Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) said Sunday he would like to ask Hillary Clinton if she would have fired a top 2008 presidential campaign adviser accused of sexual harassment if she could do it over again.
The New York Times reported Clinton was made aware at the time that Burns Strider, her 2008 campaign's faith and values adviser, had been accused of sexual harassment by a staffer under his direction. Despite her campaign manager recommending Strider's dismissal, Clinton did not fire him but instead reprimanded him, and the young female staffer was reassigned.
Five years later, Strider was chosen to lead "Correct The Record," a fact-checking group created by Clinton supporter David Brock, before he was fired for further allegations of sexual harassment.
Clinton tweeted about the story on Saturday, writing she was "dismayed" when it occurred during the 2008 campaign and was heartened that the woman's concerns were "taken seriously and addressed."
A story appeared today about something that happened in 2008. I was dismayed when it occurred, but was heartened the young woman came forward, was heard, and had her concerns taken seriously and addressed.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 27, 2018
I called her today to tell her how proud I am of her and to make sure she knows what all women should: we deserve to be heard.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 27, 2018
CNN host Jake Tapper brought up the controversy at the end of his interview with Manchin on "State of the Union."
"The fact that Hillary Clinton kept him onboard and reassigned the woman, a lot people say that this is hypocrisy," Tapper said. "That Hillary Clinton says things about the #MeToo movement but when it came down to it, didn't take the actions that were necessary. What do you think?"
"My question to Hillary Clinton would be, if you had it to do over, would you change it? Would you have fired him? Would you have removed him from your campaign?" Manchin said. "If you try to defend that, then that speaks volumes of what's going on, but if she made a mistake, and she says, 'I made a mistake, I evaluated it wrongly, and I should have fired him, and I'm very sorry, and that woman should have been protected,' that would have been the right answer."
Clinton has been criticized for the story and her subsequent vague tweets, given her positioning of herself as a champion of women and girls. However, her husband Bill Clinton's history of womanizing and alleged sexual misconduct has complicated her ability to strongly and credibly take a stand in the #MeToo era.