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April 1994
The L.Jean Lewis Fabrication (once more),
Health Care Reform, Campobello appears and disappears, Health Care Reform and Whitewater, Is Bill Trustworthy? Whitewater and Iran-Contra, Whitewater and Watergate, Is Bill Ethical?, Health Care Reform
April 1994 - Story 1 --What do those dummies outside the Beltway know?
AMERICANS AFRAID WHITEWATER WILL CREATE NATIONAL GRIDLOCK- 81 PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS IN SURVEY SAY ALLEGATIONS ABOUT ARKANSAS INVESTMENTS ARE STALLING CLINTON AGENDA What worries Americans most about the Whitewater affair is not allegations of cover-ups, shredded documents or sour real-estate investments. Instead, their chief concern is that the Whitewater controversy may divert attention from health care, crime and other important issues. (KR-AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 535 words). Apr 1
WHITEWATER VIEWED AS DISTRACTION, POLLS FIND
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 546 words) Apr 1PUBLIC'S MAIN WHITEWATER FEAR: MORE GRIDLOCK, LESS GOVERNMENT NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR- ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 785 words), Apr 1
GRIDLOCK, NOT WHITEWATER, IS BIG WORRY - MANY SAY IT'S INTERFERING WITH IMPORTANT WORK NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR- CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 753 words), Apr 3
April 1994 - Story 2 - Interesting Poll Numbers from Early 1994 --
CLINTON'S APPROVAL RATING AT HIGHEST POINT IN CALIF. - BETTER ECONOMY CHANGING MINDSET Despite the swirl of controversy over the Whitewater land deal and concerns over his health care plan, President Clinton now has the highest approval ratings in California seen in any Los Angeles Times Poll since his inauguration 14 months ago. Fifty-eight percent of Californians said they favor the way Clinton is handling his job, a 7-point jump from October. And a rise in the endorsements carried across the board: Among registered voters, Clinton's popularity rose 10 points to 59 percent. (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 842 v words) Apr 1
April 1994 Story 3 -- Where there is smoke, there is usually smoke and mirrors.
WHITEWATER: WHERE YOU STAND DEPENDS ON WHOM YOU TRUST There's a lot we don't know about Whitewater, but there's one thing the story has already proven beyond a reasonable doubt: When it comes to politics, everyone agrees with Ralph Waldo Emerson that "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Remember when a beleaguered president was urging us to put these stories of scandal behind us, so that we could get on with the nation's urgentbusiness? (KR-DETROIT FREE PRESS, 612 words), Apr 1
SOME WHITEWATER ACCUSATIONS BASELESS Republicans have made accusations about the Whitewater case - for example, that the Clintons underpaid their taxes and that their real (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 718 words), Apr 1
GOP HAS MOTIVE FOR WHITEWATER OBSESSION, BUT DO THE MEDIA? You can't blame the Republicans for playing Whitewater for all it's worth. Not only are they the opposition party, with a need for (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 724 words), Apr 1
April 1994 - Story 4 (the source) -- Washington Post news coverage BC (before Clinton) and AC (after Clinton).
SENATORS COMPLAINED ABOUT RTC - TWO FROM ARKANSAS SOUGHT REVIEW IN MADISON S&L AFFAIR By Susan Schmidt Arkansas' Democratic senators complained to top Clinton administration officials last year [in May 1993] about the government's handling of legal claims against Seth Ward, a former Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan employee and father-in-law of former associate attorney general Webster L. Hubbell. (WASHINGTON POST), Apr 1[As in the case of so many Washington Post stories about Whitewater, the CURIOSITY of the Post about Senate or House members asking about what they believed to be unfair treatment of S&Ls by the RTC became active ONLY after January 21, 1993, and ONLY with regard to the Madison S&L. In August 1992, there was a SINGLE article in the Washington Post by the SAME reporter indicating there was widespread corruption and political favoritism towards the Republicans in the same RTC, involving dozens and possibly hundreds of cases across the country. Clearly an important national story. The reporter and the newspaper never followed this up. - Why?]
April 1994 - Story 4 - Knight Ridder makes sure the story is spread.
PRYOR DEFENDS WHITEWATER ROLE ARKANSAS SENATOR QUESTIONED FAILED S&L PLAYER SETH WARD, WHO SURRENDERED COMMISSIONS LAST APRIL (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 435 words). Apr 2
April 1994 - Story 4- Some regional newspapers actually did INDEPENDENT reporting.
ARK. SENATOR DETAILS BRIEF ROLE AS DEFENDER OF S & L OFFICIAL - WASHINGTON -- An Arkansas senator yesterday defended his intervention on behalf of an executive at Madison Guaranty, the failed savings and loan at the center of the Whitewater affair. Sen. David Pryor, a Democrat, last summer went to the aid of Seth Ward, a Madison employee and father-in-law of former Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell, after a lengthy court fight with banking regulators. But after hearing regulators' concerns, Pryor did an about face and began questioning Ward (BOSTON GLOBE, 376 words), April 2
April 1994 - Story 5 (source) - The Washington Post-GOP-L.Jean Lewis Connection. Why was this story published at this time? this material had been presented several times before since November 1993
'84 CLINTON PANEL NAMED AS A SUSPECT - RTC ASKS FISKE TO PROBE WHETHER $60,500 IN S&L FUNDS WAS DIVERTED By Susan Schmidt Investigators [L. Jean Lewis] for the Resolution Trust Corp. last year named the 1984 Clinton gubernatorial campaign committee as a suspect in their criminal probe of Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan, citing evidence in a detailed referral that the campaign may have conspired to illegally benefit from depositor funds, according to a source familiar with the case. [L. Jean Lewis] (WASHINGTON POST), Apr 2One of the RTC's 10 "criminal referrals" on Madison, [1 from 1992, 9 from 1993 - all from L. Jean Lewis] which have been forwarded to special counsel Robert B. Fiske Jr., seeks further investigation into whether $60,500 in Madison funds was diverted to the gubernatorial reelection campaign with the knowledge of campaign officials.
The investigators' [L. Jean Lewis] interest centered on an April 4, 1985, fund-raiser held by Madison owner James B. McDougal at Gov. Bill Clinton's request to help the governor pay off a $50,000 personal loan used for the 1984 campaign. They also noted that some contributions exceeded legal limits and urged further investigation of $10,500 in Madison funds that may have ended up in the Clinton campaign after passing through various Madison accounts, including one in the name of the Clintons' Whitewater real estate venture.
The RTC referrals have been widely reported but their contents have not been known. [Except to Susan Schmidt and the GOP] The disclosure of the language used in describing the campaign's activities is the first indication yet of a specific allegation of possible wrongdoing involving the gubernatorial campaign. [Here again, the curiosity of the Washington Post is limited to Clinton and to Madison Guaranty. When Charles Keating sold between $250 MILLION and $300 MILLION dollars worth of junk bonds to southern Californians in 1987 and 1988 and then donated $100,000 dollars to the 1988 presidential campaign of George Bush, not a single newspaper in the United States tied the junk bond sales to the contribution although it was reported by Common Cause in 1992.]
April 1994 Story 5 (Whitewater according to Schmidt and Lewis) - Knight-Ridder makes sure the story is spread throughout the country.
