Colmes: NewsMax Tape Does Most Damage to Clinton's Legacy

In his soon-to-be-released book "Red, White and Liberal," "Hannity & Colmes" co-host Alan Colmes argues that Bill Clinton was "the greatest American president in the second half of the twentieth century and may, through the lens of longer history, go down as one of our greatest presidents, ever."

But the top Fox News personality fears that the 42nd president's legacy was damaged most, not by his Monicagate impeachment - but instead by NewsMax.com's recording of Clinton trying to explain why he didn't accept a 1996 deal for Osama bin Laden's extradition to the U.S.

"Perhaps the most egregious attack on Bill Clinton's legacy is the conservative charge that he is to blame for what happened on September 11," writes Colmes.

The most troublesome evidence, he says, is Clinton's February 2002 statement to a New York business group where he said that Sudan released bin Laden in 1996 as a goodwill gesture to the U.S.

In the next breath Clinton explained, "I did not bring him here because we had no basis on which to hold him, though we knew he wanted to commit crimes against America."

NewsMax.com covered Clinton's address and was the only news outlet to release a recording of his bombshell statement.

Colmes argues, however, that the ex-president's remarks do not constitute an admission that he turned down a chance to capture the 9/11 mastermind.

"One of the biggest misstatements is that is the contention that Clinton was offered Osama bin Laden on a silver platter and forfeited a chance to get him," says Fox's most famous liberal. "This is patently false."

Conservatives are mischaracterizing Clinton's comment, "I did not bring him here," says Colmes. Instead it was really "the Saudis to whom bin Laden was offered, not the United States," he writes.

Citing the Web site "Jane's Intelligence Review," Colmes contends that "Clinton spent ten weeks trying to get the Saudis to accept Sudan's offer of bin Laden."

Did President Clinton admit to turning down Sudan's offer for bin Laden? Listen to NewsMax.com's exclusive recording and judge for yourself.

Get Alan Colmes' new book, "Red, White and Liberal," scheduled for release on Oct. 21.

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