Clinton Campaign Slams Donald Trump's Rape Accusation Against Bill Clinton

Accusation came up during a conversation about Trump's history with women.

ByABC News
May 19, 2016, 1:27 PM

— -- Hillary Clinton reiterated that she has no intention of directly addressing the accusations raised by Donald Trump relating to her husband.

When asked during a CNN interview if she felt "compelled to defend your honor, the honor of your husband," she said, "No."

"I know that that's exactly what he is fishing [for], and I'm not going to be responding," she said.

The Democratic presidential front-runner's press secretary released a statement slamming the claim Trump made that Donald Trump's claim that former President Bill Clinton was accused of rape.

"Trump is doing what he does best — attacking when he feels wounded and dragging the American people through the mud for his own gain. If that’s the kind of campaign he wants to run, that’s his choice," Hillary Clinton's campaign spokesman Nick Merrill said in a statement released shortly after Trump made the accusation during a Fox News interview.

"Hillary Clinton is running a campaign to be president for all of America. It’s not surprising that after a week of still refusing to release his taxes and likening Oakland and Ferguson to the dangers in Iraq, of course he wants to change the subject. So while he licks his wounds, we'll continue to focus on improving the lives of the American people," Merrill added.

The accusation came up during the presumptive Republican nominee's appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News show.

Hannity mentioned a recent New York Times article that details Trump's history with women, and Hannity then asked whether the paper will be interviewing women who have brought allegations against Bill Clinton, naming three people who have accused him of sexual misconduct, including exposing himself and groping and fondling them.

At that point, Trump said, "And rape."

Hannity repeated Trump's statement.

Trump responded, "And big settlements, massive settlements."

PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives at the residence of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, May 18, 2016, in New York.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives at the residence of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, May 18, 2016, in New York.

The accusations to which Trump and Hannity were referring surfaced in 1999 and were publicly denied by Bill Clinton's personal lawyer at the time, David E. Kendell, who called them "absolutely false," according to a New York Times article from that time.

Trump didn't stop there.

"You know, he lost his law license, OK. He couldn't practice law. And you don't read about this on Clinton," Trump said.

As he was about to leave the White House, Clinton agreed to have his Arkansas law license suspended for five years and pay a $25,000 fine in connection with the Whitewater investigation.

Early this morning, Hillary Clinton sent out a fundraising email to supporters, and though she didn’t specifically address the Fox interview, she did mention Trump.

"I am not afraid of Donald Trump," she wrote. "He can attack me as much as he wants — I know I can take it. But we won't let his attacks against Americans based on their ethnicity, their gender or the faith they practice go unanswered."