Former US President Bill Clinton (left) says he does not need to personally apologize to former White House intern Monica Lewinsky (right) over the sex scandal between them while he was still US Chief Executive. AFP FILE PHOTOS
WASHINGTON, United States 鈥� Former US president Bill Clinton said he had not spoken to Monica Lewinsky since the revelation of their affair and that while he had apologized to her publicly he did not think a private apology was necessary at this point.
In a testy interview with NBC鈥檚 鈥淭oday鈥� show aired on Monday, the 71-year-old Clinton was also asked for his thoughts on the #MeToo movement.
The 42nd US president is on a book tour to promote a new thriller, 鈥淭he President Is Missing,鈥� co-written with best-selling author James Patterson.
But it鈥檚 his time in the Oval Office 鈥� specifically his affair with Lewinsky 鈥� that is drawing scrutiny.
鈥淚 apologized to everybody in the world,鈥� Clinton said when asked if he had apologized to Lewinsky for his affair with the then 22-year-old White House intern.
鈥淚 have not talked to her,鈥� Clinton said. 鈥淚 have never talked to her.鈥�
Asked if he felt he should apologize privately to Lewinsky, Clinton said 鈥淣o, I do not.鈥�
鈥淏ut I did say publicly on more than one occasion that I was sorry,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 very different. The apology was public.鈥�
Asked about the #MeToo movement of women denouncing sexual abuse or harassment by powerful men in show business, politics and the media, Clinton said, 鈥淚 like the #MeToo movement.
鈥淚t鈥檚 way overdue,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean I agree with everything.
鈥淚 still have some questions about some of the decisions which have been made,鈥� he said without elaborating.
鈥楾ried to do a good job鈥�
Asked whether in light of #MeToo he should have resigned instead of fighting impeachment, Clinton said: 鈥淚 think I did the right thing. I defended the Constitution.
鈥淭his was litigated 20 years ago,鈥� he said. 鈥淭wo-thirds of the American people sided with me.
鈥淚鈥檝e tried to do a good job since then with my life and with my work,鈥� he said.
鈥淎nd nobody believes that I got out of that for free,鈥� Clinton added. 鈥淚 left the White House $16 million in debt.鈥�
Clinton also said the press has 鈥渃onveniently omitted鈥� a number of facts regarding the Lewinsky affair 鈥渢o make the story work.鈥�
鈥淧artly cause they鈥檙e frustrated because they鈥檝e got all these serious allegations against the current occupant of the Oval Office and his voters don鈥檛 seem to care,鈥� he said.
Asked if President Donald Trump has been 鈥済iven a pass鈥� regarding claims of sexual harassment made against him, Clinton said, 鈥淣o, but it hasn鈥檛 gotten anything like the coverage that you would expect.鈥�
Lewinsky said in an article published in Vanity Fair in February that she had been reexamining her affair with Clinton through the 鈥渘ew lens鈥� of the #MeToo movement and has concluded it constituted a 鈥済ross abuse of power.鈥�
鈥淣ow, at 44, I鈥檓 beginning (just beginning) to consider the implications of the power differentials that were so vast between a president and a White House intern,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淚鈥檓 beginning to entertain the notion that in such a circumstance the idea of consent might well be rendered moot.
鈥淗e was my boss. He was the most powerful man on the planet,鈥� Lewinsky wrote. 鈥淗e was 27 years my senior, with enough life experience to know better.
鈥淚 now see how problematic it was that the two of us even got to a place where there was a question of consent,鈥� she said. 鈥淚nstead, the road that led there was littered with inappropriate abuse of authority, station, and privilege.鈥�
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 also complicated. Very, very complicated,鈥� she said, acknowledging that she had been looking for 鈥渋ntimacy鈥� and was not seeking now to make excuses for 鈥渕y responsibility for what happened.鈥� /cbb