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Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday night that she has asked the State Department to release all of her emails from her four years as secretary of state as the disclosure that she used a private email address for official government business shadowed her potential presidential campaign.

"I want the public to see my email. I asked State to release them. They said they will review them for release as soon as possible," Clinton told almost 3 million followers on her verified Twitter account at 11:35 p.m. ET.

I want the public to see my email. I asked State to release them. They said they will review them for release as soon as possible. — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 5, 2015

Wednesday's tweet was the first time Clinton personally commented on the controversy in public.

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State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the department would review the emails "as quickly as possible," but said the process could take a while.

"The State Department will review for public release the emails provided by Secretary Clinton to the department, using a normal process that guides such releases," Harf said in a statement. "Given the sheer volume of the document set, this review will take some time to complete."

Republicans, including potential 2016 presidential contender Jeb Bush, have sharply attacked Clinton over the emails, arguing that her use of a personal email account was an intentional move to obscure her communications.

The House Select Committee on Benghazi issued subpoenas Wednesday for some of Clinton's emails, which were housed on a private server in her home — not on secure government servers.

IN-DEPTH

— M. Alex Johnson