By Jennifer Steinhower, November 16, 2017
WASHINGTON — Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, who holds Hillary Clinton’s former seat, said on Thursday that Bill Clinton should have resigned the presidency after his inappropriate relationship with an intern came to light nearly 20 years ago.
Asked directly if she believed Mr. Clinton should have stepped down at the time, Ms. Gillibrand took a long pause and said, “Yes, I think that is the appropriate response.”
But she also appeared to signal that what is currently considered a fireable offense may have been more often overlooked during the Clinton era.
“Things have changed today, and I think under those circumstances there should be a very different reaction,” Ms. Gillibrand said. “And I think in light of this conversation, we should have a very different conversation about President Trump, and a very different conversation about allegations against him.”
A spokesman later said that Ms. Gillibrand was trying to underscore that Mr. Clinton’s actions, had they happened in the current era, should have compelled him to resign.
Still, it was a remarkable statement from a senator who enthusiastically backed Mrs. Clinton’s presidential bid last year but has been deeply involved in legislative efforts to curb sexual abuse and harassment in the military and on college campuses.
Ms. Gillibrand, who has longstanding ties to the Clintons, is the highest-profile elected Democratic official to say that Mr. Clinton should have stepped down as a result of his affair.
Ms. Gillibrand’s remarks came during an interview for a New York Times podcast, “The New Washington,” which will air on Saturday. They came hours after Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, apologized for groping and kissing a radio host without her consent during a U.S.O. tour in 2006, two years before he was elected. Mr. Franken is now facing demands for an ethics investigation into his conduct.
“It’s very disturbing,” Ms. Gillibrand said of Mr. Franken. “I was very disappointed. But it’s important that survivors are coming out and speaking truth to power and telling their stories.”
Earlier, she said she would give all the donations her campaign had received from Mr. Franken’s political action committee to Protect Our Defenders, which helps those assaulted in the military. She also introduced the “Me Too Congress Act” on Thursday to address yearslong and rampant sexual misconduct on Capitol Hill.
Ms. Gillibrand began a new push this week for legislation to authorize military prosecutors, rather than commanders, to decide which sexual assault cases should be brought to court, with the aim of encouraging more people to report crimes without fear of retaliation.
She was an early supporter of Mrs. Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and has spent countless hours raising money for Democratic women who run for office, citing Mrs. Clinton as a role model.
“In my adult life, politically, no one has inspired me to get off the sidelines and truly make a difference more than Hillary Clinton has,” Ms. Gillibrand said last year in an essay on why she was supporting Mrs. Clinton.
Ms. Gillibrand has also noted Mr. Clinton’s support for her own run for office. “I was lucky enough to receive guidance and mentorship from Hillary during that run, and was truly honored that President Bill Clinton campaigned for me in my first run for Congress in 2006,” she wrote in the same essay.
A spokesman later said that Ms. Gillibrand was trying to underscore that Mr. Clinton’s actions, had they happened in the current era, should have compelled him to resign.
Still, it was a remarkable statement from a senator who enthusiastically backed Mrs. Clinton’s presidential bid last year but has been deeply involved in legislative efforts to curb sexual abuse and harassment in the military and on college campuses.
Ms. Gillibrand, who has longstanding ties to the Clintons, is the highest-profile elected Democratic official to say that Mr. Clinton should have stepped down as a result of his affair.
Ms. Gillibrand’s remarks came during an interview for a New York Times podcast, “The New Washington,” which will air on Saturday. They came hours after Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, apologized for groping and kissing a radio host without her consent during a U.S.O. tour in 2006, two years before he was elected. Mr. Franken is now facing demands for an ethics investigation into his conduct.
“It’s very disturbing,” Ms. Gillibrand said of Mr. Franken. “I was very disappointed. But it’s important that survivors are coming out and speaking truth to power and telling their stories.”
Earlier, she said she would give all the donations her campaign had received from Mr. Franken’s political action committee to Protect Our Defenders, which helps those assaulted in the military. She also introduced the “Me Too Congress Act” on Thursday to address yearslong and rampant sexual misconduct on Capitol Hill.
Ms. Gillibrand began a new push this week for legislation to authorize military prosecutors, rather than commanders, to decide which sexual assault cases should be brought to court, with the aim of encouraging more people to report crimes without fear of retaliation.
She was an early supporter of Mrs. Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and has spent countless hours raising money for Democratic women who run for office, citing Mrs. Clinton as a role model.
“In my adult life, politically, no one has inspired me to get off the sidelines and truly make a difference more than Hillary Clinton has,” Ms. Gillibrand said last year in an essay on why she was supporting Mrs. Clinton.
Ms. Gillibrand has also noted Mr. Clinton’s support for her own run for office. “I was lucky enough to receive guidance and mentorship from Hillary during that run, and was truly honored that President Bill Clinton campaigned for me in my first run for Congress in 2006,” she wrote in the same essay.