we talked to the two men for a little
more than 20 minutes on Sunday for the
first half of the interview we talked
about the novel their new novel the
president is missing we then asked
Clinton about the me2 movement and the
recent suggestion by some critics that
he should have resigned during the
Monica Lewinsky scandal and whether
looking back now if he would have
handled that time differently a few days
ago in response to critics who suggested
that you should have resigned and
they'll in the wake of the Lewinsky
scandal you said that you should not
have if you were president now in 2018
with with everything that's going on
with the me2 movement how would you have
approached the accusations differently
well I don't think it would be an issue
because people would be using the facts
instead of the imagined facts if the
facts are the same today I wouldn't in
1998 President Clinton shocked the world
first denying then admitting to an
affair with in White House intern Monica
Lewinsky the scandal launching a lengthy
investigation that ended with Clinton
becoming just the second president ever
to be impeached you're asking well no we
have a right to change the rules yes but
you don't have a right change of fact
Clinton says critics are now pouncing in
light of the me2 movement but he stands
by his decision to fight impeachment
rather than resign so a lot of the facts
have been conveniently omitted to make
the story work but I think partly
because they're frustrated that they got
all these serious allegations against
the current occupant of the Oval Office
and his voters don't seem to care I
think I did the right thing and defended
the Constitution you think this
president's been given a pass with
regards to the the the women who have
come forward and accused him of sexual
misconduct but it hadn't gotten anything
like the coverage that you would expect
president Trump has been accused by
numerous women of inappropriate sexual
behavior all of which he denies I like
to me too movement it's way over there I
think that it doesn't mean I agree with
everything I still have some questions
about some of the decisions which have
been made this March
monica lewinsky penned an op-ed in
Vanity Fair taking responsibility for
her part in the scandal but also
admitting that years later she was
diagnosed with PTSD from the unrelenting
public scrutiny
one of the things that this this me to
era has done it's forced a lot of women
to speak out one of those women Monica
Lewinsky she wrote an op-ed that the me
tube movement changed her view of sexual
harassment quote he was my boss he was
the most powerful man on the planet he
was 27 years my senior with enough life
experience know better he was at the
time at the pinnacle of his career while
I was in my first job out of college
looking back on what happened then
through the lens of me to now do you do
you think differently or feel more
responsibility no I felt terrible then
and I came to grips with it did you ever
apologize and know yes and nobody
believes that I got out of that for free
I left the White House sixteen million
dollars in debt but you typically have
ignored gaping facts in describing this
and I bet you don't even know them this
was litigated 20 years ago two-thirds of
the American people sided with me they
were not insensitive that I had a sexual
harassment policy when I was governor in
the 80s I had two women Chiefs of Staff
when I was governor women were
over-represented in the attorney
general's office in the 70s for their
percentage in the bar I've had nothing
but women leaders in my office since I
left you are giving one side and
omitting mr. president I'm not I'm not
trying to present aside no no you asked
me if I agreed the answer is no I don't
and I asked if you'd ever apologize and
you said you had I have you've
apologized I apologized to everybody in
the world it is important to me that
everybody who has been hurt know that
the sorrow I feel is genuine
first and most important my family
monica lewinsky and her family but you
didn't apologize to her I have not
talked to her didn't feel I thought it
were an Apollo I do i I I do not I never
talked to her
but I did say publicly on more than one
occasion that I was sorry that's very
different the apology was public and you
don't think a private apology sewed I
think this thing has been it's 20 years
ago come on let's talk about JFK let's
talk about you know LBJ stop already
I don't think president you think
President Kennedy should have resigned
do you believe President Johnson should
resign no one should ask you these
questions because of the way you
formulate the questions I dealt with it
20 years ago
Plus and the American people two-thirds
of them stayed with me and I've tried to
do a good job since then with my life
and with my work that's all I have to
say to you fascinating mm-hmm and no
question it got a little bit heated
there at the end yeah you know when the
cameras were off the president
acknowledged that the standards in
society have changed but also said that
the standards should have changed from
what they were 20 years ago he also
reiterated how the facts of his case
make it very different from some of the
the high-profile cases that have been
spawned as a result of me too so coming
up in our 8:30 half-hour there more of
our conversation with former President
Clinton and James Patterson including
what led them to team up to write that
new book the president is missing all
right Craig thank you hello today fans
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