An alleged rape victim said in an interview Friday that Mrs. Clinton “took me through hell,” during her early days as a lawyer. The woman was referring to Mrs. Clinton’s major criminal case at age 27, in which she defended Thomas Alfred Taylor. The man, then age 41, was accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in 1975, and ultimately plead guilty to lesser charges.
Audio tape of Mrs. Clinton talking about the case was provided by the Washington Free Beacon on June 15. During the tape, the former Secretary of State seems to suggest that her client was guilty.
“I had him take a polygraph, which he passed, which forever destroyed my faith in polygraphs,” she says in an interview archived at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Mrs. Clinton laughs at the remark and does so again after discussing DNA evidence that was accidentally destroyed by a crime lab.The interview was conducted by Arkansas reporter Roy Reed.
In her interview with the Daily Beast, the victim addressed Mrs. Clinton directly: “I would say [to Clinton], ’You took a case of mine in ’75, you lied on me… I realize the truth now, the heart of what you’ve done to me. And you are supposed to be for women? You call that [being] for women, what you done to me? And I hear you on tape laughing.”
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.