Where is Juanita Broaddrick? Former nurse was allegedly raped by Bill Clinton in 1978
Former President Bill Clinton has faced a number of sexual assault and harassment allegations. But the most serious of all was of Juanita Broaddrick, who accused him of raping her during his 1978 campaign for Arkansas governor. For the very first time, Broaddrick went public about her allegations against Clinton in January 1999 and gave an interview to Dateline NBC. But it was not aired until February 24, 1999, after Clinton was acquitted by the Senate on charges related to his affair with Monica Lewinsky on February 12 of that year.
Broaddrick went on to give interviews to the Wall Street Journal editorial page, the Washington Post, and the New York Times at the time. In her interviews, the retired nurse said that she met the then-Arkansas attorney general in April 1978 in Van Buren, Arkansas. At the time, she was volunteering for Clinton's gubernatorial campaign. Later, she was invited to Clinton’s office in Little Rock a week after for a nursing home administrators' conference.
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After she reached a hotel in Little Rock, Broaddrick claimed Clinton asked her to meet him in the hotel's lobby coffee shop. But later, the Democrat allegedly suggested to her that they should go in her room since there were many reporters outside. Broaddrick reportedly agreed to his suggestion. The 1999 interview of her with The Washington Post stated, “As she tells the story, they spent only a few minutes chatting by the window —Clinton pointed to an old jail he wanted to renovate if he became governor — before he began kissing her. She resisted his advances, she said, but soon he pulled her back onto the bed and forcibly had sex with her. She said she did not scream because everything happened so quickly. Her upper lip was bruised and swollen after the encounter because, she said, he had grabbed onto it with his mouth.”
“‘The last thing he said to me was, “You better get some ice for that.” ‘And he put on his sunglasses and walked out the door,' she recalled,” as reported by The Post. Though Broaddrick had no witnesses to her rape, her numerous friends backed up the story. Norma Rogers, who was director of nursing at Broaddrick's nursing home at the time, said at the time that she entered Broaddrick’s room soon after the alleged rape and found her “crying and in 'a state of shock.' Her upper lip was puffed out and blue, and appeared to have been hit.”
After her initial interviews in 1999, Broaddrick later told the Drudge Report that weeks following the alleged assault, she met Hillary Clinton, who allegedly tried to thank her for keeping her mouth shut. “[Hillary] came directly to me as soon as she hit the door. I had been there only a few minutes, I only wanted to make an appearance and leave. She caught me and took my hand and said 'I am so happy to meet you. I want you to know that we appreciate everything you do for Bill,’” Broaddrick claimed about their meeting at a political rally.
She added: “I started to turn away and she held onto my hand and reiterated her phrase -- looking less friendly and repeated her statement — 'Everything you do for Bill'. I said nothing. She wasn't letting me get away until she made her point. She talked low, the smile faded on the second thank you. I just released her hand from mine and left the gathering.” But Clinton's lawyers refuted the accusations.
Where is Juanita Broaddrick?
Broaddrick’s name has once again come into the limelight as the third part of Ryan Murphy's ‘Impeachment: American Crime Story’ anthology is releasing on September 7, which revisits Clinton sex scandal and tells the story of Lewinsky, Linda Tripp, and Paula Jones. The true crime television series did not reportedly cover Broaddrick’s account.
In recent years, the 78-year-old has come forward as a Donald Trump defender. When Hillary Clinton ran for president opposite Trump, Broaddrick shared a tweet in January 2016 that read, “I was 35 years old when Bill Clinton, Ark. Attorney General raped me and Hillary tried to silence me. I am now 73... it never goes away.”
I was 35 years old when Bill Clinton, Ark. Attorney General raped me and Hillary tried to silence me. I am now 73....it never goes away.
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) January 6, 2016
Also in October of that year, when Trump broadcast a press conference-style event live on Facebook with Broaddrick, she said that Trump was accused of saying lewd things about women in leaked audio, but “Bill Clinton raped me, and Hillary Clinton threatened me. I don't think there's any comparison.” At the time, she also tweeted, “Hillary calls Trump's remarks ‘horrific’ while she lives with and protects a ‘Rapist’. Her actions are horrific.”
Hillary calls Trump's remarks "horrific" while she lives with and protects a "Rapist". Her actions are horrific.
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) October 8, 2016
With a following of over 500k on Twitter, Broaddrick’s account is mostly about mocking and criticizing the Democratic party and its leaders. One of her recent tweets read, “It took a Democrat House, Senate and Executive branch only 8 months to destroy the America we once knew.” Another tweet of her mocking President Joe Biden added: “Media: What’s it like trying to explain to Biden.... the duties of being a responsible and able President? Biden Handlers: Seriously? It’s like talking to a potted plant.”
It took a Democrat House, Senate and Executive branch only 8 months to destroy the America we once knew.
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) September 5, 2021
Media: What’s it like trying to explain to Biden.... the duties of being a responsible and able President?
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) September 5, 2021
Biden Handlers: Seriously? It’s like talking to a potted plant.