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Hillary Says Clinton Was ‘Absolutely’ Right to Not Resign Over Lewinsky Scandal

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, some perceive the Clinton/Lewinsky affair as an abuse of power by a former president.
Sputnik

Former First Lady Hillary Clinton said her husband, US President Bill Clinton, "absolutely" did the correct thing by not resigning after the 1998 sex scandal broke, arguing that the 22-year-old Monica Lewinsky was an adult at the time of her affair with POTUS.

"In retrospect, do you think Bill should've resigned in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal?" CBS host Tony Dokoupil asked Hillary Clinton during the "Sunday Morning" TV show.

"Absolutely not," she replied.

"It wasn't an abuse of power?" Dokoupil asked, to which Clinton replied, "No. No."

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When Dokoupil cited an opinion that a president cannot have a consensual relationship with an intern because of a power imbalance that is "too great," the former US Secretary of State pointed out that Lewinsky was an adult at the time.

Monica Lewinsky was a young White House intern at the time of the scandal, while Bill Clinton, at 49, was the president of the United States.

During the interview, Clinton pointed out multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against current US President Donald Trump. Trump has vigorously denied his involvement in several ongoing court cases against him.

Following the peak of #MeToo movement, several women, including Monica Lewinsky, accused President Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct, with Lewinsky herself referring to the affair as a "gross abuse of power."

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Of all the accusations against former President Clinton, however, Hillary Clinton only acknowledged her husband's affairs with Lewinsky and US singer and actress Gennifer Flowers, both of which were, until 2018, widely considered consensual.

Talking to Dokoupil, Clinton affirmed that she played "no role" in undermining the character of the women who came out against her husband.

The Clinton couple will soon embark on a nation-wide speaking tour, during which they are expected to publicly discuss their life in politics as well as current events. The tour is expected to begin after the upcoming November midterm elections in the US Congress.

Ever a galvanizing figure in the American political scene, Clinton's CBS interview sparked a wave of both criticism and support in social media.

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