Hillary Clinton's 'difficult relationship with the truth' dogs her campaign
Democratic presidential candidate says she has 'always, always' tried to tell the truth
In an interview with CBS's Scott Pelleyabout six months ago, Hillary Clinton was asked point blank if she has always told the truth.
She wouldn't say definitively yes, wouldn't say definitively no, just that shedoesn't "believe" she's ever lied, doesn't "believe" she ever will and thatwhen itcomes to being honest, she has"alwaystried" to "always, always."
It certainly wasn't the answer to satisfy the concerns of those suspicious American voters who automatically link her to various past and current scandals and continue to have nagging doubts, or at least questions, about her honesty.
And theirony, of course, is that it was thetype of equivocation or "wiggle room," as Pelley suggested that has helped the Democratic presidential candidateforge a reputation throughout herpublic life thatshe's not one to be trusted.
She has always had, at least since her Arkansas years, a "difficult relationship with the truth," Carl Bernstein wrote in his biographyA Woman In Charge. Her autobiography Living History isanexample of "how she has often chosen to obfuscate, omit, and avoid," he wrote.
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And with little more than two months left before the election, she's facing those very same accusations, this time concerningher use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.
Suffered a concussion
Despite the FBI clearing Clinton of any criminal wrongdoing, it's a controversy that continues to dog her. And thereleaseFriday of an FBI report on Clinton's interview with investigators, in which she said shecould not recall getting any briefings on how to handle classified information because she had suffered a concussion,only serves to remind voters of the scandal.
It may also explain whyshe hasn't had a news conference in 275 days and few one-on-one interviews.
Her interview with Fox News Sunday earlier this month was pounded on by fact-checkers, who slammed her comments regarding her email scandal. For example, she told Chris Wallace that FBI director James Comey corroborated that she had been truthful with the American public.
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In fact, Comeyhad only said the FBIhad no basis to conclude she lied to the agency. Asked in a congressional hearing whether she had lied to the public, he said: "That's a question I'm not qualified to answer."
She's also been criticizedforsaying she handed all work-related emailsover to the State Department.That waslater contradicted by the FBI director, who said, in fact, severalthousand were not turned over.
Yet there's an addedtwist some of those releasedemailsshow Clinton Foundation donors met with Clinton when she was secretary of state, raising questions about whether those individuals were granted special access because of their donations or any kind of quid pro quo relationship.
It all adds up to a narrative that Clinton has been strugglingto shake off.
She and herdefenders are quick to dismiss theaccusations. Honest mistakes may have been made, they say, but there was no criminal intent,no smoking gun, no evidence that any special favours were handed out and, ultimately, no charges have been laid.
Indeed, when it comes to trustworthiness, the fact-checking website PolitiFact reveals that in comparing the "accuracy record" of Clinton and Trump, who repeatedly refers to his opponent as "crooked Hillary," Clinton fares much better.
'I would even say secretive'
"I see alot of polling that shows that people say thatClinton is dishonest," saidAngie Drobnic Holan,PolitiFact editor."I think to be more precise, what members of thepublic are picking up on is that she's guarded and I would even say secretive."
Like manypeople, says JeffGerth, former New York Times reporter andco-author ofHer Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of HillaryRodhamClinton, she's reluctant to admit she's made a mistake. But she'salso loathto correct inaccurate information that she or her subordinates have put out.
"I don't think it's unfair to raise questions about her issues or challenges with trustworthiness and forthrightness, which is clearly something that has been an albatross for her in her current campaign and has been an issue for her for sometime," Gerth said.
It was the lateNew York Times columnistWilliam Safire, in his controversial yet often cited1996 column Blizzard of Lies, who proclaimed the then first ladywas a "congenital liar."
He came to that conclusion based on a series of scandals:
- Clinton's cattle futures trades, which netted her a 10,000 per cent profit.
- Accusationsshe ordered the firing ofthe White House travel staffto put in people with ties to her and her husband (Travelgate).
- The disappearance and thenunexpecteddiscovery ofcopies of records from her law firm related to her role in afailedsavings and loan venture (part of theWhitewater scandal).
Sexist element
Gerth noted that while she was never charged with a crime in any of the scandals, there were a numberof cases where the independent counsel investigatingfound she had made factually incorrect and false statements.
"It's not that there's nothing there, it'salso not thehuge hurricane her criticsare sometimeswilling to paint."
McGill history professorGil Troy, author ofHillary Rodham Clinton: Polarizing First Lady, said he does believe there is a sexist element when it comes to criticizing Clinton for her dishonesty.He said he believes she's held to a higher standard thanher husband and Trump, whose liesmay be toleratedas a kind of adolescent boy roguishness.
"The wholeconversationwould be different if she didn'tlie," he said. "But she also lies. And she liesabouther lies."
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