Hillary Clinton on Tuesday doubled down on her defense of the Clinton Foundation and her use of a private email address and server to shield government records in her first televised interview since stepping into the 2016 race.

"This has been a theme that has been used against me and my husband for many, many years," Clinton told CNN's Brianna Keilar of the multiple scandals that have overshadowed the early weeks of her campaign.

The former secretary of state repeated her claim that she only used a private email account for "convenience," allowing her to carry a single electronic device. That defense was quickly debunked after Clinton first used it during a March press conference, as several reporters noted previous comments in which she had described using multiple devices such as a Blackberry and an iPad.

Clinton argued other secretaries, including Colin Powell, had also used a private email account to send official messages.

Dodging Keilar's follow-up questions about whether Powell, too, had constructed his own server to host an entire email domain or if he had deleted thousands of emails while under subpoena, Clinton instructed the reporter to "take a deep breath."

"I've never had a subpoena," Clinton said. The House Select Committee on Benghazi has, in fact, subpoenaed the secretary directly for her State Department emails.

"There was nothing that didn't give me full authority to decide how to communicate," she added, denying that she had broken any records laws by using a private email account.

Clinton said all of her official emails were preserved because they were captured on government servers when she communicated with aides on their State accounts.

However, emails released by the select committee and by the State Department indicate she corresponded with a number of officials and advisers outside the agency, meaning State would have no record of those communications unless she chose to provide them.