Posted on 02/01/2018 3:54:32 PM PST by nickcarraway
Juanita Broaddrick had almost given up by the time she called her grandson from her house in Van Buren, Arkansas, on January 6, 2016. She had been trying, since seeing a video in late November, to send a single tweet, with no success. Her grandson, Ridge, then 13, diagnosed the problem immediately.
Nana, are there red numbers at the bottom? Broaddrick remembers him asking. When Broaddrick said yes, he explained this meant that the message was over the maximum 140 characters then allowed by Twitter. Broaddrick didnt tell Ridge what she was trying to tweet when he gave her the quick lesson. After staring at the pared-down message on her screen for more than 30 minutes, Broaddrick finally hit send, saying what she had been trying to say for over a month:
Juanita Broaddrick @atensnut I was 35 years old when Bill Clinton, Ark. Attorney General raped me and Hillary tried to silence me. I am now 73....it never goes away.
This wasnt the first time Broaddrick had made this claim. In February 1999, she appeared on NBCs Dateline, in an extensive and emotional interview with Lisa Myers. Broaddrick described the alleged rape, which she said had taken place in a Little Rock hotel room, when she was a nursing-home operator and a volunteer in Bill Clintons campaign for governor. Clinton had relocated a scheduled lobby-coffee-shop meeting at the last minute, saying it was too noisy for the planned conversation about nursing-home reform. Despite appearing on national television, Broaddrick remained a relatively obscure figure in 1999 unlike Monica Lewinsky, whose story had come out the year before. Indeed, it had been Monica Lewinskys story that finally compelled Broaddrick to come forward.
NOW president Patricia Ireland issued a statement that called Broaddricks account compelling and asked Clintons defenders to refrain from smearing the accuser, but Ireland was one of very few high-profile liberals to show her any respect. Clinton aides like James Carville and Betsey Wright, and even as feminist icons like Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan, had already gone on the offensive against other women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexual harassment.
Broaddricks tweet and public support for Donald Trump brought her story back into the spotlight, and the ongoing reckoning over sexual abuse and harassment has kept it there. Daily Intelligencer talked to Broaddrick in a series of interviews about feminism, the Clintons, the #MeToo movement, Roy Moore, and why she decided to go to the second presidential debate as a guest of Donald Trump.
The following transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity and length. Additional parts of the interview, including Broaddricks account of her sexual assault, can be heard here.
Did any feminists or feminist organizations reach out to you or support you at the time?
No. Not one. I was so disappointed, you know. And then I just, I just tried to forget it. You know, you sit there and you think day after day, week after week, month after month. Why dont they support me. Why dont they at least pick up the phone and call and ask to talk to me.
What is your relationship with feminism? Did you ever consider yourself a feminist?
I guess in a way I did from being a womens-majority-stockholder business. But I didnt feel like a true feminist. I went along with how I was raised, that women should be in their places, and its taken me a while to get over that.
I do have strong feelings about the feminists and them not coming to me when my story aired. Not one feminist group ever contacted me to judge my story for themselves. They ignored me.They wanted nothing to do with me, nothing. And I know why.
Back then they had the cooperation of the Clinton White House and did not want to endanger any of their prospective legislation that they wanted to put through.
You once said to me, Feminists failed me, but they didnt fail a lot of other women because they got a lot of legislation passed.
Yeah. And you know I hope that what they did for womens rights brought us women to a better existence I just hate that they threw me and the other victims of Bill Clinton under the bus to do it. I used to think that you can sacrifice a few for the many. But you know, you and I have talked over the past few days and Ive come to another realization. I wonder how many of the women and children and men would not have been raped or sexually assaulted over the last two decades if these womens groups had just done the right thing and denounced Bill Clinton. Instead, it brought us to this society of accepting Bill Clintons transgressions. Thats wrong. How many less victims would there be had he been removed from office for what he did?
Your story resurfaced during the 2016 primary when you responded to Hillary Clintons statement that women had the right to be heard.
Yes. Well, Hillary came out with this statement and it was on the news and she said every victim has the right to be heard and to be believed and I could not believe that that was coming out of her mouth.
