The US Secret Service agent who first raised concerns about Monica Lewinsky’s access to the White House is set to publish a book claiming Hillary Clinton “lacks the integrity and temperament” to serve as president.
Gary Byrne, who also claims to have “personally observed” Bill Clinton’s infidelities, has blasted Mrs Clinton’s “appalling leadership style”, describing her as “volcanic, impulsive, enabled by sycophants, and disdainful of the rules set for everyone else.”
The book, which is due to be released on 28 June, a month before Mrs Clinton is likely to be named the Democratic presidential candidate, also alleges Mrs Clinton gave her husband a black eye during a fight in the White House while he was president.
In the first chapter of the book, Crisis of Character, which can be read on an Amazon.com preview, Byrne, who is now retired, claims an “especially big argument” between the Clintons “ended with a crash”, and a vase was found smashed on the floor.
The next day President Clinton emerged with “a shiner, a real, live, put-a-steak-on-it black eye”, the book says.
Byrne said that when he asked what it was, Mr Clinton’s secretary told him it was an allergic reaction to coffee.
The book also says Mrs Clinton showed “a disdain for the little people”.
Byrne claims to have no “political agenda”, but says he is “revealing the unvarnished true story of the Clintons, the real damage they inflicted via the presidency and… the real damage they again pose”.
“What I saw in the 1990s sickened me”, he writes.
In the introduction to the book, he claims he even disposed of evidence relating to the Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton sex scandal.
“Out of a sense of loyalty to our First Family I even secretly disposed of sordid physical evidence that might later have been used to convict the president. The blue dress wasn’t the only evidence of his misdeeds.”
Byrne’s attack on Mrs Clinton ahead of her White House bid could prove to be troublesome for her campaign. While White House “insider” accounts about the Clintons are plentiful, Byrne’s credibility is bolstered by his recorded involvement with the Monica-Lewinsky-Bill Clinton sex scandal.
A New York Times article in 1998 named Byrne as a “uniformed member of the Secret Service assigned to the White House”, and said he had told a deputy chief of staff in 1996 about concerns he had regarding Ms Lewinsky’s access to the West Wing of the White House.
In addition, a CNN article from 1998 said Byrne’s complaints about Lewinsky ultimately led to her being transferred to the Pentagon.
