Gillibrand responds to ex-Clinton aide calling her a hypocrite: ‘Ridiculous’

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) on Friday dismissed as “ridiculous” backlash over her criticism of former President Clinton, saying “we need to have the highest standards for elected leaders.”

A former aide for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton charged earlier this week that Gillibrand is a “hypocrite” for saying Bill Clinton should have resigned as president following the 1998 revelation of his relationship with an intern.

“Over 20 yrs you took the Clintons’ endorsements, money, and seat. Hypocrite,” Philippe Reines wrote on Twitter. Reines is a former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton.

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“Ridiculous, and he’s wrong,” Gillibrand said on MSNBC. “Bill Clinton did very important things for this country. But my point is about this conversation we are having today, and that we need to have the highest standards for elected leaders, and we have to change what’s happening throughout society, and we have to allow people to tell their stories.”

The senator’s Thursday comments to The New York Times about Bill Clinton followed allegations against Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), who was recently revealed in a 2006 photo groping a female news host while she was sleeping.

“That is what this is all about, and that is why the ‘me too’ campaign is as powerful as it is,” added Gillibrand, referring to the movement of women speaking out against sexual harassment and assault amid a myriad of recent accusations within Congress and the film industry.