Republicans knock Clinton in ad ahead of debate

The Republican National Committee is hitting front-runner Hillary Clinton over her use of private email ahead of the first Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday.

In a new ad titled “Not Telling Us The Truth… Again,” the RNC focuses on a federal probe of Clinton’s private email from when she served as secretary of State. 

{mosads}The 30-second ad begins with a clip of Clinton saying “I did not email any classified material to anyone.” That snippet comes from March, when she first addressed her use of private email.

The ad then cuts to media reports that a federal watchdog has found classified information in her email. Federal agencies have retroactively classified much of her email before releasing it publicly. 

The RNC says it is targeting supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Clinton’s chief rival in the race, with the online version of the ad. 

Sanders has so far shied away from directly criticizing Clinton about her emails.

Clinton and Sanders will be among the five candidates on the stage Tuesday night. They’ll be joined by former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb.