Audio: Hillary Clinton talks about defending child rapist as an attorney

(Image credit: Ramin Talaie/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

The Washington Free Beacon reports: "Newly discovered audio recordings of Hillary Clinton from the early 1980s include the former first lady's frank and detailed assessment of the most significant criminal case of her legal career: defending a man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl."

The story isn't entirely new, but the audio seems to be. It would be easy to say this is just a case of a defense attorney fulfilling her responsibility to provide representation to a defendant, but the fact that Hillary seems to be joking about the matter on the recording could be problematic.

Another interesting twist: Hillary seems to have a Southern accent in the recording. If nothing else, this brings up lingering questions about authenticity.

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Matt K. Lewis is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com and a senior contributor for The Daily Caller. He has written for outlets including GQ Politics, The Guardian, and Politico, and has been cited or quoted by outlets including New York Magazine, the Washington Post, and The New York Times. Matt co-hosts The DMZ on Bloggingheads.TV, and also hosts his own podcast. In 2011, Business Insider listed him as one of the 50 "Pundits You Need To Pay Attention To Between Now And The Election." And in 2012, the American Conservative Union honored Matt as their CPAC "Blogger of the Year." He currently lives in Alexandria, Va.