So I had been on Twitter a couple of years before, but I really didnt know how to use it, so I never used it. I think I tweeted something one time about well Im on my porch having coffee. [Laughs] And thats really interesting.
Right. Everybody wants to hear that.
I sat down and I thought, Ive got to answer this. And thats when I sent out the tweet that, you know, went viral about being raped by Bill Clinton. And I had to have the help of my grandson because I kept getting too many words in it and Twitter wouldnt allow it to go through. So he walked me through what to do even though he did not know what I was tweeting. And so I tweeted, you ready? I was 35 years old when Bill Clinton, Ark. Attorney General raped me and Hillary tried to silence me. I am now 73 .it never goes away.
I punched tweet and all hell broke loose. I mean, this is a story thats been out there for decades, but I guess I didnt realize the power of Twitter. My phone was ringing off the wall, with reporters wanting interviews and my son called me and said, What have you done?
Then Hillary Clinton removed the statement from her website that said women have the right to be believed.
Yeah, after my tweet. I just didnt realize the power in the words that you put on Twitter. I wish Twitter had been around in 1999 right when I did the Dateline interview.
I became a Trump supporter late in the campaign. And when people ask, Why did you support a man such as Trump, I say, Donald Trump gave Bill Clintons victims a voice that we had been denied for two decades. And they say, Well, why did you go to that debate? Well, I had been told for two decades to go back in the woodwork, I didnt matter. So here was my opportunity to be heard in a huge public forum. I just couldnt have imagined that happening to me after all these years. And people say, Do you feel used by the campaign? I dont know what I feel. I just feel glad that I had that opportunity to bring this to view again. You know, if we were used, I dont care. Whatever his reasons were when he asked us to the second debate, I thought I would finally be able to tell my story to millions of people who had never heard it before. Thats why I went.
In other words, he may have done it for political reasons. He may not care. But he still provided an opportunity for you to tell a story that youd been unable to tell for all these years. Right. I thought it was important not only because of Hillary running but because who she would take to the White House with her.
And did telling your story there give you any relief?
Oh my goodness, yes. That was the best experience of my life. We had no idea that that press conference was going to take place. We were taken by Trumps hotel on the way to the debate and told he wanted to meet us. We went up to a large room with all kinds of refreshments and we waited for him to come. He came in and graciously talked to us and told us how sorry he was for what wed been through. And then all of a sudden we were ushered into this room next to the large room and heres this long table. And we were told where to sit, Kathleen and Paula and Kathy Shelton and I. We all looked at each other and we followed their orders because we didnt know what we were doing in there. And so in a few minutes, Mr. Trump came in again. I heard him say, You can let them in. We had no idea what he was talking about. Then all of a sudden the doors open and here come all these cameras and reporters. And we all looked as shocked as those reporters, who were looking back at us. And then all of a sudden Mr. Trump says, These ladies perhaps have something they would like to say. We had no idea I am thinking that somebody was supposed to tell us and forgot or they were possibly afraid that we wouldnt do it.
So, it was all off the cuff for you?
Yep. But Im happy I did it. Id do it all over again.
Some people who are sympathetic to your story and believe you are still surprised and disturbed that you supported Trump because he himself has been accused of rape and sexual assault. Whats your response to that?
I know that people came forward after the second debate. And they came out again recently. I know nothing about these cases. The only one I know about is my own rape. But they have the right to be heard.
What if you had learned Trump had raped someone. Or what if someone who sounded as credible as you do had accused him of rape? Would that have changed anything? I would not have supported him if I had heard anybody had come forward with what I came forward with and what I experienced.
Some people who supported Hillary Clinton in the primary and general of course are criticizing Bill Clinton for the first time. Senator Gillibrand, and writers like Matt Yglesias, for example, now say that Bill Clinton should have resigned over Monica Lewinsky. Why do you think that is? Their bravery comes up now, when the Clintons have lost their power.
They mention Lewinsky but not you. Why do you think that is?
