Bill Kristol responds with 'Benghazi' after ABC host mocks him for Lewinsky conspiracy theory

Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol on Sunday said that he stood behind a conspiracy theory that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could be behind Vanity Fair's recent Monica Lewinsky essay, but then quickly changed the subject to Benghazi.

In a recently column, Kristol's publication had asserted that "Lewinsky’s reemergence now—months before Hillary is likely to declare her candidacy—is probably being stage-managed by some division or other of the vast pro--Hillary conspiracy, whether Lewinsky knows she’s a pawn or not."

During a panel segment on Sunday, it was clear that ABC host Martha Raddatz found the conspiracy theory preposterous.

"I stand with that guess," Kristol said. "It's a little ironic, we're having a little lightheartedness."

"Okay, how would that work, this conspiracy?" Raddatz pressed. "Do you sit down with the Vanity Fair editor?"

"Well, you could," Kristol declared. "I think -- I believe Hillary Clinton knows the editors, and the publisher of Vanity Fair. But that's not the issue. And I don't think Monica Lewinsky will be an issue one way or another."

"Benghazi is a serious issue, Boko Haram is a serious issue," he added. "Monica Lewinsky isn't."

Watch the video below from ABC's This Week, broadcast May 11, 2014.