Hillary Clinton said in her first official interview since her failed presidential bid that she believed FBI Director James Comey's letter ten days before the election, stating that he was re-opening the investigation into her emails, ended her hopes of the presidency.

She also blamed WikiLeaks, saying that the two 'had the determinative effect' on her campaign.

'I think it is fair to say that the outside intervention, the combination of the Comey letter on October 28, WikiLeaks which played a much bigger role than I think many people understand yet, had the determinative effect,' she said.

The former Secretary of State received a lengthy standing ovation when she appeared on stage in New York at the Women in the World summit organized by her close friend, Tina Brown.

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She's back: Hillary Clinton used an interview at Tina Brown's Women in the World conference in New York to blame the FBI - and Wikileaks - for her defeat

Hailed a heroine: Clinton received a lengthy standing ovation at the Women in the World conference, organized by her close friend Tina Brown

Blame him: Clinton said the FBI Director James Comey's decision to announce the renewed probe into her emails because of messages found on pervert Anthony Weiner's computer led to her defeat

She raised laughs and applause when asked by interviewer Nicholas Kristof what she thought of Comey's announcement of the investigation into the Trump team's ties to Russia.

'Yes that was one of the high points of the last weeks,' she said.

She said that she had been 'devastated' in the aftermath of the election. 'I had to take up my mind that I was going to get out of bed, go for long walks and see my grandchildren.'

She said that she and her team were piecing together what had happened and that there were many contributing factors, adding that she believed WikiLeaks had a much bigger role than anyone really knew yet.

Clinton's long-time aide Huma Abedin was spotted on the stage at the end of the event - ironic given that it was her husband Anthony Weiner being under investigation by the FBI for sexting a 15-year-old which prompted Comey's letter.

Clinton opened by lacing into the Trump administration and its failure on several policies including the travel ban for six Muslim-majority countries and the healthcare bill.

Kristof opened by saying he wasn't sure whether he should offer Clinton condolences or she should offer them to us.

'Yes, I had thought a lot about that,' she said. 'There's certainly enough condolences to go around. I hope we move on to 'being able to see some positive developments in country but that's going to take some time apparently.'

And she spoke at length about Vladimir Putin, who is accused of interfering in the election, accusing him of 'not liking strong women'.

She dodged a direct question on whether Trump or his associates were involved in the Kremlin's alleged misconduct.

But she said: 'Because of the success that the Kremlin feels that it had, they are not going away.’

New York Times writer Kristof asked how she was doing.

‘I’m doing pretty well all things considered,’ Clinton said.

‘The aftermath of the election was so devastating and everything that has come to light in the days and weeks since have been also troubling. So I just had to make up my mind that yes, I was going to get out of bed and yes, I was going to go for a lot of long walks in the woods and I was going to see my grandchildren a lot and spend time with my family and my friends who’ve rallied around me in an amazing way.

We’ve had lots of fun adventures, long nights talking and laughing. So I’m okay as a person.

‘As an American I’m pretty worried - there’s a lot to be concerned about.’

She was asked what she thought about Comey’s announcement that the FBI had been investigating the Trump campaign since July but didn’t think it was ‘appropriate’ to release this information due to the ongoing investigation – in contrast to how the investigation into her private email server had been handled.

‘So what did you throw at the TV?’ Kristof asked.

‘Yes, that was one of the high points of the last weeks,’ she quipped.

She continued: ‘I am deeply concerned about what went on with Russia and I think it’s important that we all work together regardless of party or partisanship or anything else - we start acting like patriotic Americans.

‘A foreign power meddled with our election and did so in a way that we’re learning more about every single day.

‘The people who are looking into it in the Senate have said that the Russian hacking should give chills to anybody who cares about democracy.

‘John McCain has said he’s never been so worried about our country in his lifetime and that’s a lifetime that included WW2, Vietnam and being a prisoner of war.

‘I think there does seem to be a lot of concern because what was done to us was an act of aggression by a foreign power under the control of someone who has a deep desire to dominate Europe and to send us into a tailspin.

