# Old tape Hillary Clinton interview tape emerges from 1974. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 17, 2014, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966 "2014-06-17T05:55:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/1 "2014-06-17T05:55:01Z")
It sounds like a fairly common interview for a lawyer proudly discussing a case she had won. I’ve always heard that Hillary could have been one heck of a good trial lawyer. But she and Bill went into politics. Hillary gave up trial work, but still worked at the Rose Law firm throughout the 1980’s. I hope this doesn’t hurt her politically. Hillary has claimed in this past that this case bothered her. But, her casual, joking tone in this interview makes it clear she felt much differently as a 27 year old lawyer. The interview is quite interesting. I’d forgotten how thick her accent used to be. I remember her looking and sounding like this during Bill’s first term as governor. She was still in her Gloria Steinem, I’m Hillary Rodham! phase. No make up, thick glasses, very plain clothes. All traces of femininity gone. She looked like a typical college girl when she first started college. [photo1](http://img.spokeo.com/public/900-600/hillary_rodham_clinton_2003_03_21.jpg) [… photo2](http://timelifeblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/11_116829142.jpg?h=372&w=563) Her liberal Ivy league college studies changed her, I’ve been a Clinton watcher most of my adult life. Fascinating couple. > **[Young Hillary Clinton heard laughing while discussing her defense of an...](https://www.nydailynews.com/2014/06/16/young-hillary-clinton-heard-laughing-while-discussing-her-defense-of-an-accused-child-rapist-in-newly-discovered-audio-tapes/)** > > A young Hillary Clinton callously rejoiced at getting an accused child rapist off the hook even though the then-lawyer suspected the man was guilty, newly unearthed audio recordings of the youthful… > [@](#): > > Clinton, then a 27-year-old legal aid lawyer in Arkansas, is heard on the old recording, obtained and first reported on by the Washington Free Beacon, casually discussing how she was able to finagle a plea bargain for her client — an Arkansas man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl — because of a legal technicality. > > “This guy was accused of raping a 12-year-old. ‘Course he claimed that he didn’t, and all this stuff,” says a cavalier Clinton on the recording, referencing her client, Thomas Alfred Taylor, who was charged with the 1975 rape. > > “I had him take a polygraph, which he passed, which forever destroyed my faith in polygraphs,” a chuckling Clinton is heard saying — a seemingly obvious clue that she felt her client was guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/2 "2014-06-17T06:09:25Z")
She did a good job defending a criminal case 40 years ago. She did not such a good job in the interview. Implying her specific client was guilty was…less discreet…than I’d expect. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/3 "2014-06-17T07:11:12Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It sounds like a fairly common interview for a lawyer proudly discussing a case she had won. I’ve always heard that Hillary could have been one heck of a good trial lawyer. But she and Bill went into politics. Hillary gave up trial work, but still worked at the Rose Law firm throughout the 1980’s. > > I hope this doesn’t hurt her politically. Hillary has claimed in this past that this case bothered her. But, her casual, joking tone in this interview makes it clear she felt much differently as a 27 year old lawyer. > > The interview is quite interesting. I’d forgotten how thick her accent used to be. I remember her looking and sounding like this during Bill’s first term as governor. She was still in her Gloria Steinem, I’m Hillary Rodham! phase. No make up, thick glasses, very plain clothes. All traces of femininity gone. She looked like a typical college girl when she first started college. [photo1](http://img.spokeo.com/public/900-600/hillary_rodham_clinton_2003_03_21.jpg) [… photo2](http://timelifeblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/11_116829142.jpg?h=372&w=563) Her liberal Ivy league college studies changed her, > > I’ve been a Clinton watcher most of my adult life. Fascinating couple. > [Young Hillary Clinton heard laughing while discussing her defense of an accused child rapist in newly discovered audio tapes – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/young-hillary-clinton-heard-laughing-discussing-defense-accused-child-rapist-newly-discovered-audio-tapes-article-1.1832009) Implying that a client you defended was probably guilty, particularly after he was exonerated strikes me as being ethically very questionably and I suspect had this been reported to the ethics committee at the time she might have had some explaining to do. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/4 "2014-06-17T07:40:04Z")
The Daily Beast includes more background on the case and how this taped interview was found in the archives. The reporter who interviewed Clinton is still alive. He’s 84 years old now and hasn’t commented. [http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/16/why-was-hillary-clinton-laughing-about-helping-suspected-child-rapist.html](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/16/why-was-hillary-clinton-laughing-about-helping-suspected-child-rapist.html) > [@](#): > > Former Washington Post reporter Ruben Castaneda commented: “Strikes me as the kind of dark humor you hear between cops, defense attorneys, and journalists. And yes, chuckling about this to a reporter looks bad. Appears like she was laughing about how clever she was as a defense attorney.” > > “Except that this was an on-the-record interview with a reporter,” DePaulo pointed out. > > Henneberger commented: “Typical lawyer talk, but not so much lifelong defender of women and children talk.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/5 "2014-06-17T08:00:50Z")
