This story was last updated at 12:23 p.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidates tried to shift attention back to Republicans Friday, calling for renewed focus on issues rather than on their dispute over qualifications to become president.

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Hillary Clinton said Republicans are living in a world of "fantasy and hope" if they think she'll be indicted over her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state.

Legal experts agree charges are unlikely. But Matt Lauer of NBC's "Today" said in Friday's interview that Republicans tell him they hope Clinton will be taken out of the election equation in coming months because of criminal charges.

Clinton laughed at the suggestion, saying it shows how desperate the GOP has become and that their "fondest wishes" won't come true.

Her rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, backed away from an earlier suggestion that Hillary Clinton isn't qualified to be president, saying he has kept his promise of focusing his fire on policy and was simply responding to Clinton'sown attacks.



"They're going after us very big time and in a very negative way," Sanders said Friday in an interview with The Associated Press. "And I wanted to make very clear that we will not be a doormat, we will not be attacked without responding. And my point was to focus on the issues where I thought she was lacking."