Its like they are tiptoeing into the abyss and cant quite reach me yet. Hopefully they will in time. Maybe they still dont believe it happened or maybe its just too hard to imagine. That is their right. But I do still feel vindicated by those who have admitted they were wrong so many years ago about me.
Michelle Goldberg, for example, is another journalist who supported Hillary Clinton but has mentioned your case. She wrote an op-ed at the New York Times called I Believe Juanita. What do you think caused someone like Goldberg to write this?
Some of those that did come forward did surprise me. Its hard to know why. Id like to think that those people truly believe me. But after you go through decades of being harassed and ridiculed you have to wonder where theyre coming from now and what their motive is. It does please me to hear them say that. But I want people to be sincere. I dont want them to come forward and say I believe her because this is what my political party wants me to do. I want them to say it because they truly feel and they know that its the right thing to do. If she was sincere, I commend her for her comments.
Lots of media on the right asked you to comment on Roy Moore ahead of the Alabama Senate race in December. What are your thoughts on him and the allegations against him? You know, I think that all of those victims have the right to be heard. But I also believe they should have to go through all of the intense scrutiny that I had to go through. Thats only fair.
But do you think the intense scrutiny of you was fair?
They were unfair but not because of the scrutiny. After I was scrutinized to the point that I was, they didnt believe that it was true. That was my problem with the media. You know, with Roy Moore, I give the benefit of the doubt to a victim because I am one. I honestly think history will prove that the Roy Moore allegations brought out how the Democrats will protect the Democrats and Republicans will protect the Republicans. And thats just not the way that it should be. You shouldnt care whether its a Democrat or Republican if someone has a valid allegation. And I think that this just came to a head when Chris Hayes tweeted what he did. That started a new awakening.
Speaking of a new awakening, what are your thoughts on #MeToo?
Its positive and such an interesting story, how it evolved ten years ago with one little girl wanting to tell someone what was happening to her. After all the revelations of Weinstein, Alyssa Milano revived it and because of her star status it caught on. Its a very good thing. Women and girls, men and boys who had been silent for so long could, in one instant, come forward. The movement of course could not answer to each individual of the thousands who came forward but it brought awareness.
As you know, Time magazine made the Person of the Year the silence-breakers from the #MeToo movement. Time had asked you before they made their selection for a comment on the movement. I was happy to do that. I thought those women were brave. When I found out they had been chosen as Times Person of the Year, I was happy and looked for my comments.
But they werent there. Do want to share the comment that Time did not include?
Its a different time now. Women arent taking it anymore. For decades we were told men will be men, just deal with it. Now these allegations are being brought to a level playing field and victims deserve the respect to be heard. It is a revolution that we must be careful not to allow the pendulum to swing to any extreme until the investigative process is completed.
Youve expressed hurt and anger about feminist groups ignoring your story. Going forward, is there anything they could do to bridge the divide you feel? Is there anything youd want them to say?
Say they were wrong. Say they should not have had such a close liaison with the Clintons, and that they should have done the right thing.
What do you think the important lessons from your story are?
What I think that we can learn from all of this is that all people regardless of sex, regardless of anything, have the right to say no and expect to be treated accordingly. But when nos not taken for an answer, then victims must be heard loud and clear.
Some people who find your story credible find it hard to understand why you hold Hillary Clinton responsible in any way. [Other than feeling] like Hillary made a threatening statement to you in 1978 at an event for Bill, what else do you hold against [her] in terms of enabling?
After the in person threat to me in 1978, I took special note of how Hillary treated other victims of her husband in the years that followed. She referred to victims of her husband and male colleagues as whiny women and waged an all-out war on any woman who came forward or were rumored to have allegations not favorable to her familys political goals. This is why I remained silent until I was outed by the Paula Jones lawsuit.
Were you surprised by the recent revelations that Hillary Clinton had not fired an adviser [Burns Strider]who had been accused of sexual harassment, even though her own campaign manager recommended he be fired?
Hillary Clintons actions of protecting her male staffer [Burns Strider] accused of sexually harassing a young female staffer did not surprise me. Hillarys relationship with this man as a faith adviser was important to her personally. Therefore, the young womans degrading assaults took a back seat to Hillarys own needs. Just because Hillary is a woman does not automatically translate her championing other women, especially if it does not fit her agenda.
