Newly unearthed documents from one of Hillary Clinton’s closest friends reveal just how much scrutiny the 2016 Democratic presidential frontrunner will face if she decides to run.
Records from Diane Blair, a longtime friend and booster of the Clintons, revealed some of the most candid conversations the women had during their nearly two decades of friendship.
In 1996, Blair recalls Clinton saying: “I'm a proud woman...I'm not stupid; I know I should do more to suck up to the press, I know it confuses people when I change my hairdos, I know I should pretend not to have any opinions -- but I'm just not going to. I'm used to winning and I intend to win on my own terms.”
In September of 1998, after Bill Clinton had finally admitted his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, Blair wrote of Hillary: “She is not trying to excuse him; it was a huge personal lapse...But she says to his credit he tried to break it off, tried to pull away.”
The two women met at the University of Arkansas and her records were archived there after her death in 2000.
On Monday, the conservative Washington Free Beacon reported on some of the contents of the archive, which was first made public in 2010.
Though Blair is no longer alive to provide context for her diary, many Republicans argue the papers are fair game when it comes to evaluating Clinton's potential candidacy.