High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton (50 page)
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Authors: Ann Coulter
BOOK: High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton
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102
The familiar litany: Clinton on the White House’s improper possession of hundreds of FBI raw files: “It appears to have been a completely honest bureaucratic snafu…” (“White House Apologizes for Seeking FBI Records,” Reuters North American Wire, June 9, 1996). Clinton on the Travel Office firings: “I didn’t personally know anything about it till I read about it in the press” (Associated Press, January 29, 1997). Clinton on invoking executive privilege for
Mrs.
Clinton’s conversations: “All I know is, I saw an article about it in the paper today” (John F. Harris, “Clinton Finds There’s No Escape,”
Washington Post
, March 25, 1998).
The familiar litany: Clinton on the White House’s improper possession of hundreds of FBI raw files: “It appears to have been a completely honest bureaucratic snafu…” (“White House Apologizes for Seeking FBI Records,” Reuters North American Wire, June 9, 1996). Clinton on the Travel Office firings: “I didn’t personally know anything about it till I read about it in the press” (Associated Press, January 29, 1997). Clinton on invoking executive privilege for
Mrs.
Clinton’s conversations: “All I know is, I saw an article about it in the paper today” (John F. Harris, “Clinton Finds There’s No Escape,”
Washington Post
, March 25, 1998).
103
Scrapbook, “Clinton’s Pentagon Papers,”
The Weekly Standard
, June 15, 1998.
Scrapbook, “Clinton’s Pentagon Papers,”
The Weekly Standard
, June 15, 1998.
104
George Lardner, Jr., “Democrats Hit Burton Over Tapes of Hubbell; House Chairman Accused of Doctoring Phone Transcripts,”
Washington Post
, May 4, 1998.
George Lardner, Jr., “Democrats Hit Burton Over Tapes of Hubbell; House Chairman Accused of Doctoring Phone Transcripts,”
Washington Post
, May 4, 1998.
105
CNN’s
Larry King Live
, April 21, 1997. On June 25, 1998, Susan McDougal was released from prison for medical reasons (McDougal has a serious spinal condition).
CNN’s
Larry King Live
, April 21, 1997. On June 25, 1998, Susan McDougal was released from prison for medical reasons (McDougal has a serious spinal condition).
106
Harvey Berkman, “Will the President Pardon His Friends?”
The National Law Journal
, November 4, 1996.
Harvey Berkman, “Will the President Pardon His Friends?”
The National Law Journal
, November 4, 1996.
107
Rodino Report at 15. Citing 1 Annals of Congress at 872-878.
Rodino Report at 15. Citing 1 Annals of Congress at 872-878.
108
See, e.g.
, 18 U.S.C. sec. 607.
See, e.g.
, 18 U.S.C. sec. 607.
109
Stuart Levitan, “Kutler’s Stunning Book Proves Depth of Nixon Evil,”
Capital Times
(Madison, WI) November 21, 1997.
Stuart Levitan, “Kutler’s Stunning Book Proves Depth of Nixon Evil,”
Capital Times
(Madison, WI) November 21, 1997.
110
Stuart Taylor, Jr., “Why Clinton Will Miss Paula Jones,”
National Journal
, April 3, 1998. Taylor’s list of contradicting witnesses included: Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky, Gennifer Flowers, Dolly Kyle Browning, Betty Currie, the four former Clinton bodyguards “and self-described procurers of women,” James McDougal, David Hale, and Webster Hubbell. Taylor writes that two of the troopers have also said under oath that “a Clinton political appointee warned them to keep quiet or risk unspecified consequences to themselves and their families.”
Stuart Taylor, Jr., “Why Clinton Will Miss Paula Jones,”
National Journal
, April 3, 1998. Taylor’s list of contradicting witnesses included: Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky, Gennifer Flowers, Dolly Kyle Browning, Betty Currie, the four former Clinton bodyguards “and self-described procurers of women,” James McDougal, David Hale, and Webster Hubbell. Taylor writes that two of the troopers have also said under oath that “a Clinton political appointee warned them to keep quiet or risk unspecified consequences to themselves and their families.”
111
See
Rodino Report at 11.
See
Rodino Report at 11.
112
“President Clinton’s” Remarks,” Federal News Service, March 24, 1998.
“President Clinton’s” Remarks,” Federal News Service, March 24, 1998.
113
Rodino Report at 13-14.
Rodino Report at 13-14.