'84 CLINTON CAMPAIGN LABELED SUSPECT - 1993 DOCUMENTS FROM FEDERAL REGULATORS
[L.Jean Lewis] SHOW THAT UP TO $60,500 MAY HAVE BEEN DIVERTED FROM FAILED S&L by Susan Schmidt- NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 591 words). Apr 2'84 CLINTON CAMPAIGN CITED IN RTC WHITEWATER PROBE by Susan Schmidt-
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER , 770 words.) Apr 2CLINTON'S '84 CAMPAIGN FUNDS QUESTIONED by Susan Schmidt- NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (MIAMI HERALD, 448 words), Apr 3
CLINTON'S '84 CAMPAIGN NAMED AS SUSPECT IN PROBE - AN RTC REFERRAL [L.Jean Lewis] TO FISKE ASKS WHETHER $60,500 IN MADISON FUNDS WENT TO THE GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN. by Susan Schmidt- NEARLY THE SAME TEXT ( PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER , 731 words.) Apr 3
PROBE OF CLINTON CAMPAIGN REPORTED - INQUIRY EXAMINES '84 GUBERNATORIAL BID by Susan Schmidt- NEARLY THE SAME TEXT ( SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS , 834 words.) Apr 2
HEADLINE: '84 CLINTON CAMPAIGN WAS `SUSPECT' // COMMITTEE NAMED BY RTC DURING ITS PROBE OF MADISON NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR- ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 369 words), Apr 2
RTC [L.Jean Lewis] SOUGHT FURTHER PROBE OF CLINTON'S '84 CAMPAIGN by Susan Schmidt- NEARLY THE SAME TEXT ( THE WICHITA EAGLE , 828 words.) Apr 2
April 1994 Story 5 (Whitewater according to Schmidt and Lewis) The Washington Post fabrication also appeared in other newspapers
CLINTON'S '84 CAMPAIGN PROBE TARGET - WASHINGTON by Susan Schmidt - Investigators
[L.Jean Lewis] for the Resolution Trust Corp. last year named President Clinton's 1984 gubernatorial campaign in Arkansas as a suspect in their criminal probe of Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan, according to an official familiar with the investigation. (BOSTON GLOBE, 182 words), April 3RTC SEEKS PROBE OF S&L LINK TO CLINTON '84 CAMPAIGN // FISKE IS ASKED TO SEE IF MADISON FUNDS WERE DIVERTED by Susan Schmidt- Investigators
[L.Jean Lewis] for the Resolution Trust Corp. last year named the 1984 Clinton gubernatorial campaign committee in one of its 10 (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 637 words), Apr 2
April 1994 Story 6 - Why was story 5 published when it was -- read the story below:
CLINTON HEALTH PROGRAM GETS A CAUTIOUS DIAGNOSIS. COMMERCE, Calif. -- The Easter recess is a traditional time for members of Congress to come home and find out what's on the minds of their constituents. In Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard's 33rd Congressional District, a near-in suburb of Los Angeles, what induced more than 100 constituents to turn out at 7:30 the other morning was something more real and immediate to them than Whitewater: how the Clinton health care plan would affect them and their Community. (BALTIMORE SUN, 678 words), Apr 2
April 1994 Story 7 Hillary Clinton's poll numbers went down the tube in 1994 -- this was no accident!
THE MEDIA COULD BE THE LOSERS IN THIS LATEST MATCH The defamation of Hillary Rodham Clinton relies on the power of the media to distill and abbreviate. (BOSTON GLOBE, 669 words), April 3
April 1994 Story 8- A little Arkansas secret - Stephens, Inc had opposed Clinton throughout his political career in Arkansas --but how could a reporter be expected to know that?
CONTROVERSY CENTRAL - HOW CLINTON'S POLITICAL FORTUNES WERE TIED TO THE FINANCIAL HEALTH OF A LAW FIRM AND BIG BANKERS You see a girl walking down the street. You can say, "There goes a beautiful girl" or "There goes a whore." What the hell's the difference? They've both got legs.-- Jon E.M. Jacoby, executive vice president of Stephens Inc., explaining the Arkansas system of politics and finance as it reached perfection during the Clinton years (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 846 words). Apr 3
April 1994 Story 9 -- This is a LIE, but who held the newspaper accountable?
ROSE LAW FIRM'S BIG, BIG BUDDIES - VINCENT FOSTER Foster was regarded as the "soul" of the Rose Law Firm, which, according to grand jury testimony, shredded volumes of his records when a federal prosecutor appeared in the vicinity. He was deputy White House counsel until his suicide last summer. (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 211 words). Apr 3
April 1994 Story 10 "Well, it looks like the Campobello story is going to come out -- how do we play it? Let's see, Whitewater, Clinton's partner. --- A little investigative reporting would have revealed the major Republican links.
OFF MAINE, A WHITEWATER LINK CLINTONS' PARTNER MCDOUGAL BOUGHT MUCH OF ISLAND IN DEAL THAT WEAKENED ARK. THRIFT -CAMPOBELLO ISLAND, New Brunswick -- James McDougal was deep into his Whitewater venture with Bill Clinton in the early 1980s when he discovered what he called "the deal of the century" -- land for $211 an acre on this fabled island a few hundred yards off the coast of Maine. Here, on the enclave that Franklin Delano Roosevelt called "my beloved island," McDougal dreamed of his biggest real estate enterprise. It would be 3,900 acres, nearly 20 times the size of the Whitewater project. (BOSTON GLOBE, 1400 words), April 4
April 1994 Story 11 -There is the story as printed and then there is the REAL story --
OFFICIALS GET PEEK AT S&L'S INNER TROUBLES - PAPERS ON LENDER TIED TO WHITEWATER DETAIL ITS ACTIONS PRIOR TO COLLAPSE More than 8,000 pages of documents from an S&L at the center of the Whitewater controversy [Madison Guaranty S&L] detail its collapse under risky investments, bad loans and a lack of cash reserves. The papers released Monday by the Resolution Trust Corp. do not focus on Bill or Hillary Clinton or on the Whitewater Development Corp. (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 330 words). Apr 5[That's because Whitewater had nothing to do with the collapse of Madison Guaranty -- The Campobello development investment in the early 1980's wiped out Madison's cash reserves -- a partner in that development was Sheffield Nelson -- the Republican candidate for governor of Arkansas in 1990 and 1994, and the Republican national committeeman for Arkansas since 1990. ]
Collapse of Arkansas thrift detailed
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (BALTIMORE SUN, 663 words), Apr 5PAPERS DETAIL S&L'S ROAD TO COLLAPSE - NO NEW DATA ON CLINTONS RELEASED NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 452 words), Apr 5
HEADLINE: WHITEWATER PARTNER'S S&L DOCUMENTS SHOW DISARRAY NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR- ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 104 words), Apr 5
April 1994 - Story 12 A day before the Charlotte N.C. Town Meeting
CLINTON PUSHES REFORM IN TOUR OF RURAL HOSPITAL President Clinton, seeking to capitalize on what he claims is public weariness of the Whitewater affair, opened a new push for his health care plan today with a tour of a rural hospital that has no full-time doctors. He vowed to help refocus public attention on "real problems" like health care during a visit to this sparsely settled community about 50 miles east of Charlotte, N.C. (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 402 words) Apr 5
April 1994 Story 13 The Town Hall Meeting was on the Clinton National Health Care Reform Plan --- What was covered down in Jesse Helm's state?
