Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) had no interest Wednesday night in discussing former President Bill Clinton's criticized remarks about Monica Lewinsky and the #MeToo movement, saying the "public can judge for themselves."
On his new primetime program, CNN host Chris Cuomo asked Schumer for his "take" on Clinton, who has been panned and called "tone-deaf" for his defensive answers about his affair with Lewinsky in light of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.
"Not getting into that," Schumer said.
"Because?" Cuomo asked.
"I think it's irrelevant to what we need to talk about," Schumer said.
"#MeToo?" Cuomo asked.
"No, #MeToo is important," Schumer said. "What Bill Clinton said, public can judge for themselves."
Cuomo asked how those things could both be true simultaneously.
"They're true at the same time because you judge the person on their own actions, plain and simple," Schumer said.
Cuomo posed bringing focus to Clinton's remarks, however, "could change culture also, by showing consistency in the pattern of where it is we call it out."
Schumer said "doing something" was most important for lawmakers, and he pointed to a bipartisan bill passed in the Senate in May that overhauled the handling of sexual harassment complaints on Capitol Hill. The House passed its own version in February and a final version still needs to be reconciled to get to President Donald Trump's desk for signature.
Schumer said that legislation would be finalized "soon."
"That's what we should be doing," Schumer said. "Not commenting on everybody and every particular case. That doesn't help the cause. It may make nice news, but it doesn't help the cause."