Report: Clinton Protected Sexual Harasser on 2008 Campaign

Sources say she refused to fire her faith adviser
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 26, 2018 3:56 PM CST
Report: Clinton Refused to Fire Adviser Accused of Harassment
Burns Strider, a senior adviser to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign, speaks during a presidential forum during the Mississippi Economic Council's annual "Hobnob Mississippi," in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016.   (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Hillary Clinton refused to fire a senior adviser on her 2008 presidential campaign who was accused of repeatedly sexually harassing a female staffer who shared an office with him, reports the New York Times, which spoke to former campaign officials and Clinton associates. Burns Strider, co-founder of the American Values Network and Clinton's faith adviser on her 2008 campaign, sent Clinton a scripture reading every morning. He also rubbed a 30-year-old staffer's shoulders, kissed her forehead, and sent her suggestive emails, sources say. Sources say the staffer complained to campaign manager Patti Doyle about the behavior, and Doyle recommended Clinton fire the married Strider.

But sources say Clinton didn't want to get rid of Strider, instead having him go to counseling and docking him a few weeks of pay. The staffer was moved to a new job within the campaign. She signed a nondisclosure agreement and isn't commenting. "The campaign had a process to address complaints of misconduct or harassment. When matters arose, they were reviewed in accordance with these policies, and appropriate action was taken," reads a statement made by a law firm on behalf of Clinton. Strider was later hired to lead Correct the Record, a group supporting Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. Sources say he was fired from that role after a few months for harassing a female aide. Read the full story here. (More Hillary Clinton stories.)

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