Hillary Clinton Email Scandal: Democratic Candidate Laughs At Possibility Of Criminal Charges

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton erupted into laughter Thursday afternoon when asked about New Jersey Gov. and GOP candidate Chris Christie’s remarks that she should be prosecuted over the use of her personal email account during her tenure as secretary of state, the Washington Times reported. During the second GOP debate Wednesday night Christie suggested Clinton should be prosecuted for her actions.

Clinton reportedly shook her head and chuckled when CNN’s “The Situation Room” asked her about the possibility that anyone would have hacked into U.S. national security secrets that she kept stored on her personal email account and home email server.

“There’s no evidence of that,” said Clinton, the Washington Times reported. “This is — you know, this is overheated rhetoric, baseless charges trying to somehow, you know, gain a footing in the debate and in the primary. And it really doesn’t deserve any comment.”

The National Republican Committee condemned Clinton’s response to the question.

“Once again Hillary Clinton laughed off questions about her secret email server even though it put our national security at risk and is being investigated by the FBI,” said Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short in a statement, the Washington Times reported. “With her campaign under siege, it’s no wonder she is refusing to join the growing chorus of Democrats calling for more debates.”

Clinton came under fire earlier this year for using her private email account on her personal server to conduct government business. The scandal has caused her popularity in the polls to plummet; she is now supported by 42 percent of Democrats, which is a significant decline from the 63 percent of support she had in July, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll. Among women, she is down 29 percent in support. Despite trailing Clinton in the national polls, a recent poll showed Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders nine points ahead of Clinton in New Hampshire, ABC News reported.

Next month, Clinton is scheduled to testify before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, which revealed Clinton’s private email setup, the Washington Times reported.