The spokeswoman for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, Karen Finney, said that it was offensive to voters when questions are asked about Clinton's speeches to firms on Wall Street, for which she was paid heavily.
Finney spoke with MSNBC's Erica Hill in the wake of Clinton's debate with Sanders in New York Thursday, where the issue of Clinton's paid speeches was raised.
"If there is nothing to hide, why not just release those transcripts?" Hill asked.
"You know, it's so interesting, Erica—as I was watching that exchange last night, thinking that, you know, this is what the Sanders campaign wants, right? The insinuation that there is something, you know, nefarious. And when asked directly, Sen. Sanders had no answer. I wish that on that stage, Sen. Sanders would have just looked Hillary Clinton in the eye and just said directly what he has insinuated time and time again, that there is, you know, some connection that perhaps, because, she got paid for making a speech, that somehow influence any activity or action she has ever taken.
"I mean that's really what's at the heart of this and I, you know, look, we're just not going to play that game with Sen. Sanders. If, as she said, if everybody else is gonna, will release all of their transcripts, great. Let's all release our tax returns. She's released 30 years and let's go from there."
"So, we know the tax returns are coming," Hill said, referring to Sanders' statement that he will release his tax returns.
"We've been hearing that for weeks, by the way," Finney said.
"This isn't Republicans just asking for it, these are Democratic voters who are looking at that. There are people who are still trying to make up their minds and so why, then, if there's nothing to hide, if there's nothing that you feel Sen. Sanders has found, why not just release those transcripts?" Hill asked.
"Well, again, I mean, Sen. Sanders is, you know, trying to use this to make an allegation to which he has absolutely no response when asked, ‘Where is the proof?’ So, you know, I think a lot of the voters also find that very offensive," Finney said.
"And more importantly, I have to tell you Erica, if you are trying to figure out how to send your kid to college, if you are trying to figure out, you know, how to take care of a sick parent or wanting your child's schools to be improved, this is not something you care about," Finney said.
Finney then called the attention on Clinton's speeches a "media fascination."