Hillary Rodham Clinton controversies

Encyclopedia : H : HI : HIL : Hillary Rodham Clinton controversies

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Black Panther Party

Claims are sometimes made that in 1969, Hillary Rodham helped shut down Yale University as part of helping to defend, and get acquitted, members of the Black Panther Party on trial in New Haven for torture and murder. This claim has been debunked. [link] In reality, Rodham was only a law student at the time, and her involvement was limited to "organizing other students to help the American Civil Liberties Union monitor the trial for civil rights violations." Her peripheral involvement had no effect on Yale activities or on the outcome of the trial.

Anti-Semitic slurs

Several people have accused Clinton of making anti-Semitic comments or slurs. In 2000, lawyer Paul Fray, who ran Bill Clinton's failed 1974 run for Congress, claimed that after that defeat, Hillary Rodham, then Clinton's girlfriend, raged that he (Fray) was a “Fucking Jew Bastard.” Fray’s wife and businessman Neil McDonald both claim to have witnessed this slur. [link] Hillary Clinton denied that she ever made such a remark and released a 1997 letter in which Fray apologized regarding statements he had made about her over the years. [link] In addition Fray had previous been disbarred for altering court documents and also suffered from a medical condition that caused erratic behavior and memory loss. [link] Moreover, Fray was only one-eighth Jewish, not one-half as a book detailing the accusation had claimed. [link]

Larry Patterson, a former Arkansas state trooper and bodyguard to Bill and Hillary Clinton who related a series of lurid accusations about the couple, then said he heard the couple use anti-Semitic slurs “10 to 20” times. He asserts that he has heard Hillary use the term "Jew Bastard" and called President Clinton a "Jew Boy" and a "Mother Fucking Jew." [link]

In a discussion of the Fray allegation, Dick Morris, a former political advisor to President Clinton, asserted that a couple of years previously, Hillary Clinton had used a Jewish stereotype during an argument about consulting fees, stating “Money – that's all you people care about is money.” [link]

Cattle futures

In 1979, Clinton's trades in cattle futures contracts generated criticism regarding conflict of interest and allegations of disguised bribery. [link] Her initial $1,000 investment generated $100,000 (a "wildly successful" 10,000% return) when she stopped trading ten months later. Furthermore, in his book Devil Take The Hindmost : A History Of Financial Speculation, Edward Chancellor noted that Clinton made her money by betting "on the short side at a time when cattle prices doubled." Marshall Magazine, a publication of the Marshall School of Business, found that "Two-thirds of her trades showed a profit by the end of the day she made them and 80 percent were ultimately profitable." [search on "Hillary"]

Chicago Mercantile Exchange records indicated that $40,000 of her profits came from larger trades initiated by Clinton's lawyer and friend, James Blair, an experienced futures trader and outside counsel to Tyson Foods. According to exchange records, Robert L. "Red" Bone, the commodities broker that facilitated the trades on behalf of Ray E. Friedman and Co. (Refco), reportedly because Blair was a good client, allowed Clinton to maintain her positions even though she did not have enough money in her account to cover her activity. For example, she was allowed to order 10 cattle futures contracts, normally a $12,000 investment, in her first commodity trade in 1978 although she had only $1,000 in her account at the time. [link] Refco was fined for violating Chicago Mercantile Exchange rules governing margin trading. Leo Melamed, a former chairman of the Mercantile Exchange who reviewed the records for the White House, said in an interview that Clinton violated no rules in the course of her transactions. [link]