He's to blame too: Julian Assange is the leader of Wikileaks, which Clinton said had played 'a much bigger role' than people realize in her defeat

‘I think that what Putin wanted to do was sow distrust and confusion as well as influence our election.’

She added: ‘So as an American I’m hoping - whether it’s the Congress or the FBI or outside journalists or whoever the combination of forces might be - that we find out a whole lot more. I personally favour an independent, non-partisan investigation.’

Clinton addressed the pressing question on whether she thought there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

‘I think that is what this investigation should look at. I’m hopeful that the Congress will hold together and realize that because of the success that the Kremlin feels like it had, they are not going to go away.

‘So whatever party you are or whatever business you run, whatever kinds of concerns you have – if we don’t take action together to hold whoever was involved accountable - they will be back time and time again.

‘I know Putin. I’ve sat with him and this is somebody who plays the long game. He plays three-dimensional chess, he’s always trying to work out how to advantage himself, his oligarchic companions and his country – in that order.

‘He is very much focused on destabilizing Europe, NATO, and the United States – real democracies.’

She said she has been asked by people the reason why she thinks that Putin ‘did that to her’.

‘I don’t think it’s too complicated. I think he had his desire to destabilize us and others and he’s not exactly fond of strong women.’

She quipped: ‘Although he did shake hands with me’ referencing President Trump’s refusal to shake hands with German chancellor Angela Merkel several weeks ago during her visit to the White House.

Clinton addressed the idea of democracy in Russia following mass protests against Putin’s government in recent weeks.

‘I want the Russian people to know that we’re in their corner. We would love for them to have the same opportunities that we have for our own people and we hope that someday that will be possible.’

First questions: The appearance was her first 'interview', conducted by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff

The discussion then moved to what Clinton believed caused her to lose the presidential election.

‘I’m currently writing a book where I spend a lot of time wrestling with this,’ she said. ‘As you might guess I’ve thought about it more than once and I don’t think that there is one answer.

‘In any campaign, there’s many different cross-currents and events and some have greater impacts than others.

It’s fair to say misogyny played a role. That just has to be admitted. Why and what the underlying reasons were I’m trying to parse out myself.

‘There is a constant struggle – for women and men - in a time of rapid change like the one we’re living through between something that is different and that may hold out even possible positive consequences - and something that is familiar and is first and foremost about security of what you have right now.

‘I think in this election there was a very real struggle between what is viewed as change that is welcomed and exciting to so many Americans and change which is worrisome and threatening to so many others.

‘And you layer on the first woman president over that and I think some people, women included, had real problems.

‘It’s fair to say that President Obama and my husband, they also struggled for white votes.’

But she said it was down to Democrats to engage with people.

‘We have to do a better job in speaking to and with people who are on the downside of the change equation and wondering what we have to offer and why they should vote for us.

‘As opposed to, “I don’t agree with him, I’m not sure I approve of him but he looks like somebody who’s been a president before so why do I want to add more change, more potential anxiety to my life? We’re just going to hope he does a little bit of what he says.”’

Kristof said that he had spoken to many young women who told him that they had been ‘galvanized by Clinton’s loss in the way they had not been by her campaign’. He added that many wanted to get involved in public life but were anxious about the nastiness – especially for women.

Clinton replied: ‘I’m going to spend a lot of my time encouraging young people, particularly young women, to go into politics and public service.

‘I believe that not only is it a worthy and very satisfying way to contribute, make a living, learn more but because we really need you – and we particularly need more young women.’

She said she planned to work with organizations to recruit, mentor and train young people for public life but offered some words of advice on the personal attacks they might face.

‘Be ready – is it not a new phenomenon but it feels new and painful every time it happens to you.’

She then quoted Eleanor Roosevelt who said that every woman who enters the public arena ‘needs to grow a hide as thick as a rhinoceros’.

She added: ‘And boy, do I relate to that.’

Clinton then addressed academic research which shows that the more successful women become, the less likeable they are – the opposite of men for whom success and likeability are correlated.

‘It’s what lies at the heart of a lot of the attacks and its unconscious,’ she said.

She pointed to how when she left her role as Secretary of State, she had a 65 per cent approval rating with the public – something which slid when she began her presidential run.

