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On Friday, the New York Times reported that one of Hillary Clinton's top advisers during her 2008 presidential campaign was accused of repeated sexual harassment, but Clinton demanded he be kept on the campaign. Burns Strider, Clinton's former faith adviser, who notably sent her passages from scripture every morning, was accused of sexually pestering the 30-year-old woman who he shared his office with. From the Times:
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[The woman] told a campaign official that Mr. Strider had rubbed her shoulders inappropriately, kissed her on the forehead, and sent her a string of suggestive emails, including at least one during the night, according to three former campaign officials familiar with what took place.
Instead, the woman who made the complaint was given a new position, and Strider was ordered to go to counseling and lost several weeks of pay. In 2016, he was brought back on by the Clinton campaign to run the independent group, Correct the Record, but was ultimately fired for "workplace issues, including allegations that he harassed a young female aide."The news of Clinton's alleged indifference to sexual harassment illustrates her complicated role as a feminist leader. Accused sexual predator Harvey Weinstein was a longtime Clinton ally, and during the campaign, Trump claimed that Clinton had a history of attacking women who have accused her husband of sexual assault.Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.Follow Eve Peyser on Twitter.The complaint was taken to [Patti Solis] Doyle, the campaign manager, who approached Mrs. Clinton and urged that Mr. Strider, who was married at the time, be fired, according to the officials familiar with what took place. Mrs. Clinton said she did not want to, and instead he remained on her staff.