hard for me to make that assessment because I don't know what she's hidden. I don't know what she has in her server at home. I don't know what she's deleted. I don't know what the messages said. But, it's a mess. I mean, what you see here is Clintons behaving badly. I mean, we've seen this before. It's always something with the Clintons, which is that "the rules that they describe before they get into something and then they decide they don't have to follow their own rules. And that, I think, is going to be a real problem for her.
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COURIC: Plenty of other politicians though, as you know, governor, have used personal e-mail while in office. You did while you were governor of Massachusetts. So, what is the difference and why is what she did more egregious?
ROMNEY: Well, because there are federal guidelines and federal rules that Hillary Clinton didn't follow. There are no state of Massachusetts rules about using private e-mail. People across the country use private e-mail. There's nothing wrong with that. You use private e-mail. Almost all of us do. But in her case, she was Secretary of State. She was making policy that represents history for this country, that will shape the relations between our countries and other countries.
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ROMNEY: But she chose to say, "No, I'm not going to follow those rules and regulations. Not only am I going to have private e-mail, I'm going to put the server in my house so that there is no way that anyone can find out what was said." That is something that is going way beyond the pale. And all those other people, governors, they are following the laws in their respective states. She didn't follow the rules and regulations of the federal government.
COURIC: The House Committee investigating Benghazi has given her two weeks to hand over these private e-mails about the attack in Libya. How damaging do you think Benghazi will be to her candidacy?
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COURIC: Let me ask you about ISIS, which is obviously a growing threat. Despite seven months of airs strikes and, I'm assuming, intelligence on the ground, ISIS is broken, but unbowed. It's still launching attacks. It's gaining new territory. We see in Northern Africa. It's becoming more and more potent force there. It's unclear if they're involved in what just happened in Tunis. But, clearly, they are on the march. What is the solution?
ROMNEY: The President has stood back and waited. If you will, he's the Pete Carroll of foreign policy play calls.
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COURIC: So, do you think fighting ISIS will require, ultimately, U.S. boots on the ground in those countries?
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COURIC: Isn't it bizarre that the U.S. is relying increasingly on Iran to control ISIS in Iraq?
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COURIC: In a recent memoir, President Obama's former senior adviser David Axelrod writes that you called the President to concede and congratulate him. The President told him and others who were in the room that you said, quote, "you really did a great job of getting out the vote in places like Cleveland and Milwaukee." He then told them after he hung up, "In other words, black people." He thinks that's what this is all about." Now, your aides have said that never happened. So, what was your recollection of that conversation?
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COURIC: So, you didn't suggest it was the black vote or you didn't say anything that would have caused him to interpret your remarks as giving credit to the black vote?
ROMNEY: I certainly did not.
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COURIC: And, Ann, did it bug you when this story surfaced?
