Sen. Thune: Email Server Audit Raises Questions For Clinton

The news of a State Department audit that put Hillary Clinton and other secretaries of state at fault for improperly managing email servers will raise even more questions about the Democratic front-runner's transparency and honesty, Sen. John Thune said Wednesday

"Those are issues that always weigh heavily when people make a decision about who they want to entrust with the greatest responsibility you can have in this country when it comes to public service, the presidency," Thune, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" program. "In my view, my guess is this is another episode that contributes to a narrative that surrounds her and it will be difficult for her to overcome."

Clinton already "screams status quo," the South Dakota senator said, and there are many people already asking about the transparency issues that "constantly have been a problem with her."

And in Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, it created a situation of "circumventing and short-circuiting proper procedures and laws," Thune said, as it would with anyone who is in a major position and "operating on a private network and doing the things the government does under the laws allow one to do."

However, Thune said there should be no surprise where Clinton is concerned, as "transparency issues have always surrounded Hillary Clinton and her husband, and this is another example."

He also said there was no question that there were "great risks" created by Clinton's use of the private server.

"This is particularly disturbing and troubling and it will present a big concern for her going forward and raises additional questions she is going to have to answer," said Thune.

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