‘Well what happened? By the time they’d finished with me I was Typhoid Mary and poor Mary didn’t serve it either when you go back and look at the history,’ she said, to laughter from the audience.

She said she thought she could have been a really good president but claimed that what happened to her during the election verified the research which showed that women were less liked the more successful they became.

She said she was encouraged by the numbers of young people getting involved in politics, turning up at town halls and ‘making thousands of phone calls that helped derail that terrible healthcare bill’.

But she added: ‘Toughen up your skin – take it seriously but not personally.

‘I’m not perfect – everybody knows that by now. I take criticism seriously but I don’t take it personally.

‘Because part of the personal attacks, the bullying, the name-calling that has become much more pervasive because of the internet, is to crush your spirit, to make you feel inadequate, to make you doubt yourself and I just refused to do that and that infuriated them.’

Her remarks were met with lengthy applause and cheering.

Kristof asked her what she blamed for her loss.

She said: ‘How much time do we have?’

‘We have spent a lot of time trying to piece it all together and there are lots of contributing factors.

‘We certainly could have done it better and there’s certain things I could have done better.

Present: Huma Abedin was at the side of the stage as her boss Hillary Clinton blamed James Comey for her defeat - because he re-opened the email probe on the basis of messages from Huma found on her pervert husband Anthony Weiner's laptop

Adoring audience: The predominantly female crowd was on its feet for Clinton at the start and the finish.

She pointed to the Comey letter and WikiLeaks but went on: ‘For people who are interested in this - the nearly 66 million people who voted for me,’ she said with a sly grin, ‘I want to give as clear and as credible an explanation of these factors as I can.

‘We’ve learned some lessons.’

One of those is about Russia, she said. ‘Since they were successful in influencing voters, it’s different than the interference with the actual voting machines and for a while there was confusion about that.

‘There are people who pursue that but putting that to one side it was really the weaponization of information, something that Putin has used inside and outside Russia to great effect.

‘I didn’t fully understand how impactful that was. It created doubts in people.

‘But then Comey letter coming as it did just ten days before the election really raised serious questions in a lot of people, I think that were unfounded but nevertheless happened.

‘I think we have to be really clear – Democrats, Republicans, whatever – what was done in that election was really unprecedented and we can’t let that happen again.

‘I don’t want any Republican candidate to be subjected what I was subjected to. I don’t want anyone running campaigns for the Republican Party to have their communications stolen – which is what it was, it was a theft.

‘It was more effective theft even than Watergate.’

She concluded: ‘We should have tough, aggressive campaigning, that goes with the territory, but we are not going to let somebody sitting in the Kremlin with a 1,000 agents and bots and trolls trying to mix up in our elections.

‘We need to end that and we need a bipartisan American commitment.’

Clinton was asked what she thought about Trump’s first 100 days in office.

‘First let me say that, I don’t take any pleasure in seeing the kind of chaotic functioning.

‘I thought I was going to win and I had a really good transition operation going because I understood.

‘Remember that one point in the debate when my opponent was ridiculing me yet again for having prepared for the debate. And I said, Yes I did prepare for the debate and I’ll tell you something else I prepared for and that’s being president.’

She went on: ‘It’s the hardest job you can imagine. I thought we would’ve been prepared, ready to move on events.

‘We worked so hard on policies and already lining up personal and the likes. So clearly that wasn’t well prepared for the incoming administration and I think they’re going through some very public growing pains.

‘But here’s what I don’t understand. I don’t understand the commitment to hurt so many people that this administration seems to be pursuing.’

She highlighted Trump’s travel ban, saying it had a ‘chilling effect’ across the world. ‘It had a terrible impact.’

‘And then of course what they did, or tried to do, with the health care bill after listening to them discuss repeal and replace for eight years now, they had no clue what that meant.

‘I don’t know if any of them had read the bill, read the law, to understand how it worked. It was so obvious.

‘You know, healthcare is complicated! They don’t know what to do and I do admit that was somewhat gratifying.’

The audience erupted into cheers and applause at those words.

