2014 news: Interview opens Clinton book tour

Tuesday 10 June 2014

Interview opens Clinton book tour

Clinton defends her tenure at State Department, pushes back on Benghazi critics

On the subject of Monica Lewinsky, Clinton says she has "moved on"

Clinton says her family was broke when they left the White House in 2001

She will decide on presidential run "when it feels right for me to decide"

(CNN) -- Hillary Clinton kicked off her "Hard Choices" book tour on Monday by doing what most high-profile politicians considering a presidential run do: Sit down for a sweeping interview to talk about well known issues -- tenure, past achievements, presidential aspirations -- and some issues that haven't been addressed in years.

Clinton honed what is likely to be her book tour message in the interview with ABC, one of a thoughtful diplomat who is prepared to re-introduce herself to voters, especially women.

"When you're in the spotlight as a woman, you know you're being judged constantly," Clinton said about sexism. "I mean it is just never ending. ... Your natural tendency is how do you bring people together so that you can better communicate. I'm done with that, I'm just done."

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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pictured in October 2012, has become one of the most powerful people in Washington. Here's a look at her life and career through the years.

Before she married Bill Clinton, she was Hillary Rodham. Here, Rodham talks about student protests in 1969, which she supported in her commencement speech at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Rodham, center, a lawyer for the Rodino Committee, and John Doar, left, chief counsel for the committee, bring impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon in the Judiciary Committee hearing room at the U.S. Capitol in 1974.

Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton helps first lady Rosalynn Carter on a campaign swing through Arkansas in June 1979. Also seen in the photo is Hillary Clinton, center background.

Bill Clinton embraces his wife shortly after a stage light fell near her on January 26, 1992. They talk to Don Hewitt, producer of the CBS show "60 Minutes."

With Hillary, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton waves to the crowd at his victory party after winning the Illinois primary on March 17, 1992.

Al Gore, Tipper Gore, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton wave to supporters at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, after they gave speeches on family values on August 23, 1992.

Clinton gestures at a campaign rally November 3, 1992, in Denver. After taking office, President Clinton chose his wife to head a special commission on health care reform, the most significant public policy initiative of his first year in office.

Bill and Hillary Clinton have a laugh together on Capitol Hill in 1993.

Clinton pours herself a cup of tea in 1993 while testifying to the Senate Education and Labor Committee about health care reform.

Clinton speaks at George Washington University on September 10, 1993, in Washington during her husband's first term.

Clinton waves to the media on January 26, 1996, as she arrives at federal court in Washington for an appearance before a grand jury. The first lady was subpoenaed to testify as a witness in the investigation of the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas.

Hillary Clinton looks on as President Clinton discusses the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 26, 1998.

Hillary and Bill Clinton arrive at Foundry United Methodist Church on August 16, 1998, in Washington. He became the first sitting president to testify before a grand jury when he testified via satellite about the Lewinsky matter.

Clinton shakes hands during a St. Patrick's Day parade in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens, New York, on March 5, 2000.

Clinton waves to the crowd as she arrives on the stage at the Democratic National Convention on August 14, 2000, in Los Angeles.

Clinton campaigns for a Senate seat October 25, 2000, at Grand Central Station in New York.

Hillary Clinton is sworn in as a senator of New York in a re-enactment ceremony with, from left, President Clinton, nephew Tyler, daughter Chelsea, brother Hugh Rodham, mother Dorothy Rodham and Vice President Al Gore on January 3, 2001, in Washington.

Andrew Cuomo, Eliot Spitzer and Clinton celebrate with a crowd of Democratic supporters after their wins in various races November 7, 2006, in New York.

Clinton speaks during a post-primary rally on January 8, 2007, at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire.

The Clintons pay a visit to the 92nd annual Hopkinton State Fair in Contoocook, New Hampshire, on September 2, 2007.

Clinton speaks at a campaign rally September 2, 2007, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She was running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Clinton addresses a question during a debate with other Democratic presidential candidate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, on September 26, 2007. Also pictured are U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, left, and former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska.

Felipe Bravo, left, and Christian Caraballo are covered with Hillary Clinton stickers in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, on January 8, 2008.

Clinton campaigns in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with her daughter, Chelsea, on January 1, 2008, two days ahead of the January 3 state caucus.

Clinton waves as she speaks to supporters at the National Building Museum on June 7, 2008, in Washington. After pulling out of the presidential race, Clinton thanked her supporters and urged them to back Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.

Obama and Clinton talk on the plane on their way to a Unity Rally in Unity, New Hampshire, on June 27, 2008.