The concern being shown here for her reputation is touching. “I just wanted to post a link to this forty year old interview in hopes that it won’t become an issue people talk about. I’d really hate for voters in 2016 to judge Hillary for the horrible, sexist, racist, and arguably illegal things she did in her misguided youth.” ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/6 "2014-06-17T08:08:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The concern being shown here for her reputation is touching. > > “I just wanted to post a link to this forty year old interview in hopes that it won’t become an issue people talk about. I’d really hate for voters in 2016 to judge Hillary for the horrible, sexist, racist, and arguably illegal things she did in her misguided youth.” Back when she was so ugly and unfeminine too. Prolly because of that lesbian college she went to. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/7 "2014-06-17T08:10:28Z")
If she claims _now_ that it was one of the hardest decisions of her life, and the record shows _then_ that she regarded the whole affair with some amusement, I think it does kind of speak to the current status of her character. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/8 "2014-06-17T08:57:37Z")
Shocker - a criminal defense attorney represented someone that was probably guilty and reflected upon her feelings about a polygraph result. The client did plead guilty to something - he took a plea bargain - which in most cases requires the defendant to state under oath “yes I did the crime I am pleading guilty too.” At no point did she disclose any of her communications with the defendant that were in anyway harmful to him. It is often possible to find humor in difficult situations. She was reminiscing about her experiences - not laughing at rape or something. Very touching to see not only the stuff Little Nemo points out, but also for the rights of child rapists. Of course - she should never be allowed to smile/laugh again - well cause Benghazi and all. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/9 "2014-06-17T09:06:07Z")
I’m not the first to raise the issue. Its being discussed on Facebook and other Social media. I’ve supported Bill and voted for him in every election. Including the governors race he lost in 80. He’d made mistakes in his first term. Pushing too ambitious of an agenda. Hillary’s instance on being called Hillary Rodham irritated a lot of older voters in 1980 and it was used against Bill in the campaign. She had a image make over before he ran again and won. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll support her this time. I did in 2008. A lot depends on who else runs. She won’t get away with claiming youthful mistakes. She was a 27 year old Ivy League grad and a practicing Attorney when this interview tape was made. She made a serious error and needs to address it. I think there’s plenty of time for this issue to be forgotten before the election. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The concern being shown here for her reputation is touching. > > “I just wanted to post a link to this forty year old interview in hopes that it won’t become an issue people talk about. I’d really hate for voters in 2016 to judge Hillary for the horrible, sexist, racist, and arguably illegal things she did in her misguided youth.” ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/10 "2014-06-17T09:07:14Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > Shocker - a criminal defense attorney represented someone that was probably guilty and reflected upon her feelings about a polygraph result. > > The client did plead guilty to something - he took a plea bargain - which in most cases requires the defendant to state under oath “yes I did the crime I am pleading guilty too.” > > At no point did she disclose any of her communications with the defendant that were in anyway harmful to him. > > It is often possible to find humor in difficult situations. She was reminiscing about her experiences - not laughing at rape or something. > > Very touching to see not only the stuff Little Nemo points out, but also for the rights of child rapists. > > Of course - she should never be allowed to smile/laugh again - well cause Benghazi and all. She mentions this case in her autobiography as well, it clearly effected her. But, that is not the point. The issue in this interview is that she (by stating that she distrusted polygraphs after that result) has given a very big hint as to what her client told her in his instructions, which is not proper. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/11 "2014-06-17T10:54:14Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m not the first to raise the issue. Its being discussed on Facebook and other Social media. Has it been on Fox News yet? 'Cause it’s not \*real \*concern trolling if you don’t get it from Fox News. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/12 "2014-06-17T13:04:40Z")