Whitewater scandal

The Whitewater scandal was a series of events and actions that had its origins in 1978. While in Arkansas, the Clintons were partners with Jim and Susan McDougal in a real estate venture known as the Whitewater Development Corporation. According to reports, the Clintons lost their financial investment in the Whitewater business projects. At the time the McDougals operated a savings and loan that retained Hillary Clinton's legal services at Rose Law Firm. When the McDougals' savings and loan failed in 1994, federal investigators subpoenaed Clinton's legal billing records for auditing purposes. Hillary Clinton claimed to be unable to produce these records. After an extensive, two-year search, the records were found in the first lady's book room in the White House and delivered to investigators in 1996. The delayed appearance of the billing records sparked intense interest and another investigation about how they surfaced and where they had been; Clinton attributed the problem to disorganization that resulted from her move from the Arkansas Governor's Mansion to the White House as well as the effects of a White House renovation. [LH p. 331] After the discovery of the records, on January 26, 1996, Clinton made history by becoming the first First Lady to testify before a grand jury. [link]

The Whitewater investigation was initiated by Independent Counsel Robert Fiske appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno. The case was later taken over by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, and concluded by Independent Counsel Robert Ray. Several other allegations were also investigated under the Whitewater umbrella. The investigations, which took place during Bill Clinton's presidency and cost an estimated $40 million, resulted in the McDougals being jailed and Webster Hubbell pleading guilty to felony charges of lying to federal investigators about Clinton's role in both Whitewater and the savings and loan failure. No criminal charges were brought against the Clintons themselves, as Robert Ray's final report on September 20, 2000 stated that there was insufficient evidence that either of them had engaged in criminal wrongdoing. [link]

Travel office firings

On May 19, 1993, several long-time employees of the White House Travel Office were fired for alleged incompetence or illegal activities. Accusations were made that Hillary Clinton was involved in the firings and that they were unjustified and were done in order to give the business to friends of the Clintons; she denied any role in the firings. Supporters said that the employees in question were officially political appointees (although they had served under Presidents of both parties) who served "at the President's pleasure" and could be fired or reassigned at any time. The affair became known as "Travelgate". On June 23, 2000, Whitewater Independent Counsel Robert Ray stated in a final report that while there was substantial evidence that she was involved in the firings, it could not be proved that she had deliberately lied about the matter, and so no charges would be brought. [link]

Vince Foster

On July 20, 1993, White House Deputy Counsel Vince Foster committed suicide. The general Whitewater investigation included an examination of Foster's death and the circumstances around it. Whitewater Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's investigation, as well as investigations by the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the U.S. Park Police, all concluded that Foster's death was indeed a suicide.

In 1996 Hillary Clinton was accused by the Senate Special Whitewater Committee of ordering the removal of potentially damaging files (related to Whitewater or other matters) from Foster's office on the night of his death. [link] Independent Counsel Starr investigated this, and by 1999 Starr was reported to still be holding the investigation open, despite his staff having told him there was no case. [link] When Starr's successor Robert Ray issued his final Whitewater reports in 2000, no claims were made against Hillary Clinton in this regard.

Other critics of the Clintons have made more lurid allegations: that Foster's death was not a suicide, that it was connected to Whitewater, and that Hillary Clinton was somehow involved by covering up activities together with Foster before his death [link] or in that her relationship with Foster was an intimate one [link]. Some conspiracy theories even claimed that she had killed Foster herself [link] or had him killed [link]. No credible evidence or charges were ever brought forward in connection with any of these allegations.

FBI files

In June 1996, White House security head Craig Livingstone improperly asked for and received several hundred FBI background files, including ones on White House personnel from former Republican administrations. Accusations were made that Hillary Clinton had requested these files and that she had recommended hiring the supposedly unqualified Livingstone; she denied these charges. The affair became known as "Filegate". On July 28, 2000, Whitewater Independent Counsel Robert Ray stated in a final report that there was no substantial or credible evidence that Hillary Clinton had any role or showed any misconduct in the matter. [link]

