Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D., N.M.), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), on Monday refused to say whether he would invite former President Bill Clinton to the campaign trail this fall as a surrogate for his Democratic candidates.
Luján appeared on MSNBC's "Meet the Press Daily" to discuss the DCCC's role in the California Democratic primaries, prompting host Katy Tur to ask him about whether he would invite Clinton to campaign with his Democratic candidates following Clinton's heated interview earlier in the morning.
"Look, our candidates are going to makes decisions on surrogates that are going to be traveling out to their districts as well and so we will be leaving it up to our candidates, but I would say that especially with all that's going on across America," Luján said. "It's about time that we are having this important conversation about #MeToo and the #TimesUp and I think that that's something that's going to play out importantly across America."
"I think that if I were Bill Clinton, I would not see that as a 'Yes, I'm getting an invite,'" Tur said.
Luján responded by repeating his first answer to the question, saying that he would be letting the candidates decide on who would be coming to their districts to speak on their behalf.
"We've put a lot of trust and faith in our candidates across America, candidates like Conor Lamb, who is driving the bus, if you will, and making sure that surrogates will travel out there, that made a difference to his constituents," Luján said. "I'm going to continue to put my faith in our candidates because they are incredible and they have important stories to tell as we work to restore checks and balances and earn back the trust of the American people."
Clinton and Lewinsky, then a White House intern 27 years his junior, had a series of sexual encounters between 1995 and 1997, resulting in a political scandal that rocked the White House. The House of Representatives voted to impeach Clinton, but the Senate voted not to convict him.
Clinton has also faced accusations of sexual harassment and assault. Paula Jones, a former employee of the state of Arkansas, accused Clinton, who previously served as the governor of Arkansas, of sexual harassment and sued him. He was also accused by Juanita Broaddrick of raping her in a hotel room in 1978.
The DCCC has also shied away from commenting on another sexual misconduct allegation against Democratic congressional candidate Gil Cisneros. Melissa Fazli, a Democratic candidate for California Assembly District 55, accused Cisneros of harassing her, which he has denied, while the DCCC has been silent. The DCCC added Cisneros to its highly competitive "Red to Blue" program in April, and it has not removed him.