This story is [not new](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/hillary-clinton-child-rapist-tapes), even if the tape is – Hillary wrote about it in one of her books in 2003, and it came up again in the 2008 campaign. I tend it doubt it will have any political effect, considering its age and the relative insignificance of the ‘wrongness’ of Hillary’s actions. “40 years ago, Hillary may have violated the confidentiality of her child-molesting client” is not something that makes me see her any differently. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/13 "2014-06-17T13:17:45Z")
I just don’t see the problem here. Everyone deserves a defense. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/14 "2014-06-17T13:19:43Z")
I’ll change the last sentence in post #12 a bit: “40 years ago, with a flippant remark, Hillary may have violated the confidentiality of her child-molesting client” is not something that makes me see her any differently, nor is it something that I think has any political significance. I don’t think people will care too much. Hillary-haters will add this to their list of grievances, but I don’t think that matters. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/15 "2014-06-17T18:44:45Z")
I said that Hillary Clinton represents a real problem for conservatives. Because they used up all their good material against her back when she was first lady. They can’t just re-use it because nobody cares about old rumors. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/16 "2014-06-17T18:46:24Z")
On one hand, I don’t want Clinton to be the nominee because she’ll probably win. On the other, another Democrat might win and be worse than Clinton. I can live with Hillary Clinton. Not sure about O’Malley or Warren. Cuomo and Schweitzer I can probably live with too. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/17 "2014-06-17T23:13:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The interview is quite interesting. I’d forgotten how thick her accent used to be. I remember her looking and sounding like this during Bill’s first term as governor. She was still in her Gloria Steinem, I’m Hillary Rodham! phase. No make up, thick glasses, very plain clothes. All traces of femininity gone. She looked like a typical college girl when she first started college. [photo1](http://img.spokeo.com/public/900-600/hillary_rodham_clinton_2003_03_21.jpg) [URL=“[http://timelifeblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/11\_116829142.jpg?h=372&w=563](http://timelifeblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/11_116829142.jpg?h=372&w=563)”]… If you mean in the picture in that article, she was dressed as a woman professional at the time would dress. I don’t see that as “all traces of femininity gone”. I see that as a woman dressing for business and not a cocktail party. There is no way to tell from that picture if she is wearing make-up or not, but who the fuck cares about that? The men look all frumpy. Just how “masculine” is the guy to her right? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/18 "2014-06-17T23:27:19Z")
Missed the edit window… I don’t know if the OP was an adult back in the late 60s and early 70s, but women were just then breaking into the world of law, business and medicine-- pretty much all the professions. They didn’t want to be seen as sex objects in the workplace, and if the fashions back then were laughable by today’s standards, we can hardly blame Hillary for that. I’m not a huge fan of HRC, although I could easily see voting for her for prez since the GOP can’t get its act together enough to nominate a reasonable candidate. But this story is old, old news, and the bit about her accent and dress and lack of “femininity” are just way off base. This isn’t go play any part in the campaign process except for people who would never vote for here anyway. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/19 "2014-06-18T00:19:23Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > … > > I hope this doesn’t hurt her politically. > …[ Me too!! > [@aceplace57](#): > > … No make up, thick glasses, very plain clothes. All traces of femininity gone. She looked like a typical college girl when she first started college. [URL=“[http://img.spokeo.com/public/900-600/hillary\_rodham\_clinton\_2003\_03\_21.jpg](http://img.spokeo.com/public/900-600/hillary_rodham_clinton_2003_03_21.jpg)”]photo1]([Young Hillary Clinton heard laughing while discussing her defense of an accused child rapist in newly discovered audio tapes – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/young-hillary-clinton-heard-laughing-discussing-defense-accused-child-rapist-newly-discovered-audio-tapes-article-1.1832009)) [… photo2](http://timelifeblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/11_116829142.jpg?h=372&w=563) Her liberal Ivy league college studies changed her, > … > [URL=“[Young Hillary Clinton heard laughing while discussing her defense of an accused child rapist in newly discovered audio tapes – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/young-hillary-clinton-heard-laughing-discussing-defense-accused-child-rapist-newly-discovered-audio-tapes-article-1.1832009)”] Ugly fuckin’ Man-Creature! Way to go Obama! Vince Foster! Attica!! Benghazi! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966/20 "2014-06-18T01:39:44Z")
I’d hit it. What? The only reason I don’t want Clinton to run is that we’ll have x many more years of this level of idiocy and lunacy. Every singe day. Think about that. If Clinton serves until 2025 that’s 3120 more threads started by aceplace on 40-year-old scandals. Does anybody want to go through that? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-tape-hillary-clinton-interview-tape-emerges-from-1974/690966.md?page=2)