Getty Obama: Clinton's email set-up not a security threat He says "she made a mistake" but not one that harmed the nation.

President Barack Obama says he did not have knowledge of the private email server Hillary Clinton used while serving as secretary of state, but he asserted that it did not pose a national security threat.

Speaking to Steve Kroft in an interview that aired on CBS' “60 Minutes” on Sunday, Obama said that Clinton made a mistake that she acknowledged, adding that those in high-level government offices have to be careful to “stay as far away from the line as possible,” given the sensitive nature of such jobs.


"She made a mistake," the president said. "She has acknowledged it."

Obama acknowledged the former secretary of state’s use of a nongovernment-issued email address through a private home server is a “serious” issue, citing one important distinction.

“The way it's been ginned-up — is in part — because of politics,” he said, adding that the persistent focus on Clinton’s email is partially indicative of the larger pre-election political climate.

“It is important for her to answer these questions to the satisfaction of the American public. And they can make their own judgment,” Obama said. “I can tell you that this is not a situation in which America's national security was endangered.”

Kroft pushed the president further on the prosecution of related national security breaches.

“This administration has prosecuted people for having classified material on their private computers,” he said.

“There's no doubt that there had been breaches, and these are all a matter of degree,” Obama responded before ultimately stating that he would defer to the Democratic presidential contender to answer for herself.