Former president Bill Clinton suggested Sunday that his wife Hillary Clinton was not responsible for the security of the Benghazi consulate while she was secretary of state, claiming she had been absolved by a "very tough report" on the 2012 terrorist attack.

"A non-partisan, very tough report on the Benghazi incident said there were serious holes in the way we provided for security, not just for the two State Department employees who lost their lives, one of them was a very close friend of ours, but for the two CIA contractors who were there trying to provide defense," Clinton said. "But the secretary of state was not personally responsible because no secretary of state had ever overseen the details of security operations, even Colin Powell, who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

Speaking at an event in New Hampshire, Clinton said the scrutiny Hillary faced since leaving the State Department amounted to something that "no public official in the history of the republic has ever faced."

Republicans "went to work on her for three years," he said, appearing to blame the fall in her popularity since she was secretary of state on partisanship.

Hillary Clinton now finds herself trailing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) in the New Hampshire polls with the primary a day away. Bill Clinton has sharpened his attacks on Sanders in recent days, accusing supporters of Sanders of sexism during the same appearance Sunday.