Obama watches Clinton address the Democratic National Convention on August 26, 2008. The two endured a long, heated contest for the 2008 nomination.

Sen. Charles Schumer, left, looks toward Secretary of State designate Clinton as Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. John Kerry, center, looks on during nomination hearings January 13, 2009, on Capitol Hill.

Clinton testifies during her confirmation hearing for secretary of state on January 13, 2009, in Washington.

Clinton, as secretary of state, dances with a local choir while visiting the Victoria Mxenge Housing Project in Philippi, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa, on August 8, 2009.

Clinton looks through binoculars toward North Korea during a visit to an observation post July 21, 2010, at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas.

Clinton walks up the steps to her aircraft as she leaves a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on July 23, 2010, in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Hillary and Bill Clinton pose on the day of their daughter's wedding to Marc Mezvinsky on July 31, 2010, in Rhinebeck, New York.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Clinton observe a moment of silence before a NATO meeting November 19, 2010, in Lisbon, Portugal.

Clinton listens as Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu makes a brief statement November 29, 2010, before a bilateral meeting at the State Department in Washington.

Clinton shakes hands with a child during an unannounced walk through Tahrir Square in Cairo on March 16, 2011.

Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Clinton and members of Obama's national security team receive an update on the Osama bin Laden mission May 1, 2011, in the Situation Room of the White House.

Clinton checks her personal digital assistant prior to departing Malta on October 18, 2011.

Clinton speaks as Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai listens during a news conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 7, 2012.

Clinton arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel on July 15, 2012.

Clinton looks on as Obama makes a statement in response to the attack at the U.S. Consulate in Libya on September 12, 2012.

Clinton applauds Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a ceremony where Suu Kyi was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal on September 19, 2012.

Bill Clinton kisses his wife after introducing her at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting on September 24, 2012, in New York City.

Clinton shakes hands with Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf on September 24, 2012, in New York.

Clinton stands during a news conference following meetings at the prime minister's office in Pristina, Kosovo, on October 31, 2012. Clinton said that Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence, fiercely opposed by Serbia, was "not up for discussion."

Clinton chats with Suu Kyi before Obama speaks at the University of Yangon in Yangon, Myanmar, on November 19, 2012.

Obama looks at Clinton before the start of a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, far right, during the East Asian Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 20, 2012.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Clinton at the prime minister's office November 20, 2012, in Jerusalem.

Clinton receives a sports jersey and football helmet from Deputy Secretary Tom Nides, center, after returning to work on January 7, 2013, following a fall where she hit her head and doctors later detected a blood clot. The number 112 represented the number of countries that she had visited as secretary of state.

Clinton and her husband arrive for the inauguration for Obama's second term on January 21, 2013.

Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on January 23, 2013. Lawmakers questioned Clinton about the security failures during the Benghazi, Libya, attacks that led to the death of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

From left, first lady Michelle Obama stands with former first ladies Laura Bush, Clinton, Barbara Bush and Rosalynn Carter at the opening ceremony of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas on April 25, 2013.

From left, Clinton, former first lady Laura Bush and former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush listen to speakers during the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in Soweto, South Africa, on December 10.

Clinton ducks after a woman threw a shoe at her while she was delivering remarks at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries conference in Las Vegas on April 10.

Clinton tours the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York with President Barack Obama, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, first lady Michelle Obama and former President Clinton on May 15.

Hillary Clinton talks with ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer on Thursday, June 5, for her first television interview in conjunction with the release of her new book.

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight

Photos: Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight

Hillary Clinton's career in the spotlight

$Photos: Clinton\'s political career$ Photos: Clinton's political career

But as Clinton begins to hone her message, Republicans have seized on how the former first lady described the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack and the reportedly $5 million she has made on the speaking circuit since leaving the State Department.

Clintons were broke after the presidency

The interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer -- the first of her tour -- comes just as Clinton's new book, "Hard Choices," about her years as Barack Obama's first secretary of state, hits bookstores on Tuesday. It's the latest look at her storied career in the global spotlight as first lady, U.S. senator, presidential candidate and top diplomat.

For the first time in years, Clinton was asked during a television interview about Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern who had an affair with her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Lewinsky has resurfaced in the last month because of a Vanity Fair essay where she reflects on her infamy and her life after the Clinton affair.

"She is perfectly free to do that," Clinton said about Lewinsky's essay. "She is, in my view, an American who gets to express herself however she chooses. But that is not something I spend a lot of time thinking about."

Clinton added that she has "moved on" and if she had the chance to talk to Lewinsky she would "wish her well."

