Hillary Clinton breaks silence on donor Harvey Weinstein's scandal

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Hillary Clinton breaks silence on donor Harvey Weinstein's scandal

Hillary Clinton

Evan Agostini/Getty Images

Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton broke her silence on the Harvey Weinstein scandal on Tuesday, saying in a statement that she was "shocked an appalled by the revelations."

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"I was shocked and appalled by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein," Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, said. "The behavior described by women coming forward cannot be tolerated. Their courage and the support of others is critical in helping to stop this kind of behavior."

Clinton was the beneficiary of more than $26,000 in contributions from Weinstein, a major Democratic Party donor, since her initial Senate run in 2000, according to the Federal Election Commission.

On Thursday, The New York Times reported Weinstein's decades of alleged sexual misconduct. The Times reported that Weinstein pressured younger women into giving him massages and asked them to watch him bathe, among other harassment. Weinstein was later terminated from the movie production company bearing his name, The Weinstein Company.

On Tuesday, The New Yorker reported on multiple women who alleged that Weinstein sexually assaulted them, and published audio in which the movie mogul appeared to admit to groping a women.

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Democrats quickly began facing pressure to return their donations from Weinstein. Already, a large number of prominent Democrats have, donating the equivalent in contributions from Weinstein to charity. But Clinton, along with former President Barack Obama, had not addressed the scandal nor said whether they would return the equivalent amount of money provided by Weinstein.

During a roughly 90-minute speech Monday night, Clinton did not address the controversy.

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Clinton's running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, said the campaign was over when asked if she would return the contributions. Kaine called the allegations "lowlife behavior" and "unacceptable."