полоскать

07:32 Jul 18, 2017 

I must have been too young to follow the Clinton saga and ''come under fire'' might be the accurate answer here, but that's definitely NOT what "полоскать" means in common parlance. I think this is a case of poorly written original.

15:06 Jul 9, 2017 

Why don't you officially enter that as a suggested answer and I'll choose it :)

14:25 Jul 9, 2017 

I would also use "under fire", it is better to use idiom here, and the meaning here is the same, in my opinion, Russion word «полоскали» means in general- резко критиковать (кого-л.); подвергать (кого-л.) убийственной критике; but here I think in the context, more than criticizing:
verbally attacking as if "shooting on every side" in fig.meaning. Just my opinion.

14:14 Jul 9, 2017 

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, I'm still a little unsure of the actual meaning. The proposed answers vary tremendously (there's a big difference between questioning someone in a hostile manner versus simply verbally attacking them). So you're saying it's more of a verbal attack? If so I do like "under fire."

15:39 Jul 7, 2017 

Here are my versions that could help:
0. scarify
1. Jump all over the then president
2. The then president had been "beaten" up during Clinton age or era
3. The then president was given "a hard time" during...
4. The then president was "torn apart" -tear someone apart
5. The then president was "under fire"
6. The then president was in the line of fire...
7. The president of that time was on the firing line...