"I hope that she is able to think about her future and construct a life that she finds meaning and satisfaction in," Clinton concluded.

Much of the interview focused on Clinton's tenure at State, including her relations with Russia, sanctions imposed on Iran and the 2012 terrorist attack that killed four Americans in Benghazi.

Clinton, as she has done before, portrayed herself as someone who moved the ball forward on diplomatic issues, not someone who fixed everything. On Iran, she said the United States is in a "better [position] than what we inherited," acknowledging that prospects of a deal were long, and later added that no secretary of state can "eliminate every threat, every danger."

"Lets talk about what was accomplished and then talk about the continuing threats," Clinton said when pressed about her State Department record.

On Benghazi, Republicans contend that the attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and four Americans illustrates Obama administration foreign policy failures. Democrats say ongoing Republican-led scrutiny is political and designed to undercut any potential Clinton candidacy.

"I view this as really apart from -- even a diversion from -- the hard work that the Congress should be doing about the problems facing our country and the world," Clinton said, noting that the United States should be "in the majors" on world affairs.

Clinton has taken responsibility for the attack in the past and she did so again in the interview. But the former secretary of state also defended herself by saying she "was not making security decisions" for the Benghazi compound.

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"Well, I certainly would give anything on earth if this had not happened," she said. "And I certainly would wish that we had made some of the changes that came to our attention to make as a result of the investigation. But I also am clear in my own mind that we had a system and that system, of course, ended with me."

Clinton also argued that while security in Benghazi was an issue, the security issues at the compound were "maybe in the top upper 10" of threats and that "there were places where we had much more concern."

In possibly the most eyebrow raising comment of the interview, Clinton told Sawyer that her family was "dead broke" and in debt when they left the White House more than a dozen years ago. Clinton made the comments in defense of the hefty speaking fees she commands since stepping down as secretary of state last year.

Clinton later added, her family had "no money" at that time and "struggled to piece together the resources" for mortgages and her daughter Chelsea's college education.

"You know, it was not easy," she said.

The Clintons departed the White House in debt due to enormous legal fees. By the end of 2000, their debt totaled somewhere between $2.28 million to $10.6 million. But former presidents and first ladies have the ability to make a lot of money, and the Clintons were no exception and have done so. Their assets grew quickly.

Bill Clinton made more than $9.2 million in speaking fees in 2001 and more than $9.5 million in 2002. They paid off their legal fees by 2004. A CNN analysis of the family's financial records in early 2013 showed that Bill Clinton had earned $106 million from paid speeches since leaving the presidency behind. In 2012 alone, he earned $17 million in fees.

Although she regularly speaks for free at certain events, Mother Jones reported earlier this year that Clinton made roughly $5 million on the speaking circuit since stepping down as America's top diplomat. Clinton did not dispute the figure when Sawyer asked about it.

Though not as profitable as her husband -- who has made as much as $750,000 in one speech -- Hillary Clinton reportedly commands $200,000 per speech. The two also have received hefty advances for their books.

Hillary Clinton said the former first family eventually turned around their finances, noting that her husband has "worked really hard and it has been amazing to me."

She noted that they had to pay off debts, get their houses arranged and "take care of family members."

American Rising, the pro-Republican opposition research shop that, along with the Republican National Committee, takes the lead in criticizing Clinton, was quick to ping her over her comments to ABC, saying they "reveal someone who is extremely out of touch with financial reality facing Americans."

On its website, America Rising said the two homes the Clintons purchased in Chappaqua, New York, and Washington after leaving the White House cost around $4.5 million combined.

Clinton's memoir and subsequent book tour have garnered a great deal of attention, largely because the former first lady is considering a presidential run in 2016.

"I am going to decide when it feels right for me to decide," Clinton said, adding that it is "probably likely" that she won't announce until next year.

A world of pro-Clinton groups have sprung around the prospect that she will run for president. A handful of super PACs, many headed by longtime Clinton aides, have started to urge the former senator to run.

What does Clinton think about them? "I am so appreciate of everyone who is encouraging me, I am grateful that they have that confidence in me, but this is a really personal decision," she said.

Clinton also entertained the idea that she may not run, citing the top reasons that she "really" likes her life.

"I like what I am doing," she said.

Clinton's book tour continues on Tuesday, when she sits down for a live interview with ABC, a radio interview with NPR, attends her first book signing in New York and headlines a conference at night in Chicago.

CNN Political Research Director Robert Yoon contributed to this report.

2014 news

Tuesday 10 June 2014

Interview opens Clinton book tour

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