114
Lying to the American people was shoe-horned into an obstruction of justice charge. The lie was that the White House had conducted its own thorough investigation and concluded that there was no involvement of White House personnel or campaign committee personnel in the Watergate break-in. This was a lie because the Watergate burglars had also performed national security plumbing work for the White House and one of the burglars worked at the campaign committee. It is less clear how lying to the American people—as distinct from lying to investigators or congressional committees, for example—could constitute obstruction of justice. Nonetheless, “making or causing to be made false or misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States” was listed in the articles of impeachment against Nixon as an impeachable offense.
Lying to the American people was shoe-horned into an obstruction of justice charge. The lie was that the White House had conducted its own thorough investigation and concluded that there was no involvement of White House personnel or campaign committee personnel in the Watergate break-in. This was a lie because the Watergate burglars had also performed national security plumbing work for the White House and one of the burglars worked at the campaign committee. It is less clear how lying to the American people—as distinct from lying to investigators or congressional committees, for example—could constitute obstruction of justice. Nonetheless, “making or causing to be made false or misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States” was listed in the articles of impeachment against Nixon as an impeachable offense.
115
Peter Goldman, “Was Justice Finally Done?”
Newsweek
, January 13, 1975.
Peter Goldman, “Was Justice Finally Done?”
Newsweek
, January 13, 1975.
116
And, as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein portrayed Pat Buchanan’s reasoning for Nixon’s resignation, “The problem is… that he hasn’t been telling the truth to the American people…. [T]he President can’t lead a country he has deliberately misled for a year and a half.” Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, “The Final Days: Part Two”
Newsweek
, April 12, 1976.
And, as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein portrayed Pat Buchanan’s reasoning for Nixon’s resignation, “The problem is… that he hasn’t been telling the truth to the American people…. [T]he President can’t lead a country he has deliberately misled for a year and a half.” Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, “The Final Days: Part Two”
Newsweek
, April 12, 1976.
117
Peter Goldman, “Was Justice Finally Done?”
Newsweek
, January 13, 1975.
Peter Goldman, “Was Justice Finally Done?”
Newsweek
, January 13, 1975.
118
Peter Goldman, “Was Justice Finally Done?”
Newsweek
, January 13, 1975.
Peter Goldman, “Was Justice Finally Done?”
Newsweek
, January 13, 1975.
119
Peter Goldman, “Was Justice Finally Done?”
Newsweek
, January 13, 1975.
Peter Goldman, “Was Justice Finally Done?”
Newsweek
, January 13, 1975.
120
January 26, 1998, statement to the press from the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
January 26, 1998, statement to the press from the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
121
James Langton, “Focus Clinton on the Rack: Bradlee: The End Could Come Within Weeks,”
Sunday Telegraph
, January 25, 1998.
James Langton, “Focus Clinton on the Rack: Bradlee: The End Could Come Within Weeks,”
Sunday Telegraph
, January 25, 1998.
122
John F. Harris, “In Quick Shift, White House Brandishes Facts; A Sudden Blitz of Facts About Willey,”
Washington Post
, March 18, 1998.
John F. Harris, “In Quick Shift, White House Brandishes Facts; A Sudden Blitz of Facts About Willey,”
Washington Post
, March 18, 1998.
123
CBS’s
Face the Nation
, February 8, 1998.
CBS’s
Face the Nation
, February 8, 1998.
124
Jack Nelson, “Impeachment Cloud Darkens,”
Los Angeles Times
, March 30, 1998.
Jack Nelson, “Impeachment Cloud Darkens,”
Los Angeles Times
, March 30, 1998.
125
Howard Kurtz, “McCurry Comments Provoke Speculation on White House Strategy,”
Washington Post
, February 18, 1998.
Howard Kurtz, “McCurry Comments Provoke Speculation on White House Strategy,”
Washington Post
, February 18, 1998.
126
Michael Kelly, “The 1992 Campaign: The Democrats,”
New York Times
, October 29, 1992.
Michael Kelly, “The 1992 Campaign: The Democrats,”
New York Times
, October 29, 1992.
127
CNN’s
Campaign USA ’92—Voters and Media Picked and Panned
, November 1, 1992.
CNN’s
Campaign USA ’92—Voters and Media Picked and Panned
, November 1, 1992.
128
Arguably, a president’s lies about official policy are worse than lies about his personal misconduct because they can have greater consequences for the nation. But distinguishing “lies” from, for example, “protecting vital national security information” would most likely boil down to partisan disputes about the underlying policy. For example, Arthur Schlesinger writes that Fidel Castro’s request for nuclear missiles from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was a direct response to President Kennedy’s CIA maneuvers against Cuba. Noting this fact, Garry Wills has written, “Kennedy, calling that move unprovoked, was lying to the American people: He had provoked it.” Garry Wills, “Son of Nixon. Oliver Stone’s film on Richard Nixon,”
Esquire
, January 1996. Should Kennedy have been expected to state that Castro’s build-up was, perhaps, a “little provoked” by the CIA’s covert operation against Cuba? There may be some lies that are so bald-faced and so distant from any serious national security interest that the policy/nonpolicy distinction is inapposite. It is enough to say that oral sex from the White House interns is not even vaguely, possibly related to Clinton’s function as the chief executive.