AUDIENCE QUESTIONS CLINTON ON FINANCES - SAYS HIS WIFE TOOK A RISK, 'GOT COLD FEET' ON MARKET Peppered with biting questions about his family's finances, President Clinton told a town meeting audience last night that his wife invested honestly in the commodities markets in the late 1970s and preserved her $100,000 in earnings only because she "got cold feet" and withdrew the money right before the market slumped. (BOSTON GLOBE, 632 words), April 6
TOWN MEETING IN NORTH CAROLINA QUESTIONS CLINTON ON WHITEWATER CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- President Clinton told a seemingly skeptical town meeting audience last night that his wife, Hillary, invested honestly in the commodities markets in the late 1970s and preserved her $100,000 in earnings only because she "got cold feet" and withdrew the money right before the market slumped. (BOSTON GLOBE, 546 words), April 6
STUDIO AUDIENCE GRILLS CLINTON - CHARLOTTE-AREA CITIZENS RAISE CRIME, TRAVEL ISSUES In a televised town meeting in Charlotte, President Clinton on Tuesday night fielded tough questions about health care, crime, Whitewater - even the cost of his flying into town to watch Arkansas win the Final Four. Holding a microphone, often leaning on a tall stool, Clinton played the role of a talk-show host as he tried to steer questions to his legislative agenda. (KR- CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 753, 860 words), Apr 6
TOWN MEETING OFFERS NO BREAK FROM TOUGH QUESTIONS - When members of Congress balked at his proposals, President Ronald Reagan would go over their heads by taking to the TV airwaves. His favorite set: The Oval Office. President Clinton prefers a TV talk-show format. Tuesday night in Charlotte, he grabbed a microphone, took center stage and fielded studio audience questions in the latest in a series of televised ``town meetings.''(KR- CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 651 words), Apr 6
CAROLINIANS PUT PRESIDENT ON SPOT - EXCERPTS FROM QUESTION-AND-ANSWER SESSION WITH PRESIDENT CLINTON DURING TUESDAY NIGHT'S MEETING IN CHARLOTTE. - Mike Moss, Gastonia: With the inner-city crime rate at an all-time high, are there any plans for Congress to allot funds for programs that would help the inner-city families deal with these problems? (KR- CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1,691 words), Apr 6
PRESIDENT INSISTS HE IS TRUSTWORTHY - CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- President Bill Clinton forcefully defended his trustworthiness Tuesday night, assuring a woman who said the Whitewater controversy had tarred his credibility, "You will not be ashamed of what I do as president." During a town hall meeting televised in nine states, Clinton defended his money-losing Whitewater investment in the 1980s and his wife's big gains in the cattle futures market in the '70s. (KR- CHARLOTTE OBSERVER), Apr 6
PRESIDENT INSISTS HE IS TRUSTWORTHY - CHARLOTTE, N.C. --
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR - DETROIT FREE PRESS, 259 words), Apr 6CLINTON TELLS AUDIENCE HE'S TRUSTWORTHY - MEETING THE PUBLIC, HE DEFENDED HIMSELF ON WHITEWATER AND PUSHED HIS HEALTH PLAN. NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 657 words), Apr 6
CLINTON BEGINS TOWN MEETINGS, DEFENDS HIS EFFORTS AND IMAGE - President Clinton defended his trustworthiness Tuesday night during a town hall meeting that was televised in nine states. (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 659 words), Apr 6
CLINTON HITS ROAD IN BID TO REVIVE HEALTH PLAN // BARNSTORMING MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO REKINDLE SUPPORT FOR REFORMS Six months after he vowed to win passage this year of health care reforms guaranteeing "security to every citizen," President (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 1094 words), Apr 6
April 1994 Story 14- Not everyone at the Washington Post is in the pocket of the GOP - Note however, most of the anti-Clinton stories were published on the front page. This story was back on page A17
. RECALL THOSE FIRST SL CALLS? By Al Kamen Page A17 (WASHINGTON POST), Apr 6Ever wonder why the news reports about all those Clinton White House contacts with savings and loan regulators sound so familiar? Well, questionable calls involving First Family finances and failed S&Ls didn't begin with the Clinton administration.
Remember that call from George Bush's White House counsel C. Boyden Gray in December 1990 to Alfred J.T. Byrne, then general counsel of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., asking about the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) case against Neil Bush and the failed Denver Silverado savings and loan?
Gray wanted to know whether it was possible to shift the matter out of OTS and into the federal court. Gray has said there was no attempt to influence anything, he was just checking on agency procedures.
But Byrne then called OTS director Timothy Ryan, who, according to a Treasury Department report, warned Byrne that it would be improper to discuss the case, ended the call and referred the matter to the Treasury Department inspector general.
The case was then referred for criminal prosecution to then-U.S. Attorney Jay B. Stephens, the same Jay B. Stephens whose appointment to work on the Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan matter sparked a call by Clinton aides Harold Ickes and George Stephanopoulos to the Treasury Department. Stephens's office declined prosecution. Byrne was reprimanded and denied an executive bonus.
The episode was recounted in former FDIC chairman L. William Seidman's book and reported last March in The Washington Post. Seidman wrote "it was miraculous that the press never got wind of it" before Seidman's book 2 1/2 years later. Is that because the Republicans were better at keeping secrets? Or maybe the press was once again asleep at the switch?
Meanwhile Byrne, now in private practice, was kept on by the Clinton administration for nearly a year as FDIC general counsel -- a position that is still vacant. [Emphasis added]
April 1994 Story 15 The Coverage of the Health Care Issue in the Boston Globe and the Charolotte Observer.
CLINTON, IN N.C., RETURNS TO HEALTH -BEGINS RURAL FIELD WORK TO DELIVER FOLKSY MESSAGE - TROY, N.C. -- Stepping up his crusade for universal health care after weeks of being enmeshed in the Whitewater affair, President Clinton kicked off a week of intense political field work yesterday, delivering a basic, folksy message during a swing through the Carolina countryside. (BOSTON GLOBE, 616 words), April 6
HER REAL GOAL: MEET LIMBAUGH - FOR CHARLOTTE WOMAN, QUIZZING CLINTON NOT AS IMPORTANT- Charlotte's Rebecca Fairchild made the most of her 15 minutes of fame this week. Tuesday night she zinged President Clinton with a Whitewater question during his town meeting at the NBC News Channel, a question that got her name in USA Today and other papers. Wednesday she was on the Rush Limbaugh show, basking in her new celebrity with guest host Mary Matalin. (KR-CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 781 words), Apr 7
CLINTON CAMPAIGNS - PRESIDENT'S PERFORMANCE SHOWS WHY HE WON. BUT UNLIKE TELEVISION HOSTS, HE WILL FINALLY BE JUDGED ON RESULTS, NOT RATINGS. Campaigning becomes the president, and Bill Clinton's high-energy day in these parts Tuesday reminded Carolinians why he won the job. He plugged his health care reform in Troy, met with supporters in Fort Mill and again proved himself first-rate in the talk-show business - this time in a televised town meeting from Charlotte. (KR- CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 372 words), Apr 7
April 1994 Story 16 - Read the Headline, then read the story.
ONLY FOSTER'S FILES HIT ROSE LAW FIRM SHREDDER The two couriers who shredded documents at Hillary Rodham Clinton's former law firm say they don't believe the files had anything to do with the Whitewater investigation. Jeremy Hedges, 20, and Clayton Lindsey, 19, had said earlier this year they were asked to shred documents at the Rose Law Firm around the time a special prosecutor was appointed to investigate the Whitewater affair. (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 159 words). Apr7
April 1994 Story 17 - They cannot even tell the truth about the small things.
WHITEWATER PAPERS SENT TO MCDOUGAL David Kendall, personal lawyer for President Clinton and his wife, Hillary, said Wednesday that he had sent about 2,000 pages of financial records to James McDougal, the Clintons' former business partner in the Whitewater Development Co. McDougal, who also ran a state-regulated savings and loan that ultimately collapsed, sought the records to complete corporate tax filings
. [Madison Guaranty was a Federally-regulated S&L and could only be closed down by Federal regulators -- this did not occur until 1989.](SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS , 167 words.) Apr 7
April 1994 - Story 18 I wonder how much of the smear money came from the Tobacco Industry ?
A HOME FOR SMOKERS - THE cigarette companies are worried that the anti-smoking campaign iscatching fire and the government may issue stronger regulations concerning the use of tobacco. (BALTIMORE SUN, 340 words), Apr 7
April 1994 Story 19 Back on the Clinton National Health Care Plan -- In the end and thanks to the GOP, we simply have to put our trust in our HMOs .
