Thirteen years before making a historic bid for president, Hillary Clinton was busy expressing her outrage at the Bush administration for lying to first responders about the quality of the air over Ground Zero.
“I don’t think any of us expected that our government would knowingly deceive us about something as sacred as the air we breathe,” Clinton said, according to audio recordings taped in August 2003, almost two years after 9/11.
READ MORE: Hillary Clinton defends handling of classified information at State
The recordings, released this week by the city’s public radio affiliate WNYC, show a raw and emotional side of Clinton some say offer a glimpse at what her leadership might be like as president.
“Of all the varied chapters of Hillary Clinton’s tumultuous 30 years in public life, the story of her response to the Twin Towers attacks is one of the richest in terms of the clues it provides as to what to expect from a Clinton presidency,” read an article written by WNYC’s Andrea Bernstein and The Guardian’s Ed Pilkington.
“It reveals elements of her character, of her domestic policy strengths, as well as her tendency to lean towards the hawkish side in international affairs.”
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Listen to the full audio clip below:
Clinton, a junior senator at the time, called for a Congressional inquiry into the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) response to the World Trade Center attack.
She alleged that the agency and the White House failed to tell rescue workers, first responders and clean-up crews about the potential health hazards lurking in the rubble of the Twin Towers.
Just three days after the attack, the head of the EPA assured locals that air samples collected around Ground Zero showed no cause for concern.
“I am outraged,” Clinton said, according to WNYC.
“In the immediate aftermath, the first couple of days, nobody could know. But a week later? Two weeks later? Two months later? Six months later? Give me a break!”
READ MORE: The story behind a 9/11 photo that sent an Australian photographer on a 15-year search
Eventually, Clinton helped to expand the health program for 9/11 workers and raise US$12 million for a screening project to monitor for Ground Zero related illnesses.
The Coalition to Help Injured and Dying 9/11 Responders and Survivors credits Clinton for being “instrumental” in investigating the health issues faced by first responders.
“Without Clinton’s early efforts on behalf of 9/11 Responders, the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act as we know it may not have been possible,” reads the coalition’s website.
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