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In a contentious town-hall debate, Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, said he would appoint a special prosecutor to look into his Democratic rival's email use because she had endangered national security during her tenure as President Barack Obama's chief diplomat from 2009-2013.
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| Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump listens as Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton answers a question from the audience during their presidential town hall debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. (Photo:Reuters) |
The 90-minute debate got off to a chilly start when the two candidates for the Nov. 8 election greeted each other without the traditional handshake. It quickly turned into an acrimonious discussion of a 2005 video that emerged on October 7 in which Trump was heard using vulgar language and talking about groping women without consent.
He said he was embarrassed by the video but dismissed it as "locker room talk." He said President Bill Clinton had done worse to women.
"Mine are words and his are action," he said. He also accused Hillary Clinton of going on the attack against women who had alleged sexual misconduct by her husband.
Clinton said Trump's comments showed he was unfit for the White House.
"He has said the video doesn’t represent who he is but I think it’s clear to anyone who heard it that it represents exactly who he is," Clinton said.
Trump attacked Clinton over the emails, saying: "You ought to be ashamed of yourself."
Clinton said, "You know it’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in this country.” Trump shot back: “Because you’d be in jail.”
A nearly year-long FBI investigation into the emails concluded earlier this year without charges being filed, although FBI Director James Comey said she had been careless in her handling of sensitive material.
Clinton insisted there was “no evidence” that her server had been hacked and that any classified information had ended up in the wrong hands. “I take classified material very seriously,” she said.
Trump said: “You said it was fine to delete 33,000 emails. I don’t think so.”
Clinton shook her head. “Look it’s just not true.”
She accused Trump of dodging a discussion of policy issues to avoid talking about his campaign because of “the way yours is exploding and Republicans are leaving you."