CLINTON TOUTS HEALTH PLAN IN TOWN HALL - PRESIDENT BRISTLES AT CRITICISM THAT HIS REFORM PROGRAM WOULD COST JOBS Wielding charts and ticking off points on his fingers, President Clinton pitched his health-care reform plan in a TV "town hall" Thursday where wary Americans delivered a healthy dose of skepticism. While Clinton matter-of-factly fielded a variety of questions that went to the heart of problems with the current health-care system, he bristled a little at suggestions his plan would cost jobs and that government can't be trusted to revamp health care. (KR- AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 339 words). Apr 8
Clinton sells health plan to wary public - KANSAS CITY, Kan. --
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (BALTIMORE SUN, 425 words), Apr 8CLINTON ENCOUNTERS MORE SKEPTICS - HEALTH PLAN DOMINATES CITIZEN MEETING NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 593 words), Apr 8
CLINTON GETS DOSE OF SKEPTICISM IN RESPONSE TO HEALTH PLAN NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-MIAMI HERALD, 417 words), Apr 8
PRESIDENT SPARS WITH CRITICS IN KANSAS CITY FORUM NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 987 words), Apr 8
HEADLINE: CLINTON TOUTS HEALTH CARE PLAN, FINDS TOWN HALL CROWD WARY, NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR- ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 618 words), Apr 8
April 1994 Story 20 - The National Healh Care Plan was only to distract attention away from Whitewater.
CLINTON VOWS MORE ACTION ON HEALTH - WHITEWATER STILL CLOUDS PRESIDENT'S ATTEMPT TO SHIFT FOCUS TO REFORM PLAN Pressing Congress to deliver on promises of health-care reform, President Clinton opened a Midwest sales swing Thursday by declaring it's time to "cut down on the rhetoric, turn up the action." (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 321 words). Apr 8
April 1994 Story 21 For how the media put the pieces in the puzzle together - see Story below.
CLINTONS' EX-PARTNER IN WHITEWATER PLANS SALE OF DOCUMENTS More pieces of the Whitewater puzzle could fall into place next week when President Clinton's former partner, James McDougal, releases -- or, more to the point, sells -- about 2,000 pages of documents relating to the land deal. McDougal's lawyer, Sam Heuer, said in a telephone interview yesterday that he received the documents from Clinton's personal attorney this week and that copies would be sold to media outlets for $2 a page beginning next Tuesday. (BOSTON GLOBE, 309 words), April 8WHITEWATER RECORDS COULD BE YOURS -- FOR A PRICE He began by selling dirt from the Whitewater land venture. Now President and Mrs. Clinton's former business partner has a new idea for making money -- selling Whitewater documents he just got from the White House. Price tag: $4,000. (MIAMI HERALD, 298 words), Apr 8
April 1994 Story 22 The voice of the people (well at least some of the people).
WHERE'S THE BEEF IN THE CLINTON CHARGES? - When the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 42 points Monday, editorialists at The Wall Street Journal prepared to indict the villain. "Financial markets went on another wild ride yesterday, ignoring Easter weekend assurances by White House aides," began Tuesday's editorial. (BOSTON GLOBE, 792 words), April 8
April 1994 Story 23 Money talks! . . . . . .and talks! . . . . . and talks!
D.C. MYSTERY: ABSENT ALLIES -- WASHINGTON -- So where are the president's allies in the Capitol? Not, for the most part, on the television talk shows. Nor on the floor of the House and Senate. Nor, it comes to mind, hardly anywhere to be seen. (BOSTON GLOBE, 704 words), April 8
April 1994 Story 24 -- Sound familiar?
WASHINGTON -- A collection of Democratic officials and activists said yesterday that they are organizing a group to respond to attacks on the integrity of President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton. The statement announcing the "Back to Business Committee" did not refer to the Whitewater controversy but said the group's members are concerned that work on health care, crime and welfare reform is being stalled in Washington. (BOSTON GLOBE, 247 words), April 8
April 1994 Story 25- Sound familiar? And that is when they were in the minority.
DOLE SEES GOP SLOWDOWN IF WHITEWATER STALLS - WASHINGTON -- Republicans might start trying to "slow things down" in Congress unless Democrats move by the end of the month toward a timetable for Whitewater hearings, Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole said yesterday. "Obviously, the Democrats don't want to have a hearing," Dole said. ''The Democrats aren't going to have it unless they absolutely have to." (BOSTON GLOBE, 305 words), April 9TO GET WHITEWATER HEARING, GOP MAY STAGE SLOWDOWN
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 183 words), Apr 9
April 1994 Story 26 - And the GOP was not even warmed up, yet.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO PRESIDENTIAL MYSTIQUE'? - IN TUESDAY'S TOWN MEETING IN CHARLOTTE, PRESIDENT CLINTON WAS SUBJECTED TO THE SORT OF ABUSE, CRUDE INSULT AND JUST PLAIN RUDENESS USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH SATURDAY NIGHT WRESTLING. (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1,149 words), Apr 9
April 1994 Story 27 - At the end of a week on the Campaign Trail for National Health Care.
CLINTON ENDS A WEEK'S PUSH ON HEALTH - AIMS TO IMPART SENSE OF URGENCY - MINNEAPOLIS -- President Clinton yesterday wrapped up a week on the hustings during which he tried to refocus the nation's attention on health care and away from questions about Whitewater and his wife's commodities trading. The strategy was also designed to give members of Congress the message, as they return to Washington this week, that there is an urgency to passing health legislation because real people are suffering under the present system. (BOSTON GLOBE, 522 words), April 9HEALTH CARE DROWNS IN WHITEWATER Like the proverbial 900-pound gorilla, Whitewater has been crowding out other subjects in TV news coverage, from which most people get their information about politics. At President Clinton's prime time press conference on March 24, Whitewater was the subject of 14 of the 18 questions. Only one question, by contrast, was about the legislation that could affect the sort of doctors we see, the health services we receive, and the costs we pay. (KR-PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 987 words), Apr 9
CYNICS SET CLINTON OFF AT MINN. HEALTH TOWN HALL Questioned on whether his health-care plan is really a ``power grab,'' President Clinton furiously denounced critics who question his motives as he hosted his third TV ``town hall'' of the week. ``This health debate, in my judgment, has really been retarded - in more ways than one - by all this motive-throwing around we've had,'' Clinton declared. ``Let's argue about what should or shouldn't be done and not talk about other people's motives.'' (KR- CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 467 words), Apr 9
Let's see -
Whitewater - Washington Post, October 31, 1993 - Commodities Trading - New York Times, March 18, 1994 -- "Power Grab" - Charlotte Observer, April 9, 1994 -- Boy that is good timing! And it was entirely fortuitous, (Or was it?)
April 1994 Story 28
PRESIDENT DEFENDS ROLE IN WHITEWATER - President Clinton said Friday he "would be surprised" to learn that any money from a federally insured Arkansas savings and loan (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 870 words), Apr 9CLINTON // LET HIM BE THE LEADER HE'S CAPABLE OF BEING In an hour's worth of conversation on Friday, President Clinton displayed anew the traits that made him attractive to voters in (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 766 words), Apr 9
April 1994 Story 29
MCDOUGAL SHOWS SCANDAL DOES PAY [his legal defense bills] -- The First Family's former partner in Whitewater pleaded for the return of 2,000 pages of assorted records, saying he needed them to file his taxes. Bill and Hillary Clinton sent them along this week, and now James McDougal is hawking copies for 50 cents a page. (KR- DETROIT FREE PRESS, 632 words), Apr 9
April 1994 Story 30 Smearing and the Erosion of Trust. . . .