Under the weather: Clinton arrived in a downpour on board one of her famous Scooby vans - of the type which she was infamously put in when she collapsed at Ground Zero

Hug time: Samatha Bee was on stage hugging Clinton before the start of her interview with Nick Kristoff

Clinton went on to say that she believed supporting women’s health, reproductive and maternity care across the world – which is under threat of being seriously curtailed in a Trump administration - was essential to U.S. national security along with being morally the right thing to do.

She said: ‘The targeting of women which is what’s going on is absolutely beyond any political agenda. There is something else happening here.

‘The more we support women, the more we support democracy and the more we backhand terrorism.

‘Women’s issues are national security issues around the world.’

She eviscerated the Trump cabinet and zoned in on the picture of the all-male team discussing women’s healthcare.

‘The things that come out of some of these men’s mouths like, “Why do we have to cover maternity care?”

She quipped: ‘Oh I don’t know - maybe you were dropped by Immaculate Conception?’

She said the picture of the all-male Trump team looked ‘like an SNL skit’.

The conversation became somber when it turned to Syria and the chemical gas attack this week which left many civilians dead, including many children.

Kristof asked whether when she was Secretary of State, the muted approach to Syria was her worst foreign policy mistake.

Clinton replied: ‘I teamed up with Dave Petraeus, then director of CIA, Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense, to present a plan for us to move more aggressively to support protestors, to try to provide some back up in what was I thought likely to turn out to be a very one-sided battle.

‘This was before ISIS came to public awareness and their caliphate they’re setting up in Raqqa.

‘I’ve said this repeatedly that we should’ve done more at that point.

Now, I’m the first to say these are not easy decisions. That’s why you get the best information you can from the best advisors you can and really drill down into this whatever the situation is.’

Clinton went on: ‘I wish the international community at large had been able to rein this in.’

She admitted that a tentative agreement she had tried to put together in 2012, and to which the Russians had agreed, fell apart because ‘basically Assad said I’m not going anywhere’.

I think that we have to try change the dynamic and all through the campaign I would say I’m for a no-fly zone. Immediately, People would ask, “Aren’t you afraid of Russians?”

‘It’s time the Russians were afraid of us because we were going to stand up for human rights, the dignity and the future of Syrian people.’

Clinton said she was confident she could have brought Putin and his team to an agreement on a no-fly zone over Syria.

‘We cannot let this massacre continue and the consequences that are effecting the entire region.

‘I feel pretty strongly where we are now and what happened in these last days with a neurotoxin gas.

Could have been her: President Trump spent the day getting ready for his meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, flying to Mar-a-Lago with the first lady Melania Trump to greet him and his wife, Peng Liyuan

‘There will be people who say it’s not your fight, we don’t care, what difference does it make, we’re not involved.

‘First of all, we are an interconnected, interdependent world unlike any we’ve been in history because of mobility, because of communications. What happens in other places can very have an impact on you.

‘The world took a position after the First World War, we took a stand against the use of chemical weapons. We have a whole unit attached to the United Nations that is devoted to preventing chemical weapons from falling into the wrong hands to be used.’

Clinton said that ‘it is important we take a strong stance against chemical weapons’ and added: ‘People have to know that they will be held accountable as war criminals for committing crimes against humanity if they engage in these kinds of aggressive violent acts.’

The hour-long conversation ended with a discussion of Clinton’s future plans – and whether she would consider another run for public office.

‘I am really focused on doing some things that I think I can help make a difference with,’ she said. ‘Like supporting young people and getting more women into politics. I very much want to help Democrats take back the Congress.

‘I have no plans at all other than trying to find some interesting things to do, trying to support other people, spend time with my grandchildren which is a great joy. I’m not making plans to do anything.

‘I am looking at doing interesting things. I don’t think that will ever include running for office again as interesting as I find that to be.

‘I think that there are lots of ways to make a difference in all sectors of our society - the for-profits, the not-for-profits. Looking for ways to help people live their own lives better, tell their own stories better.

‘I’ve always been really focused on kids and to find some good ways to help organizations that are particularly helping kids that faced difficulties in their lives.

‘I am passionate about the unfinished business of the 21st century - the rights and the opportunities for women and girls. So I think I have a lot to do.’