NASHUA, N.H.—A senior adviser to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton was arrested and charged with aggravated drunken driving a day before the New Hampshire primary.
Nashua police say Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime friend and adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, was arrested early Monday morning after an officer pulled over a car traveling 70 mph in a 30 mph zone. Police say the driver was 59-year-old Blumenthal, a journalist and former White House adviser to President Bill Clinton now serving as an unpaid senior adviser on Hillary Clinton's campaign.
"I asked if he was here with a campaign. He said he was here with Clinton," Sgt. Mike Masella, one of the arresting officers, told newsweek.com.
Masella said Blumenthal told him he had gotten lost after leaving a restaurant in Manchester, about 20 miles away, while trying to return to his hotel.
Smelling alcohol, officers said they administered a field sobriety test, which Blumenthal failed. Though Blumenthal declined to take a Breathalyzer test, he was arrested on a charge of aggravated drunken driving due to the speed, Masella said.
A handcuffed Blumenthal spent about four hours at a police station before being bailed out Monday morning, Masella said.
Blumenthal will be arraigned later this month.
His lawyer, Raymond Mello of Nashua, did not immediately respond to a message left at his office on Saturday morning. A Clinton campaign spokeswoman was unable to immediately comment on the matter when reached Saturday.
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Information from: The Telegraph, http://www.nashuatelegraph.com