Trust in Clinton's Word is the Issue, Washington. -- Whitewater began as a routine, if disquieting, peek into a presidential candidate's personal finances. But it has become something else. (BALTIMORE SUN, 2610 words), Apr 10`REAL AMERICA' GIVES CLINTON REALITY CHECK President Bill Clinton ventured out into what he likes to call ``real America'' last week, and it took just 15 minutes for Rebecca Fairchild to jolt him with this question:
``How can you earn back our trust?'' After that rocky start in North Carolina, Clinton's town hall tripleheader ended before a friendlier - but still anxious - audience three nights later in Minnesota. Once again, Clinton was peppered with questions about his health care reform plan - and his political motives. (KR- LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 285 words), Apr 10WHITEWATERGATE (KR- MIAMI HERALD, 261 words), Apr 10
HEALTH CARE WATCH // A TRIP FOR HIS POLITICAL HEALTH // CLINTON FARES WELL ON VISIT BUT FACES TOUGH ROAD IN CONGRESS After several weeks of slogging through Whitewater, President Clinton got a refreshing tonic on his visit to the Twin Cities last (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 1401 words), Apr 10
April 1994 -- Story 31 - Meanwhile in the "Democrat" Congress ---
CONGRESS TO TACKLE FULL SLATE OF ISSUES - MEMBERS ARE SEEKING TO REGAIN THE TRUST OF THE PUBLIC. - BUT LOOMING IN THE WINGS IS WHITEWATER. Congressional leaders are out to overcome the public's disdainful attitude toward Washington in coming months, promising action on a breathtaking array of issues. To name just a few: Major health-care reform. Welfare reform. A sweeping anti-crime bill. Campaign-finance reform. Lobbying reform and a ban on gifts from private interests. A rewrite of the Clean Water Act. Thirteen major spending bills. Protection for abortion clinics. A big education bill. (KR-PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 909 words), Apr 10CONGRESS FACING AMBITIOUS AGENDA - TOP LAWMAKERS PROMISE TO TACKLE WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES - (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1179 words) Apr 10
April 1994 Story -- 32 -- At least he was honest.
GOP ready to stall debate on health in quest for Whitewater hearings, Dole says WASHINGTON -- Republicans are ready to stall debate on health care another issues if Democrats block efforts to set up hearings on the Clintons'Whitewater land deal, Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole said yesterday. (BALTIMORE SUN, 436 words), Apr 11DOLE SAYS GOP WILL GIVE PRIORITY TO WHITEWATER - THREATENS TO STALL DEBATE ON HEALTH - WASHINGTON -- Republicans are ready to stall debate on health care and other issues if Democrats block efforts to set up hearings on the Clintons' Whitewater land deal, Sen. Bob Dole said yesterday. (BOSTON GLOBE, 432 words), April 11
DOLE: IF NO LAND DEAL HEARINGS, EXPECT FILIBUSTER (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 812 words), Apr 11
April 1994 Story 33- He was right on one thing . . . . a permanent Whitewater investigation.
CLINTON'S SECRET WEAPON - STRATEGIST JAMES CARVILLE SAYS HE'S EAGER TO USE THE REPUBLICANS' FAVORITE ISSUE - WHITEWATER - AGAINST THEM. Eyes flashing, arms waving, James Carville - President Bill Clinton's chief political strategist - says he has found a new political vehicle to ride to victory against the Republican Party in November: Whitewater. ``Let's cut a deal,'' Carville proposed Wednesday, sitting over breakfast. ``The single most important thing to the president and his allies is health care. But we want to have Whitewater hearings in perpetuity - forever. We'll have a Permanent Select Committee on Whitewater. (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 749 words), Apr 11
April 1994 Story 34- On income taxes - straight reporting.
CLINTONS GOOFED ON INCOME TAX - ( WASHINGTON -- Bill anb Hillary Clinton failed to report about $6,000 in commodities-related income on their 1979-80 tax returns, the White House disclosed Monday. Press secretary Dee Dee Myers said the Clintons would "certainly pay back taxes as required," including interest and penalties.KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 215 words) Apr 11
CLINTONS WILL PAY BACK TAX ON $6,000
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT(KR - DETROIT FREE PRESS, 160 words), Apr 12
April 1994 Story 34 She obviously did something wrong -- now what was it?
JUST THE FACTS, PLEASE - WE'D LIKE A STRAIGHT STORY FROM MRS. CLINTON - How did Hillary Rodham Clinton make about $100,000 in the commodities markets in the late 1970s? When the Clintons disclosed this windfall a few weeks ago, their flacks and friends made the first lady sound like a savvy, lucky investor who had taken ideas from an Arkansas friend and from the Wall Street Journal. Her allies emphasized that she and nobody else had made the trading decisions in her account. But it's now clear that this depiction of her hot streak in cattle futures (KR-PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 353 words), Apr 12WHITEWATER STONEWALLING IS SUCCEEDING LET'S SAY I want to make an untraceable investment in a political figure. How could I launder the donation and even get a tax deduction for it? I might find a broker willing to "allocate" trades in the futures market --that is, to put in orders to buy and sell at the same time. He could then allocate the winning trade to my political friend and the losing trade to me; I would then take my losses on the down side of the "straddle," using them to reduce taxable gains from other gains. (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 591 words) Apr 12
Tax repayment adds to confusion surrounding Clinton family finances WASHINGTON -- President and Mrs. Clinton's underpayment of their 1980 taxes, which is costing them $14,615 in back taxes and interest, is the latest installment in the confused account of Hillary Rodham Clinton's adventures in commodities trading. (BALTIMORE SUN, 601 words), Apr 12
April 1994 Story 35 (source) - Looking for anything negative . . . . Looking for the reportorial "hook" - FOUND IT!
RECORDS SHOW WIDER ROLE FOR HILLARY CLINTON - WHITEWATER PAPERS DETAIL INVOLVEMENT By Charles R. Babcock and Susan Schmidt (WASHINGTON POST), Apr 13[Para 1] - LITTLE ROCK, ARK., APRIL 12 -- Hillary Rodham Clinton was more involved in the management of the Whitewater land venture in its later years than the White House has acknowledged previously, according to records released today.
[Para 6] The documents released here today were sent to McDougal from the Clintons
after months of confusion about who maintained records for the corporation, [see Para 10 ] which the Clintons and McDougals formed in the late 1970s. The Clintons sold their interest back to McDougal in 1992 for $1,000. Officials said the documents included some maintained by former White House deputy counsel Vincent Foster, whose Whitewater records were removed from his office following his suicide in July 1993.[Para 7] The 2,000 pages of documents were released to nine news organizations that paid $1,000 -- 50 cents a page -- for what McDougal and his attorney, Sam Heuer, said were copying and handling charges. Last week, they said they would be selling them for $2 a page and using the funds for McDougal's legal defense, but after an outcry from news organizations, they dropped that idea.
[Para 8] The records included hundreds of pages of bank receipts showing monthly payments on Whitewater lots, as well as the corporation's tax returns from 1980 through 1989.
[Para 9] McDougal said in releasing the documents that they "totally exonerate them {the Clintons} from all charges that this is some sort of cash cow or some sort of Mafia front or whatever fantasy the Republicans have been able to create."
[Para 10] The Clintons' personal lawyer, David Kendall, said that the documents
"establish what we've previously said. Jim McDougal ran the company during most of its existence. In its later years, as we've said, with Jim McDougal unavailable and Susan McDougal in California, Mrs. Clinton by default took certain necessary steps to wrap up and wind down the company's affairs."
April 1994 - Story 35-- And the Knight-Ridder Chain makes sure the slanted news coverage is spread across the nation.