I truly wonder how all the feminists will spin their continuing support of Hillary Clinton when they discover she sold us all down the river for her own personal and political aspirations.
And what else do you want us to know about you and your thinking?
You know, somebody asked me recently what am I proud of. And if I should go to my grave right this minute, what would I regret the most. Im proud of my son. And my grandson. And the one thing Im afraid of is that I will go to my grave without forgiving Bill Clinton. Its just something that I cant do. My pastor has asked if we need to pray about this, if there is something we need to do to give me peace. And I, just, Im not there.
>>Feminists failed me, but they didnt fail a lot of other women because they got a lot of legislation passed.
Take one for the team. Marx is who they play for, not women or any sisterhood
J., just go away.
Has Juanita been mentioned at all in the FNC series “Scandalous”? They seem to be cutting Bill and Hillary slack whenever they can.
I saw the 1999 interview and I believe her, but, I’m trying to remember exactly why she went to that hotel room with Bill Clinton.
it is mentioned in this interview as well aa the Dateline 1999 one.
explain what you wrote
Wasn’t the state going to give an award or a grant to her facility?
Its actually how the House got enough votes to impeach Clinton: the jane doe #5 story was in the non public part of the star report and the majority whip Tom Delay made the 50+ moderate republicans that said they were not going to impeach read it 2 days before the vote. They all changed their vote to impeach except 1. Clinton impeached in the house.
There is self-blame and confusion in her mind between forgiveness and justice. Had she not already forgiven in terms of understanding all the dynamics of the situation as she does, she would have been a lot more disruptive and shrill than she has been. Instead, she has always acted like a lady, has merely told the facts as she remembers them, and her story has not changed in the decades since she first told it.
Juanita has every justification for feeling hurt and bewildered that her rapist continues to be idolized by Democrat and media hypocrites. That in itself is not a lack of forgiveness of the rapist. It is however a disappointed feeling of justice denied, by the system and the ideological loudmouths who should have been defending her all these years. Only God can give her peace, because this has been a cross to bear. That does not excuse the justice system, the feminists or the media.
She was the operator of a nursing home chain in Arkansas, and he as governor was holding out an offer of improving regulations that would have affected her constituents and her business. As she has explained over and over, including in this article, she had been a campaign volunteer for him, and at the time of the meeting, he complained that the public area of the hotel was too noisy, and suggested they meet in his room.
What is not in this article, but had been explained in many other accounts, Clinton made sure the women he cornered were accompanied by his state troopers to his meeting places, thus believing they would be "chaperoned" by the Governor's guards. But the troopers had been trained by Clinton to leave him alone with his victims -- this was brought out in many accounts by several of his victims.
Before the fact, few honest women would believe that these men charged with upholding the law would conspire to break it so that an American government official could rape an American citizen with impugnity.
we can thank Judge Moore for (unintentionally) putting rapist WJC back in the spotlight again. I’m pretty sure the only reason the Dems jumped on the “me too” bandwagon was to steal a Senate seat. Ironically they will end up losing a lot more given the track record of their team. Stay tuned.
If you really are so hung up on what people do behind closed doors, how about focus on something current, like the 219+ payouts for predatory members of congress that have not been disclosed? That's fresh, it is still news, and these people are most likely still in office.
Dont blame the victim.
Thanks. I’d forgotten about the state troopers angle with her though I remember it with Paula Jones.
So, dont read articles about Juanita. Some of us have the capacity to recognize the significance of what happened to her.
If you think the Clintons are somehow out of our hair, youre delusional. We wont be rid of them until theyre both in prison where they belong.
When the initial story mentioning “Paula” was published, it was alleged that after the encounter with Bill Clinton she said she wanted to be his girlfriend. That had to effect of making her version seem untrustworthy. It only came out later that she never said anything like that—one of the troopers made it up.
Thats got to be the craziest, dumbest, disrespectful out of touch posts on fb i have read in a long time... You must have supported Romney?
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