CNN’s Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, Gloria Borger and Brianna Keilar discussed the new Hillary Clinton tapes reported on by the Washington Free Beacon’s Alana Goodman during The Lead Tuesday evening.
In the tapes, Clinton can be heard laughing as she describes the trial for the rapist she represented in 1975. Her client was accused of raping a 12-year-old girl and Clinton discusses the lie detector test he passed, though he was guilty, and the extent to which she went to to prove that his innocence.
"This is not typical talk for a lifelong defender of women and children," Tapper said. He asked Keilar and Bash whether the newly discovered tapes could be a political problem for the former Secretary of State.
"I do [think it is]…It’s bad politics," Keilar told the panel. She went on to explain that the tapes could have a detrimental effect among younger voters – "the millennial generation" – who are being introduced to Clinton right now. These younger voters "don’t really identify with her as First Lady, probably not even as a Senator," she said.
She noted that Clinton is "being branded…as a champion of women and girls," and that the tapes of Clinton laughing while discussing the rape trial could spell doom for her.
Bash addressed the issue of Clinton describing the extent she went to to discredit the rape victim and prove her client’s innocence. She said voters will wonder about Clinton "going for the jugular in a way a good attorney should do to do whatever they can for their client" and added "when you're talking about something as incredibly sensitive and incredibly explosive as rape, especially when it's not about being a lawyer but a politician, so much of this will depend on how she frames it."
Borger weighed in on Clinton’s new drama, noting that the tapes display clear evidence of the former Secretary of State’s sheer ambition and determination to get ahead, no matter what. The tapes "give us a window into what she would do, how ambitious she was and how aggressive she was, and also what kind of lawyer she was and how much she wanted to win this case."