Clinton chides Trump over allegations he flushed documents down the White House toilet: 'But her emails'
Hillary Clinton made light on Friday of allegations by former Trump administration staffers that they found ripped-up documents clogging a White House toilet and that they believe then-President Donald Trump had attempted to flush them.
Just in time for Galentine's Day, and the news that Trump was flushing documents down White House toilets...
A limited edition hat is in the @onwardtogether store now. https://t.co/4TiUxjmRNY pic.twitter.com/rF7EeOKXm4— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 11, 2022
The allegations made by the former White House staffers appear in the forthcoming book by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman titled "Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America."
Trump, whose response to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol is being investigated by a House select committee, was discovered last week to have improperly removed boxes of documents from the White House in possible violation of the Presidential Records Act. Some of the documents contained in 15 boxes that have since been retrieved were marked "classified" and "top secret," the Washington Post reported.
On Thursday, Trump issued a statement denying that he had ever flushed official documents down a White House toilet.
"Another fake story, that I flushed papers and documents down a White House toilet, is categorically untrue and simply made up by a reporter in order to get publicity for a mostly fictitious book," Trump said in the statement.
Haberman's reporting was corroborated, however, by Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Jacobs.
Trump is denying he flushed documents down a White House toilet, but @maggieNYT’s reporting is 100% accurate. Staff did find clumped/torn/shredded papers and fished them out from blocked bathroom toilet—and believed it had been the president’s doing, sources told me at the time. pic.twitter.com/R1zxqX85lK
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) February 10, 2022
Clinton's reference to "Galentine's Day" refers to a term coined in an episode of the sitcom "Parks and Recreation" in which the female characters create a holiday to celebrate friendships between women.
The message on the hat, "BUT HER EMAILS," harks back to the FBI investigation and subsequent media coverage that stemmed from Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. Many people — including Clinton herself — believe that outsize attention to this, which pales in comparison to many scandals surrounding Trump, may have kept her from winning the 2016 presidential election. The FBI eventually cleared Clinton of allegations that she and her staff had deliberately mishandled classified information.
The hat that appears in Clinton's tweet, meanwhile, can be purchased for $30 at OnwardTogether.org, which notes that "all proceeds go to supporting progressive groups working to build a fairer, more inclusive America."
Like Clinton, Trump sells a range of products on the Trump organization's website, Trumpstore.com, which advertises "the very latest in Trump branded merchandise, apparel, headwear, gifts and much more!"
Cover illustration: Yahoo News; photo: onwardtogether.org