Clinton Explained Personal Email Account Was Established For Convenience Of Using One Mobile Phone

In 2009, Clinton Set Up Email Account For “Convenience” Of Carrying One Mobile Phone. During a March press conference at the United Nations, Hillary Clinton answered questions about her use of a personal email account during her tenure at the State Department, stating that she opted “for convenience” when deciding to streamline her work and personal email onto a single mobile phone platform. Clinton noted that her decision “was allowed by the State Department,” but that in hindsight “it would have been better” to simply carry two phones and operate two email accounts. At no point did she claim to have exclusively accessed her email on a single device:

CLINTON: I opted, for convenience, to use my personal email account, which was allowed by the State Department, because I thought it would be easier to carry just one device for my work, and for my personal emails, instead of two... Looking back, it would have been better for me to use two separate phones and two email accounts. I thought using one device would be simpler and obviously it hasn't worked out that way. [NBC News, 3/10/15]

Mainstream Media Claim Clinton's iPad Use “Contradicts” Her Reasoning For Establishing A Personal Email Account In 2009...

Associated Press: Clinton's iPad Use “Contradicts Her Earlier Claims” About Email Account.  On March 31, the Associated Press (AP) reported that emails between Hillary Clinton and her State Department staff from 2011 and 2012 -- obtained by the outlet under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) -- revealed that Clinton used an iPad while serving as secretary of state. The AP claimed that then-Secretary Clinton used the device “despite her explanation she set up a private email account and homebrew server while she was the nation's top diplomat so that she could carry a single device.” In a corresponding video, AP reporter Jack Gillum stated that the news “contradicts [Clinton's] earlier claims” that she set up a private email account to streamline communications onto a single device, concluding “now that argument seems to be in question.” [Associated Press, 3/31/15]

Politico: Clinton Previously Claimed She Set Up Private Email “So She Would Have To Carry Only One Device.” A March 31 Politico article claimed that news of Clinton's use of an iPad while serving as secretary of state came “despite her explanation earlier this month” that she used a personal email account “so she would have to carry only one device.” [Politico, 3/31/15]

WSJ: iPad Use “Seem[s] To Contradict” Clinton's Email Defense. A March 31 post to The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog claimed that the emails obtained by AP “seem to contradict” Clinton's earlier explanation that she set up a home email server “merely to avoid having to carry multiple mobile devices.” [The Wall Street Journal, Washington Wire Blog, 3/31/15]

Wash. Post: Clinton “Actually Used At Least Two Devices.” A March 31 Washington Post article claimed that Clinton's iPad use means she “actually used at least two devices” for her correspondence while serving as secretary of state and “undercuts” her “argument for having a private, nongovernmental e-mail server.” [The Washington Post, 3/31/15]

...But The iPad Did Not Debut Until 2010, After Clinton's Email Account Was Established

CNN: “Apple Released The iPad In 2010, A Year After Clinton Took Over At State.” A March 31 CNN report highlighted the partisan attempts to smear Clinton for using an iPad and a blackberry, but noted that she could not have acquired the device “until 2010, a year after Clinton took over at State.” [CNN.com, 3/31/15]

Right-Wing Media Use Story To Smear Clinton As A Liar

Breitbart.com: “Everything” Clinton Said About Her Email “Was A Lie.” Citing the emails released by the AP, a March 31 post on Breitbart.com claimed that Clinton “lied about not wanting to carry two email devices.” The post went on to claim that "everything she said in her email scandal press conference was a lie" (emphasis original). [Breitbart.com, 3/31/15]

Wash. Examiner: Clinton's iPad “Blow[s] The Whole 'Convenience' Argument Out Of The Water.” A March 31 Washington Examiner post alleged that Clinton's use of “at least one other device” for accessing email “blow[s] the whole 'convenience' argument out of the water,” implying that Clinton lied about her initial reasoning for setting up a private email account. [Washington Examiner, 3/31/15]

Townhall's Katie Pavlich: “Clinton Lied About Using Only One Device For Email.” A March 31 post by Townhall contributor Katie Pavlich cited the AP email release while exclaiming “Hillary Clinton lied about using only one device for email.” [Townhall, 3/31/15]