Hillary Clinton says she is "sorry" for using private email
- Published
Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has been damaged by the email saga
Hillary Clinton has apologised for her use of a personal email account for official business whilst US secretary of state between 2009-2013.
In a Facebook post, she wrote, external she was "sorry" and had made a "mistake".
Her use of private email has generated a barrage of criticism as Mrs Clinton runs for the Democratic presidential nomination for the 2016 election.
Critics say that her set-up was not secure, contrary to government policy, and meant to shield her from oversight.
Mrs Clinton apologised for the first time for using a personal account during an interview on Tuesday.
"That was a mistake. I'm sorry about that. I take responsibility, and I'm trying to be as transparent as I possibly can," she told ABC news.
On her Facebook page Mrs Clinton wrote: "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," she wrote.
'Nothing was classified'
Mrs Clinton continued to deny that she had broken any government rules or laws. She wrote that "nothing I ever sent or received was marked classified at the time".
Political analysts - including fellow Democrats - have said the Clinton campaign has stumbled in its response to the controversy and Mrs Clinton had not seemed contrite - at times even making jokes about the email issue.
It has been a major issue in the presidential race. Polls show an increasing number of voters view her as "untrustworthy" due in part to the questions surrounding her email use.
Hillary Clinton was renowned for her use of a Blackberry phone whilst in office
Analysis, Jon Sopel, BBC North America editor
What a journey. When it first emerged that she was using a private email server during her period as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton was abrasive and dismissive. It was a matter of convenience, and she had done nothing wrong.
Even in the past week her position has changed three times. Asked last Friday whether she was sorry, she said she was just "sorry that it had been confusing to people". Then on Monday she said no apology was needed: "What I did was allowed," she declared.
Only on Tuesday night did she finally say about her highly questionable email arrangement: "That was a mistake. I'm sorry about that. I take responsibility."
Hillary Clinton will be hoping that her mea culpa will be journey's end for this saga which has been going on for six months - certainly her advisors hope that it will halt her slide in the polls. What many critics of Mrs Clinton will be asking, and some of her admirers will be thinking, is what took you so long.
The emails often discussed mundane or non-urgent matters
State department investigation
Under US federal law, officials' correspondence is considered to be US government property.
Government employees are encouraged to use official email accounts although some top officials have used personal accounts in the past.
The state department has been investigating Mrs Clinton's use of a personal email server
In March, Mrs Clinton said she and her lawyers made the decision over what would be considered work-related email when the state department asked for records from former secretaries of state.
The emails deemed work-related were about half of the 60,000 emails she sent in total during her time in office. The emails she deemed personal were deleted, Mrs Clinton said.
Since then, the state department has been releasing the emails to the public in batches about once a month. Some of these emails have been censored by the department as they contain classified information.