FIRST LADY'S WHITEWATER ROLE CAME LATER By Charles R. Babcock and Susan Schmidt LITTLE ROCK, Ark. --
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT ( LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER , 397 words.) Apr 13WHITEWATER PAPERS SHOW HILLARY'S ROLE FIRST LADY ACTIVE IN LAND VENTURE AFFAIRS NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 234 words), Apr 13
DETAILS OF FIRST LADY'S WHITEWATER ROLE - SHE HANDLED PART OF MANAGEMENT IN VENTURE'S LATER YEARS NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 415 words) Apr 13
April 1994 - Story 35 Other papers carry the same slant.
Mrs. Clinton's Whitewater role detailed - LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Hillary Rodham Clinton sold Whitewater property and received payment checks from lot owners, according to newly released documents that portray the first lady as having a more active role in the land venture's final years. (BALTIMORE SUN, 506 words), Apr 13
April 1994 -Story -35-- And some papers played it straight.
MCDOUGAL: WHITEWATER USED TO REDUCE TAXES- HILLARY CLINTON PREPAID INTEREST, HE SAID. SHE WAS OFFSETTING PROFITS FROM HER '70S COMMODITY TRADING. Hillary Rodham Clinton took tax deductions from the money-losing Whitewater land venture to reduce her personal tax liability on the extraordinary profits she earned from commodities trading in the late 1970s, James B. McDougal, the Clintons' partner in Whitewater, said yesterday. Hillary Clinton prepaid interest on Whitewater debt to reduce her liability on the nearly $100,000 she had earned in the trading, he said. (KR-PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 520 words), Apr 13CLINTONS PAID SOME INTEREST IN ADVANCE//LEGAL WAY TO CUT TAXES, EX-PARTNER TELLS MEDIA - The White House said Tuesday that the Clintons used some of the profits from Hillary Rodham Clinton's lucrative commodity trades to make large interest payments on a real estate venture in the late 1970s as a way to reduce their income taxes. (KR- ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 462 words), Apr 13
April 1994 Story -36 -- A NewYork Times Editorial in the Miami Herald
'CONTINUED VIGOROUS INQUIRY WILL BE HEALTHY FOR THE COUNTRY' This editorial is reprinted from The New York Times. THERE is a kind of tidal rhythm to the attitude of the press -- and the public's attitude toward journalists -- when a political crisis is brewing. First come the revelations. Then follows a period of full media mobilization, with reporters scurrying everywhere. Then arrives the backlash. (MIAMI HERALD, 791 words), Apr 13
April 1994 Story --37-- Those Jerks Outside the Beltway simply do not know what is important
! LAWMAKERS: PEOPLE INDIFFERENT TO WHITEWATER Members of Congress got an earful during their two weeks' vacation and came back to work Tuesday saying the country is aroused about crime, concerned about health care - and indifferent about Whitewater. (KR-CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 695 words), Apr 13CONGRESS RETURNS FROM VACATION -CRIME, HEALTH CARE ON CONSTITUENTS' MINDS
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT. (KR-LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 690 words), Apr 13
STICK TO THE ISSUES, MASSES TELL CONGRESS (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 386 words), Apr 13
April 1994 Story -38-- Oh no, it did not.
CLINTON'S TOUR TO TOUT HEALTH PLAN PAYING OFF (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 808 words). Apr 14
April 1994 Story--39-- Knight Ridder and the Newspaper Editor's convention
CLINTON STANDS UP TO MEDIA President Clinton angrily defended his handling of the Whitewater affair before a convention of newspaper editors Wednesday, saying "I have done my best to answer the questions asked of me." In a testy exchange with one editor, an irked Clinton said: "Maybe you have total and complete recollection of every question that might be -- not is, might be asked of you at any moment of things that happened to you 12, 13, 14 years ago. Maybe you could give your tax records up for 17 years and at the (KR- AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 245 words). Apr 14CLINTON GET TESTY AT QUESTIONS --LET ME GOVERN, HE TELLS EDITORS
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR- CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 340 words), Apr 14CLINTON IRKED WITH THE MEDIA OVER TAXES NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR- LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 354 words), Apr 14
CLINTON SAYS HE HAS DONE HIS BEST IN HANDLING WHITEWATER NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 656 words), Apr 14
CLINTON DEFENDS WHITEWATER RESPONSE - 'YOU THINK I SHOULD HAVE SHUT THE WHOLE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT?' President Clinton heatedly defended his handling of the Whitewater affair today, telling newspaper editors, "I have done my best to answer the questions asked of me." (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 429 words) Apr 13
April 1994 Story 40-- And other papers slant the reporting the same way.
Clinton muffs play again on first family's finances
WASHINGTON -- The White House handling of the business of the personal finances of President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton is a classic case of making things worse than they otherwise would have been. The pattern was never clearer than in the disclosure that the Clintons failed to pay enough taxes 14 years ago. (BALTIMORE SUN, 688 words), Apr 14
CLINTON BRISTLES, DEFENDS HIS WHITEWATER HANDLING (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 911 words), Apr 14
April 1994 Story -41-- You're missing the story! The story is to keep the Clinton National Health Care Plan off the pages of America's newspapers and off the TV screens.
IN NEWSROOMS, WHITEWATER'S COVERAGE DEFENDED, DECRIED - WASHINGTON -- From the halls of Harvard University to the grill at Your Mama's Good Food in Little Rock, Ark., drumbeats of protest are echoing over the press corps' stalking of an elusive prey called Whitewater. "It's excessive and obsessive," said Marvin Kalb, director of Harvard's Barone Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. (BOSTON GLOBE, 1297 words), April 14April 1994 Story 42 - The Media Response.
MEA CULPA! BILL AND HILLARY ARE PERFECT QUIT THE LIBERAL SHRIEKING (LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 942 words), Apr 14THE HEROIC BILL AND BRILLIANT HILL ARE REALLY GREAT
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 840 words) Apr 14
April 1994 Story 43-- Whitewater equals Iran Contra -Sound Familiar?
WHITEWATER UNFOLDS Republican attempts to bring the Whitewater fiasco to the forefront of Beltway politics is not different than what the Democrats tried to accomplish with Iran-Contra. It appears to me that most of the hype has been generated by the media, not by Republicans. (LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 900 words), Apr 15
April 1994 Story 44 Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the . . . Those guns of August are getting louder.
Fiske says he's known Nussbaum for years - WASHINGTON -- The Whitewater special counsel, Robert B. Fiske Jr., says he has known the former White House counsel, Bernard W. Nussbaum, professionally since the 1970s and disclosed the relationship to the Justice Department before he was hired. (BALTIMORE SUN, 541 words), Apr 15
April 1994 Story 45 Funny thing, the newspapers raise questions and then don't answer them.
VENTURE'S TAX FORMS CLASH WITH CLINTONS' Newly released tax returns for the Whitewater Development Corp. raise fresh questions about the assertion by President Clinton and his wife that they poured tens of thousands of dollars into the losing venture and received nothing in return. The Clintons have consistently defended themselves against critics by arguing that they lost $46,636 on the Ozark Mountain development project during the 1970s and 1980s. Most of the money they spent, they have said, consisted of large interest payments ma (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 328 words) Apr 15CLINTONS', RESORT'S RETURNS DIFFER - FIRM'S BOOKS DON'T SHOW CLAIMED LOSSES
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 417 words), Apr 16
April 1994 Story 46 Watergate and Whitewater
. IF THE PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY WERE CHILDREN - THEY'D HAVE BEEN GROUNDED BY NOW - One of my brushes with the Watergate scandal occurred when the name of a Republican politician I knew well surfaced during the Senate hearings. I reached the man at an airport as he was waiting for an airplane and he asked me what he should do. "Tell me everything," I said. "Hold nothing back and be truthful." He did - and within days he and I moved on to other matters. Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton are no friends of mine, but even so I would have given them the same advice on Whitewater(KR-PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 824 words), Apr 16
April 1994 Story 47 An Ironic View of the Presidency: The Media Marks a Turning Point.
