Hillary Clinton ‘refused to fire adviser who was accused of sexual assault’ during 2008 presidential campaign

Hillary Clinton refused to fire a senior campaign adviser who was accused of sexually harassing a junior colleague, it has been claimed.

Burns Strider was reportedly accused of sexually harassing a 30-year-old female colleague while they were working on Mrs Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.

According to former staff, 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.

But Mr Strider, who was married at the time, was said to have been kept on the campaign at Mrs Clinton’s request, the New York Times reported. 

He was docked several weeks’ pay and ordered to receive counselling, while the woman who made the allegation was reassigned to a new job.

Former campaign officials told the newspaper they were "troubled" by the fact that Mr Strider was allowed to retain his position.

Mr Strider, who acted as Mrs Clinton’s faith adviser, would regularly send her passages from the Bible while she was campaigning against Barack Obama. 

In 2013, he was hired by a close friend of Mrs Clinton to lead an independent political group that supported her second run at the presidency.

However, he was fired months later following allegations that he harassed a young female aide, sources within the group claimed.

Mr Strider has not yet responded to a request for comment. 

The claims have come to light in the wake of the ‘Me Too’ movement which has called into question how allegations of sexual abuse made against powerful men are handled. 

The movement was triggered by allegations against the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of rape and sexual assault by a number of actresses within Hollywood.

Mrs Clinton, who had a long friendship with Weinstein, came out publicly to say she was “shocked and appalled by the revelations” about him. Mr Weinstein has denied all claims of non-consensual behaviour against him.

It is thought that the accusations against Mrs Clinton’s adviser did not become public sooner because most staffers signed a nondisclosure agreement that barred them from publicly discussing the inner workings of the campaign.

A spokesman for Mrs Clinton provided a statement from the law firm that represented the 2008 campaign.

“To ensure a safe working environment, 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,” the statement said. 

“This complaint was no exception.”

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