Embrace of Suha Arafat

On November 11, 1999, at the dedication of a U.S.-funded health program in the West Bank, Hillary Clinton exchanged an embrace with Suha Arafat, wife of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, after Suha Arafat had delivered a speech claiming that Israel had deliberately poisoned Palestinians through environmental degradation and the use of "poisonous gas". [link] This caused immediate controversy among some Israeli supporters, who said that Clinton never should have hugged the wife of a terrorist leader, especially after such inflammatory remarks. The following day, Clinton denounced Suha Arafat's allegations, and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Suha Arafat had been referring to 'tear gas' and not 'poison gas'. [link] The embrace itself became a campaign issue the following year, but Clinton defended it as a formality akin to a handshake, saying that not to do so would have caused a diplomatic incident. [link]

Book contract

In December 2000, Simon & Schuster agreed to pay Hillary Clinton a reported $8 million advance for a memoir of her years as First Lady, which was later published in 2003 as Living History. Critics charged that the book deal, coming soon after her election to the U.S. Senate, but before being sworn into office, was not in adherence to the ethical standards required for members of the U.S. Senate. However, in February 2001, the Senate Ethics Committee gave Clinton approval for the deal. [link]

Ghostwriters

Clinton has been criticized for not giving credit to the ghostwriters she uses to write her various published works.

For example, the 1996 book It Takes a Village, was largely written by ghostwriter Barbara Feinman [link]. Originally the publisher and the White House had indicated that Feinman would be assisting Clinton in preparing the manuscript, perhaps using audiotapes dictated by Clinton. Feinman spent seven months on the project and was paid $120,000 for her work [link]. However, Feinman was not mentioned anywhere in the book. Clinton's acknowledgment section began: "It takes a village to bring a book into the world, as everyone who has written one knows. Many people have helped me to complete this one, sometimes without even knowing it. They are so numerous that I will not even attempt to acknowledge them individually, for fear that I might leave one out." [It Takes a Village, p. 319]

This led Feinman to complain at the time to Capitol Style magazine over the lack of acknowledgement. [link] In 2001, The Wall Street Journal reported that "New York literary circles are buzzing with vitriol over Sen. Clinton's refusal, so far, to share credit with any writer who helps on her book." [link] Later, in a 2002 article for The Writer's Chronicle [link], Barbara Feinman Todd (now using her married name) related that the project with Clinton had gone smoothly, producing drafts in a round-robin style. Feinman denies that Clinton was uninvolved with the project, but also states that, "Like any first lady, Mrs. Clinton had an extremely hectic schedule and writing a book without assistance would have been logistically impossible." Feinman reiterates that her only objection to the whole process was the lack of any acknowledgement. As of 2005, a web page for Feinman states that It Takes a Village was one of "several high-profile books" that she has "assisted, as editor, writer and researcher." [link]

Clinton also reportedly used three ghostwriters for her 2003 Living History memoirs, veteran ghostwriter Maryanne Vollers, speechwriter Alison Muscatine, and researcher Ruby Shamir. [link]. This time, Clinton's acknowledgment section stated: "This book may not have taken a village to write, but it certainly took a superb team ... The smartest decision I made was to ask Lissa Muscatine, Maryanne Vollers and Ruby Shamir to spend two years of their lives working with me. Lissa [was] responsible for many of the words in my speeches as First Lady and in this book ... Maryanne [has] the rare gift of understanding how to help another's voice emerge ... Ruby [had the job of] amassing, reviewing and synthesizing millions of words written about me." [LH p. 529] However, the three women did not receive co-writing credit on the book's cover, unlike for example, the co-writing credit fellow Senator John Edwards gave to ghostwriter John Auchard on his book Four Trials [link] and fellow Senator John McCain gave to administrative assistant Mark Salter on his books Faith of My Fathers, Worth the Fighting For, Why Courage Matters, and Character is Destiny.

Hasidic pardons

In 2000, two months after Clinton's election to the Senate, President Clinton pardoned four residents of the New Square Hasidic enclave in Rockland County, New York, who had been convicted of defrauding the federal government. The New Square community had voted over 99 to 1 in favor of Mrs. Clinton, raising allegations of conflict of interest. A federal investigation launched by critics of the pardon cleared both Clintons of any illegal activity.

