Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton was asked during a campaign event on Thursday whether the women who have accused her husband of sexual assault should be taken seriously.
Mrs. Clinton has made women’s issues a key part of her presidential platform, tweeting recently that “every survivor of sexual assault deserves to be heard, believed, and supported.”
But one woman from Thursday’s event took her to task over the claim, asking: “You say that all rape victims should be believed, but would you say that about Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey and/or Paula Jones? Should we believe them as well?”
“Well, I would say that everybody should be believed at first until they are disbelieved on evidence,” Mrs. Clinton said with a smile, receiving applause from the crowd.
Ms. Broaddrick in 1999 accused former President Bill Clinton of raping her in a Little Rock, Arkansas, hotel room while she was volunteering for his 1978 gubernatorial bid. Ms. Willey accused him of sexually assaulting her in 1993, and Ms. Jones accused him of sexual misconduct in 1994.
Ms. Broaddrick spoke out against Mrs. Clinton less than two weeks ago during a rare interview on “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.”
“I think she has always known everything about him,” she said of the Clintons. “I think they have this evil compact between the two of them that they each know what the other does and overlook it. And go right on. And cover one for the other.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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