CLINTON NOW SOLIDLY ENTRENCHED IN PHASE II - I see by the newspapers that solid progress is being made by the failed Clinton administration, which has finally moved beyond the Bumbling Around Cluelessly Phase and is now deep into the Big Incomprehensible Scandal Phase. This is good. (KR- LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 878 words), Apr 17THE STUPID RAY
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-MIAMI HERALD, 831 words), Apr 17WHY D.C. STANDS FOR DUMBNESS CAPITAL NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 852 words) Apr 17
AT LAST, WE KNOW WHY PRESIDENTS FAIL (KR- ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 796 words), Apr 17
April 1994 Story 48 A Slightly Different Perspective from Minnesota.
IT FEELS GOOD TO SEE CLINTON CLEARLY LEARN FROM HIS EXPERIENCES President Clinton was so relaxed, so quick and so smooth in his hourlong meeting with Star Tribune editors April 8 that the one (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 732 words), Apr 17
April 1994 Story 49 Dirty Tax Cheats
--- CREDIBILITY, THAT'S THE ISSUE WHEN CLINTONS HEDGE ON TAX QUERIES Garrison Keillor, the president's wittiest Whitewater defender, exhorts us running dogs of the media to stick to "facts." I agree, which is why the history of President and Mrs. Clinton's 1978 and 1979 tax returns is so troubling. Last week the First Couple amended their 1980 tax return to cover a $6,498 profit in commodities trading unreported at the time. By itself this is small beer, even on April 15. But add it to their answers and non-answers going back to the 1992 campaign and the total (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 1001 words). Apr 18
April 1994 Story 50 Massive Hypocrisy -- Who?
MAYBE THE Clintons didn't do anything illegal, several reporters on the Whitewater beat told me recently, but still they are guilty of massive hypocrisy. (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 880 words) Apr 20
April 1994 Story 51 Whitewater equals Watergate, Again Only if we can make it one
. WILL WHITEWATER BE ANOTHER WATERGATE? There seems to be some confusion about Whitewater. So let me answer some of your questions. (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 437 words), Apr 20
April 1994 Story --52-- Any DO-GOODER that gets between me and a greater market share better look out!
DO-GOODERS WOULD DO BETTER TO JUST LET - THE MEDIA DO ITS JOB In a column last week in the Wall Street Journal, historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. argued that the media have gone too far in the investigation into Whitewater, and ought to leave Arkansas and related matters to time and the Clintons' biographers. (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 650 words), Apr 20SERIOUS GEORGE MITCHELL'S DEVOTION TO PASSING HEALTH REFORM IS ALREADY CHANGING THE DYNAMIC OF THE DEBATE - From the intensity of the assault, from the spare-no-expense lobbying, it has been hard to tell some days whether health reform is being debated in Washington - or softened up for the kill. Whitewater's flash flood didn't help matters. Nor has the President's maddening habit of discussing the capillaries of his plan, rather than the heart of it - health care for all that can't be taken away. (KR-PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 474 words), Apr 20
April 1994 Story 53 -- He is GLOBALLY INEPT
WHERE IS U.S. POLICY IN BOSNIA? Hello White House, is anyone home? Has anyone noticed that this week's Bosnian events are turning any lingering notion of American political and moral leadership abroad into a sick joke? (KR-PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 795 words), Apr 20
April 1994 Story 54 -- The Washington Post and how to demonize a President on page 1 -
WHITEWATER REPOSSESSIONS SALES PRACTICE BENEFITED CLINTONS, PARTNERS By Howard Schneider and Susan Schmidt (Front page) For three years Clyde Soapes Jr., a Texas grain elevator operator, regularly mailed monthly payments to the Whitewater Development Corp. for a lot along Arkansas' White River where he planned to build a fishing cottage.In 1987 he became critically ill with diabetes and stopped sending checks. By then he had made 35 installment payments of $244.69 to the corporation part-owned by then-Gov. Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary. Along with his earlier $3,000 down payment, Soapes had paid for much of his $14,000 lot.
Whitewater, employing a sales method that left lot buyers virtually powerless in such circumstances, took the property back and later resold it without court proceedings or compensation to Soapes for the thousands of dollars in principal and interest payments he had made. When the subsequent buyer defaulted as well, Whitewater again took back the lot and sold it a third time. (WASHINGTON POST), Apr 21
April 1994 Story --55-- Besides he is GLOBALLY INEPT -2
DOES ANYONE AT THE WHITE HOUSE EVEN CARE? - ONCE CLINTON AND AMERICA ARE LABELED GLOBALLY INEPT, THE THUGS OF THE WORLD WILL RUSH TO TAKE ADVANTAGE. Hello White House, is anyone home? Has anyone noticed that this week's Bosnian events are turning any lingering notion of American leadership abroad into a sick joke? (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 567 words), Apr 21April 1994 Story -56-- Another Interesting Poll from 1994
HEALTH-REFORM SUPPORT WANES IN POLL As critical decisions approach on President Clinton's top domestic priorities, Americans are cooling on his agenda for health care reform, enthusiastic about elements of his emerging welfare reform proposal and divided over how best to fight crime, a Los Angeles Times poll has found. In an unmistakable sign of waning enthusiasm for health care reform, two-thirds of those polled said they would not be angry if Congress cannot pass a comprehensive plan this year. (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 531 words) Apr 21
April 1994 Story 57 Read the Headline, then read the story.
IF NOT ETHICS, THEN ON WHAT DO WE JUDGE A PRESIDENT? Evangelist Billy Graham has become the latest prominent figure to defend President Clinton in the Whitewater affair. He follows Barry Goldwater, who told the press and his fellow Republicans to lay off the president. Next came Garrison Keillor, who said much the same thing at a Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner. The American Society of Newspapers Editors tossed mostly softball questions at the president after a luncheon speech last week. (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 829 words). Apr 21
April 1994 Story -58- Now if the Rose Law Firm had represented First Federal or Savers Saving S&Ls, they would have been home free.
