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US State Dept. releases hundreds of Clinton Benghazi emails

Friday, 22 May 2015 6:24 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 22 May 2015 6:46 PM ]

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tours the Smuttynose Brewery on May 22, 2015 in Hampton, New Hampshire. (AFP photo)

The US State Department has released hundreds of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails related to the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The emails, released on Friday, are from Clinton's private email account, which she used while she was the head of the State Department.

"The emails we release today do not change the essential facts or our understanding of the events before, during or after the attacks," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement ahead of the release.

The released emails are the first batch of the some 55,000 emails that the State Department is currently reviewing for release. More Clinton emails are set to be released soon.

The State Department and Clinton have been subject to intense scrutiny by a congressional committee which is investigating the attack on a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, during which four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed.

However, according to CNN, up to 35 CIA operatives were also working in Benghazi during the attack on the US consulate on September 11, 2012. But the American broadcaster never reported how many of them died or injured.

An armed man waves his rifle as buildings and cars are engulfed in flames after being set on fire inside the US consulate compound in Benghazi late on Sept. 11, 2012.

Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, has come under intense criticism after the New York Times published a report early in March that suggested she violated federal regulations by using a private email account from a server at her New York home while in government.

Using personal email does not necessarily violate rules as long as they are properly preserved, but the practice has raised doubts about her transparency.

The email controversy weighs down Clinton’s poll numbers, particularly on the question of trustworthiness.

A poll conducted by Associated Press-GfK, indicated that six in ten voters believe that the word "honest" describes Clinton only slightly well or not well at all.

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