Appearing on CNN’s New Day on Wednesday, the Atlantic’s Molly Ball desperately attempted to portray the ongoing controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail server as a “distraction” for her presidential campaign.
Ball lamented that Clinton has been “totally unable to put the [e-mail] story to rest” and called her decision to turn over her private server as more evidence that “we’re in the land of the uncertain” as to what impact the revelation that two e-mails on her server were classified “Top Secret” will have on her campaign.
The Atlantic reporter continued to spin for Clinton and stressed that the e-mail story continues to exist only because Republicans keep investigating her:
And I don't know how she or her people ever thought they would be able to put it to rest without being totally forthcoming especially given the preoccupation, not to say obsession of the Republicans with the issue and the investigations.
Ball couldn’t fully admit that the latest problem for Clinton was an actual problem for her campaign and actually argued that her decision to turn over her server might put the story “to rest” but ultimately lamented how it continues to be a “distraction” from her campaign’s message:
Maybe we'll finally be satisfied that she has nothing to hide. But the questions are going to continue and this story is going to continue to chip away at her image and to be a distraction from some of the more substantive things that she is doing.
See relevant transcript below.
CNN’s New Day
August 12, 2015
JOHN KING: Let's go inside politics. With me this morning to share the reporting and their insights on a busy day, Molly Ball of the Atlantic, Olivier Knox of Yahoo News. Let's start with six months later, Hillary Clinton decides to give the Justice Department her private e-mail server and a thumb drive with her e-mails on it. Remember the big news conference back at the United Nations almost six months ago, she said it will stay private.
Now she’s decided she has no choice. The FBI is investigating. Now to be clear, she says none of the information that passed through that server was classified at the time. The inspector general told Congress just yesterday some of it was top secret, later designated top secret. Where is this going? Is this just a see, I did nothing wrong or are we now in the land of the uncertain?
MOLLY BALL: I think we’re in the land of the uncertain. I mean, she’s just been totally unable to put the story to rest. And I don't know how she or her people ever thought they would be able to put it to rest without being totally forthcoming especially given the preoccupation, not to say obsession of the Republicans with the issue and the investigations. And so, maybe this will put it to rest. Maybe we'll finally be satisfied that she has nothing to hide. But the questions are going to continue and this story is going to continue to chip away at her image and to be a distraction from some of the more substantive things that she is doing.