INVESTIGATORS SWARM WHITEWATER LAW FIRM Federal investigators have swarmed into the Rose Law Firm, poring over Whitewater-related documents that fill nearly 10 offices, the firm's managing partner said in a rare interview. Under siege in the Whitewater affair, Ronald M. Clark also said his firm has cut off contacts with former partner Hillary Rodham Clinton to avoid any appearance of impropriety. Sixteen of the firm's employees already have been questioned in connection with Whitewater special prosecutor Robert Fiske's
Investigation. (KR- AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 116 words). Apr 22
INVESTIGATORS BESIEGE FIRST LADY'S FORMER FIRM
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-MIAMI HERALD, 374 words), Apr 22INVESTIGATORS FLOOD ROSE LAW FIRM, EXAMINE WHITEWATER-RELATED PAPERS NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 368 words), Apr 22
April 1994 Story 59 Knight Ridder and the Baltimore Sun cover the Hillary Clinton News Conference
MRS. CLINTON DEFENDS INVESTMENTS - FIRST LADY, IN LONG NEWS CONFERENCE CARRIED LIVE ON 4 NETWORKS, SAYS HER DESIRE FOR PRIVACY FUELED WHITEWATER Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a long and remarkable news conference Friday, defended her big gains in the risky commodities market and her ties to a failed Arkansas savings and loan. She suggested her desire for "a zone of privacy" and her opposition to a special prosecutor may have fueled public suspicions and aggravated the Whitewater affair. (KR-AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 659 words). Apr 23FIRST LADY EXITS ZONE OF PRIVACY'
NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1040 words), Apr 23HILLARY CLINTON DENIES ERRING WASHINGTON -- After months of resisting, Hillary Rodham Clinton held an extraordinary hour-long news conference Friday on Whitewater and said she regretted not being more forthcoming sooner. (KR- DETROIT FREE PRESS, 437 words), Apr 23
HILLARY CLINTON DEFENDS TRADE, WHITEWATER FIRST LADY EXPLAINS DEALINGS IN RARE NEWS CONFERENCE NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR- LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 674 words), Apr 23
HILLARY CLINTON COOL UNDER FIRE -- SHE DEFENDS PAST INVESTMENTS DURING HOURLONG CONFERENCE NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 781 words) Apr 23
Mrs. Clinton faces press on finances WASHINGTON -- After months of fierce resistance to inquiries about Whitewater and her lucrative commodities investments, Hillary Rodham Clinton did a sudden about-face yesterday, holding a lengthy news conference to answer lingering questions about her financial dealings. (BALTIMORE SUN, 887 words), Apr 23
HILLARY CLINTON RUES WHITEWATER RETICENCE: NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 801 words), Apr 23
April 1994 Story 59 As covered by the Boston Globe and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
MRS. CLINTON MEETS THE PRESS - DEFENDS CONDUCT IN INVESTMENTS - WASHINGTON -- Hillary Rodham Clinton defended both her integrity and her husband yesterday, braving with steely aplomb reporters' questions about her commodity trades and Whitewater investments during an unprecedented White House news conference. Speaking for more than an hour with a skeptical White House press corps, Mrs. Clinton said she received no special treatment when parlaying a $1,000 investment into more than $100,000 in commodity trades in the late 1970s, and that neither she (BOSTON GLOBE, 879 words), April 23HILLARY CLINTON DEFENDS BUSINESS DEALINGS - Hillary Rodham Clinton offered a defense Friday of her business activities in Arkansas, patiently answering more than an hour's (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 1159 words), Apr 23
April 1994 Story -59-- Same story, Knight-Ridder headline .
FIRST LADY ON WINDFALL IN CATTLE FUTURES: 'I WAS LUCKY' - NEARLY THE SAME TEXT (KR-MIAMI HERALD, 602 words), Apr 23
April 1994 Story 60-- How to turn off an electorate ----GOP/Media style.
WHITEWATER IS THE KIND OF SCANDAL THE YUPPIE GENERATION UNDERSTANDS -- IT'S ALL SURFACE. BUT THE YUPPIES ARE INTO SURFACE. - THAT'S WHY THEY'RE DISILLUSIONED BY POLITICS. I didn't want to come down here and talk about Whitewater, it's a story that has a lot of comedians' footprints on it already, but as long as the President has brought it up, I'll say a few things. (KR-PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1185 words), Apr 23
April 1994 Story --61-- Another familiar theme in 1998.
FOREIGN POLICY NEEDS LEADER, NOT POLLSTER - If Bill Clinton is still focused on Whitewater and the uses made of it as the real threat to his presidency, he may get blindsided by a far more serious threat: the perception that he is preoccupied with polls and appearances and that he isn't acting like a leader. (KR- DETROIT FREE PRESS, 895 words), Apr 24April 1994 Story -- 62-- As we just said.
CLINTON AND THE WORLD -- BOSNIA, HAITI: UNSURE PRESIDENT DROPS BALL - Bill Clinton always wanted to be president, but not necessarily the leader of the Western world. Now he can't escape. He must prove that the United States is not "the pitiful, helpless giant" of Richard Nixon's spurious Vietnam- era coinage. Clinton comes from a generation and a mind-set that would like to impose moral standards on the world without getting involved in casualties, "tears and such things," as Ben Jonson put it. (KR- DETROIT FREE PRESS, 710 words), Apr 25U.S. MORAL, POLITICAL WEIGHT SQUANDERED ABROAD - PRESIDENT FAILS IN FOREIGN POLICY Hello White House, is anyone home? Has anyone noticed that last week's Bosnian events are turning any lingering notion of American political and moral leadership abroad into a sick joke? (KR -LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 842 words), Apr 25
April 1994 Story 63-- It took over four years, but we finally did it!
POLITICS DON'T REST ON SUNDAY FOR CLINTON - PREACHER TALKS FOREIGN POLICY. PROTESTERS OUTSIDE CALL FOR HIS IMPEACHMENT President Clinton's troubles followed him to church Sunday. His preacher lamented foreign policy quandaries from the pulpit and protesters called for his impeachment from the curb outside. The president, sitting near the front with first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, nodded his head as the Rev. J. Philip Wogaman told the Foundry United Methodist Church congregation to keep Clinton in its prayers. (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 307 words). Apr 25Troubles follow Clinton to church WASHINGTON -- President Clinton's troubles followed him to church yesterday. His preacher lamented foreign policy quandaries from the pulpit, and protesters called for his impeachment from the curb outside. (BALTIMORE SUN, 329 words), Apr 25
EVEN IN CHURCH, PRESIDENT CAN'T DUCK HIS PROBLEMS - WASHINGTON -- President Clinton's troubles followed him to church
yesterday. (BOSTON GLOBE, 148 words), April 25
CLINTON CONFRONTED AFTER CHURCH President Clinton nodded his head as the Rev. J. Philip Wogaman told the Foundry United Methodist Church congregation Sunday to keep Clinton in its prayers. Church members applauded the idea. But outside the Washington church, a Randall Terry group calling itself Loyal Opposition recited for Clinton a litany of accusations including Whitewater, tax evasion, adultery and abortion. (KR- ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 71 words), Apr 25
April 1994 Story 64 --
RENEWING THE MESSAGE -- PITCH FOR HEALTH CARE RESUMES IN WAKE OF WHITEWATER FOCUS -- IN S.F. TALK, HILLARY CLINTON DODGES FINANCING QUESTIONS (KR-SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 535 words) Apr 26
April 1994 65 - Let me entertain you.
THE STORY BEHIND THE WHITEWATER CASE - Q: What exactly is the Whitewater scandal? (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 870 words), Apr 26April 1994 Story -66 When the Little Rock Office of the FBI wanted the two largest failed S&Ls in Arkansas to be criminally referred in 1992, their message was ignored. But then, those were S&Ls with GOP Connections.
WHITEWATER PROBE SEEN STRETCHING INTO '95 - The call came through Tuesday morning on FBI teletypes around the nation: Wanted - agents with accounting and white-collar experience for the Little Rock, Ark., office. (LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 315 words), Apr 27
April 1994 - Story Where do they think they are . . . . in America?
ROSE LAW FIRM TRIES TO BLOCK INVESTIGATORS Hillary Rodham Clinton's former employer, the Rose Law Firm, filed for an injunction in U.S. District Court Tuesday to block efforts by federal investigators to learn the names of clients of the firm since 1985. (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 79 words). Apr 27
April 1994 - Story Where were the penetrating questions during the Reagan-Bush years -- they were never asked.
Shoulda, coulda, woulda Toward the end of her press conference last week, Hillary Rodham Clinton was asked if she ``should have known that Whitewater was not cash flowing and that notes and debts should have been paid [by you], whether Mr. McDougal asked you to pay them or not?'' She replied, ``Well, shoulda, coulda, woulda, we didn't. . .'' (BALTIMORE SUN, 401 words), Apr 27
April 1994 - Story Same press conference - different "slant."
Hillary's Press Conference Hillary Rodham Clinton handled her first full-scale White House press conference with remarkable aplomb. When her husband spent nearly 40 minutes answering mostly Whitewater-related questions last month, we said he displayed ``a master's touch.'' In her 66 minutes of a similar grilling and response last Friday, she was at least as good. She was responsive, showed little or no bitterness or resentfulness at the press' skepticism and answered most of the questions as fully as could be expected. (BALTIMORE SUN, 340 words), Apr 27Press here to go back to HOME page