DES MOINES, Iowa -- Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign on Sunday defended her donations from Wall Street by saying she worked to help the financial sector rebuild after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and sought to address the abuses that led to an economic crisis.
During the second Democratic debate on Saturday, which was broadcast by CBS and watched by more than 8.5 million people, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont put Clinton on the defensive when he said Wall Street had been the major contributor to her campaigns. "Now maybe they're dumb and they don't know what they're going to get, but I don't think so," he said.
Clinton accused Sanders of trying to "impugn my integrity" and said that as a senator from New York, she helped New York City's financial hub rebuild. "That was good for New York and it was good for the economy and it was a way to rebuke the terrorists who had attacked our country," she said, her voice rising.
On Sunday, Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon elaborated, saying in a statement that her work to help the financial industry rebuild after 9/11 "did not mean she ever hesitated to call out and seek to reform the abuses and excesses that led to the economic crisis. She did so, early and often."
Her debate response drew an incredulous reaction on social media sites like Twitter, and the debate's moderators asked Clinton to respond to one Twitter user, who took issue with her mention of 9/11 to justify the contributions.
"Well, I'm sorry that whoever tweeted that had that impression, because I worked closely with New Yorkers after 9/11 for my entire first term to rebuild," Clinton said. "I had a lot of folks give me donations from all kinds of backgrounds say: 'I don't agree with you on everything, but I like what you do. I like how you stand up. I'm going to support you.' And I think that is absolutely appropriate."
The exchange highlighted one of Sanders' main critiques of Clinton: That she has maintained close ties to Wall Street executives during her political career and would be less forceful in policing the risky behavior of financial firms that Sanders says led to the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009.
Both Sanders and ex-Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley support reinstating the Glass-Steagall law, which once separated commercial and investment banking but was repealed in 1999 under her husband, President Bill Clinton. The former secretary of state says repealing Glass-Steagall wouldn't go far enough to curb risks pushed by a shadow banking system.
When Clinton raised Wall Street donations along with 9/11, her Democratic rivals quickly pounced. In the post-debate "spin room," O'Malley told reporters: "I'll let her answer that gaffe. I think it was one of the biggest ones of the night."
"My guess is she probably regrets it," O'Malley said of her response, adding that Clinton's debate answer was a "very distasteful way trying to pump out a smoke screen for her coziness for the big banks of Wall Street by invoking the tragedy of 9/11 and those attacks, especially so fresh after so many were murdered in Paris."
Mark Longabaugh, a top Sanders adviser, said, "Do I think it's a legitimate defense? No. I don't see how you can make those two pieces go together." He called the exchanges over Wall Street the "pivotal moments of the debate."
Republicans said Clinton had hidden shamefully behind the 9/11 attacks to deflect attention from her ties to her wealthiest donors. And they signaled that the response would likely find its way into advertising if Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee.
"It's an intersection between stupid and offensive, and I think that's going to be a big problem as the campaign heads into the general election," said Sean Spicer, the Republican National Committee's chief strategist.
Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta told reporters that Clinton's "integrity was impugned and what she was saying was that she was proud to represent the state of New York, to help rebuild lower Manhattan."
Bill Clinton insisted Sunday that his wife doesn't deserve to be attacked by her fellow Democratic candidates for her relationship with Wall Street.
"It is a stretch. Those of us who were there know that," the former president told reporters gathered on the rope line after Hillary Clinton spoke Sunday at the Central Iowa Democrats Fall Barbecue on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames.
Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri said that her candidate's remarks were an expression of fact and not an effort to deflect incoming criticism by invoking tragedy. "They were attacking her integrity for being too close to Wall Street and the point that she was making is as senator, she did things that were supportive of Wall Street, particularly after 9/11, but she also spoke out as senator, and now, when she thought they were going too far and pursuing reckless behavior," she said.
Clinton suggested Sunday that Sanders would raise middle-class taxes and "scrap" President Barack Obama's health care law.
Clinton said middle-class families "need a raise, not a tax increase" and she was the lone Democrat in the debate to commit to raising wages "and not your taxes."
Without mentioning her main rival by name, Clinton said Democrats should work to build on Obama's health law and not suggest "we scrap it and start all over again." During the debate, Clinton questioned Sanders' 2013 health care legislation, saying it would dismantle the law and empower Republican governors like Terry Branstad of Iowa to administer the health care system in each state. Sanders envisions a "single-payer" system that would be run by the states under federal rules.
Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said following the debate that the senator's proposals would be paid for with higher taxes on the wealthy and large corporations. "He's raising taxes to pay for relief for middle-income and working people," he said.
Weaver said Sanders would build upon the health care law to provide universal coverage. "It's not a question of ripping up Obamacare, it's really expanding on the promise of Obamacare," Weaver said.
Information for this article was contributed by Ken Thomas of The Associated Press and by Jennifer Epstein and staff members of Bloomberg News.
A Section on 11/16/2015