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Hillary Clinton to address email controversy

Hillary Clinton is expected to hold a press availability Tuesday after a speech at the United Nations on women, sources tell msnbc.

Hillary Clinton is expected to hold a press availability Tuesday after a speech at the United Nations on women, sources tell msnbc.

Following her 1:40 p.m. remarks at the UN, Clinton is expected to address the controversy over her exclusive use of a private email account while she served as secretary of state, which has sparked controversy over the past week. 

The development comes after the Senate's number two Democrat joined calls for Hillary Clinton to explain herself.

Watch: Clinton to hold Tuesday press conference on emails

"I'd like to hear her explanation. I think [Sen.] Dianne Feinstein was right. She should come forward and explain the situation," Sen. Dick Durbin said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Tuesday.

"Let me tell you, in the Senate, members of the Senate, many of us who have emails are instructed by the Senate not to do anything of a personal or political nature in our official account, and so we have two separate email accounts. Many senators do. It's what we are instructed to do. I'd like to hear her explanation and why she did it and what was covered by it," he added.

Feinstein said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Clinton's silence was hurting her. "She is the leading candidate, whether it be Republican or Democrat, for the next president … from this point on, the silence is going to hurt her," she said. 

Clinton previously addressed the criticism by writing on Twitter: "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." 

But over the weekend in Miami and on Monday, during a public appearance in New York City, she avoided the topic entirely. 

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Monday that President Obama had exchanged emails with Clinton, but had been unaware of the details of her private email account until he read about it news reports last week. And longtime Clinton advisor James Carville called the controversy a distraction in an interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC, adding "I’m sure at some point she’ll say something about it. The next day, there will be something else, and the next day there will be something else."

Clinton's speech Tuesday will address the progress made on women's rights since the then-first lady's landmark speech to a UN conference in Beijing in 1995 on women's rights.