Hillary Clinton on Friday dismissed claims of sexual misconduct made against her husband Bill Clinton as "litigated" and "clearly in the past" while panning Donald Trump as an admitted "sexual assaulter."
The issue arose during an interview with the BBC, where Clinton addressed the sexual abuse and harassment claims being made against Harvey Weinstein, a longtime Democratic bundler and donor, the Daily Caller reported.
"I was shocked and appalled ... It was just disgusting and the stories that have come out are heartbreaking," Clinton said. "And I really commend the women who have been willing to step forward now and tell their stories."
Clinton added it was important to not just focus on him but also recognize such behavior wasn't acceptable anywhere.
"After all, we have someone admitting to being a sexual assaulter in the Oval Office," she said in reference to Trump. "There has to be a recognition that we must stand against this kind of action that is so sexist and misogynistic."
The BBC's Andrew Marr asked Clinton about the town hall debate last year where Trump invited Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Jones, and Kathleen Willey to attend; all three women have accused her husband of various forms of sexual abuse or harassment. Broaddrick has long alleged the former president raped her in 1978.
Marr noted Clinton "dismissed" them in her book What Happened about the 2016 campaign, asking if that was a wise course of action.
"Well, yes, because that all been litigated," Clinton said. That was the subject of a huge investigation ... in the late '90s, and there were conclusions drawn, and that was clearly in the past. But it is something that has to be taken seriously, as I say, for everyone, not just for those in entertainment right now."
A 2005 tape of Trump emerged late in the 2016 campaign of him boasting about being able to "do anything" to women because he was famous, such as "grab them by the pussy." Trump apologized and called it "locker room talk."