Lewinsky affair not an abuse of power, says Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton has said her husband Bill's affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky was not an abuse of power and he was right to not resign from the US presidency in the wake of the scandal.

The two-decades old episode has come under renewed scrutiny in the #MeToo era, with critics questioning whether the power imbalance between a sitting president and an intern made it impossible for the relationship to be considered consensual.

Some, like New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, have said that Clinton should have stepped down after he was impeached by a Republican-controlled House in late 1998 for lying about the affair.

But speaking on CBS News on Sunday, former presidential candidate and secretary of state Hillary Clinton said she disagreed.

"Absolutely not," she replied when asked whether her husband should have resigned.

Pressed on whether the relationship was an abuse of power, Clinton said: "No, no" and noted that Lewinsky, who was 22-years-old at the time, "was an adult."