Attendance at funerals after September 11

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Senator Clinton was criticized in November 2001 by commentator Bill O'Reilly, among others, who claimed that she "didn't go to one funeral or one memorial service of any of the regular folks killed at the World Trade Center" and that "the only events we know she attended were three highly publicized memorial services." [link] Clinton responded on an interview program that she did, in fact, attend several memorial services and funerals of people she knew, but that she did "not believe, after a long lifetime in and around politics, that people should thrust themselves into private grief just because they're politicians." [link]

Gandhi comment

Clinton came under criticism in 2004 after saying that Mahatma Gandhi "ran a gas station down in Saint Louis." Many took Clinton's words as stereotyping South Asians living in the United States. Clinton apologized, blamed "a lame attempt at humor," and claimed that she "admired the work and life of Mahatma Gandhi and had spoken publicly about that many times [link]." Michelle Naef, administrator of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence said she didn't think Clinton was trying to demean Mahatma Gandhi and credited both Clintons as long having supported the Gandhi message. However, Naef said that Clinton's remarks were offensive and could be "incredibly harmful [link]."

Hollywood fundraiser

Clinton's former finance director, David Rosen, was indicted on January 7, 2005 on campaign finance charges related to a fund-raising event produced by Peter F. Paul. Paul, who was convicted on stock fraud charges after being extradited from Brazil, claims he spent $1.2 million to produce the "Hollywood tribute to honor President Clinton" event, which was both a tribute to honor President Clinton and a fundraiser for Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign. The Justice Department indictment charged Rosen with filing false reports with the Federal Election Commission by reporting only $400,000 in contributions. On May 27, 2005, the jury acquitted Rosen on all counts [link]. On January 5, 2006 it was reported that Clinton's campaign group agreed to pay a $35,000 fine related to the underreporting of the fundraiser's expenses. [link]

Peter Paul has also filed a civil suit in this matter. [link] On April 10, 2006, the judge in charge of the case removed Hillary Clinton as a defendant, citing a lack of evidence. However, Hillary Clinton may still be called to testify as a witness in the case. [link]

2006 Martin Luther King Day comments

During a speech at the Rev. Al Sharpton's annual Martin Luther King Day National Action Network conference at the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem on January 16, 2006, Clinton sparked a modest political firestorm when she said: "When you look at the way the House of Representatives has been run, it has been run like a plantation, and you know what I'm talking about. It has been run in a way so that nobody with a contrary point of view has had a chance to present legislation, to make an argument." [link] [link]

Clinton's remarks drew immediate criticism from some politicians and commentators, exemplified by New York Representative Peter King's denunciation: "It's wrong to use the word 'plantation' in any political context because it's cheap racial politics. But to do it on Martin Luther King Day is really disgraceful." [link].

It subsequently emerged that in 2004, Clinton had made the same simile: "I mean they're running the House of Representatives like a fiefdom with Tom DeLay as, you know, in charge of the plantation." [link] Her comparison in this case to fiefdoms and thus feudalism made any racial connotation less obvious. As another example of the same simile (or in this case, metaphor), in a Washington Post article from October 1994, future Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said of the Democrats who at that time were in control of the House, "Since they think it is their job to run the plantation, it shocks them that I’m actually willing to lead the slave rebellion." [link]

Remarks on young people's work ethic

In May 2006, Hillary Clinton spoke at a gathering of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C. In her remarks, she criticized young people saying they have "a sense of entitlement after growing up in a culture that has a premium on instant gratification," and "that young people today think work is a four-letter word."

Clinton later apologized on May 14, 2006 during a commencement address at Long Island University to 2,000 graduates. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to convey the impression that you don't work hard," Clinton said. "I just want to set the bar high, because we are in a competition for the future." Clinton said her own daughter phoned to complain after learning about the comments. "Chelsea called and she said, 'Mom, I do work hard and my friends work hard.'" Chelsea Clinton obtained a master's degree from Oxford University after graduating from Stanford University in 2001.

 

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