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 was arrested early Monday morning after an officer pulled over a car travelling 110 kilometres an hour in a 50 km/h zone. Blumenthal, 59, is a journalist and former White House adviser to president Bill Clinton who is now serving as an unpaid 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 got lost after leaving a restaurant in Manchester, about 30 kilometres away, 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.
A Clinton campaign spokeswoman had no comment on the matter.