Arguably, a president’s lies about official policy are worse than lies about his personal misconduct because they can have greater consequences for the nation. But distinguishing “lies” from, for example, “protecting vital national security information” would most likely boil down to partisan disputes about the underlying policy. For example, Arthur Schlesinger writes that Fidel Castro’s request for nuclear missiles from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was a direct response to President Kennedy’s CIA maneuvers against Cuba. Noting this fact, Garry Wills has written, “Kennedy, calling that move unprovoked, was lying to the American people: He had provoked it.” Garry Wills, “Son of Nixon. Oliver Stone’s film on Richard Nixon,”
Esquire
, January 1996. Should Kennedy have been expected to state that Castro’s build-up was, perhaps, a “little provoked” by the CIA’s covert operation against Cuba? There may be some lies that are so bald-faced and so distant from any serious national security interest that the policy/nonpolicy distinction is inapposite. It is enough to say that oral sex from the White House interns is not even vaguely, possibly related to Clinton’s function as the chief executive.
129
James A. Barnes, “Flirting with Loyalties,”
National Journal
, March 28, 1998.
James A. Barnes, “Flirting with Loyalties,”
National Journal
, March 28, 1998.
130
Federalist No. 71, at 434 (Alexander Hamilton). Such vigor in the president, Hamilton said, was “essential to the protection of the community against foreign attacks; it is not less essential to the steady administration of the laws; to the protection of property against those irregular and high-handed combinations which sometimes interrupt the ordinary course of justice; the security of liberty against the enterprises and assaults of ambition, of faction and of anarchy.” Federalist No. 70, at 423 (Alexander Hamilton).
Federalist No. 71, at 434 (Alexander Hamilton). Such vigor in the president, Hamilton said, was “essential to the protection of the community against foreign attacks; it is not less essential to the steady administration of the laws; to the protection of property against those irregular and high-handed combinations which sometimes interrupt the ordinary course of justice; the security of liberty against the enterprises and assaults of ambition, of faction and of anarchy.” Federalist No. 70, at 423 (Alexander Hamilton).
131
Federalist No. 57, (James Madison).
Federalist No. 57, (James Madison).
132
Report of the National Commission on Judicial Discipline and Removal, at 27 (August 1993) (quoting 2
The Records of the Constitutional Convention
65 [M. Farrand ed. 1911]).
Report of the National Commission on Judicial Discipline and Removal, at 27 (August 1993) (quoting 2
The Records of the Constitutional Convention
65 [M. Farrand ed. 1911]).
133
7 Edmund Burke,
Works
11,14 (1839).
7 Edmund Burke,
Works
11,14 (1839).
134
Rodino Report at 17 [quoting 1 J. Story,
Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States
sec. 764 at 559 (5th ed. 1905)].
Rodino Report at 17 [quoting 1 J. Story,
Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States
sec. 764 at 559 (5th ed. 1905)].
135
Rodino Report at 14.
Rodino Report at 14.
136
Report of the National Commission on Judicial Discipline and Removal, at 30 (August 1993).
Report of the National Commission on Judicial Discipline and Removal, at 30 (August 1993).
137
Rodino Report at 10-11.
Rodino Report at 10-11.
138
2
The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787
, at 65 (M. Farrand ed. 1911) (from James Madison’s notes from the Constitutional Convention debates, July 20, 1787).
2
The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787
, at 65 (M. Farrand ed. 1911) (from James Madison’s notes from the Constitutional Convention debates, July 20, 1787).
139
Federalist No. 68, at 414 (Alexander Hamilton).
Federalist No. 68, at 414 (Alexander Hamilton).
140
Federalist No. 14, at 104-105 (James Madison).
Federalist No. 14, at 104-105 (James Madison).
Index
accidents
Adams, Cindy
Albert, Carl
Aldrich, Gary
Americans with Disabilities Act
Anderson, Mari
Arkansas Industrial Development Commission
Arlington cemetery
Arnold, Truman
attorneys, U.S.
Babbitt, Bruce
Bacon, Kenneth H.
Baker, James
Barnett, Robert
Begala, Paul
Bennett, Bob
Bennett, Jackie M.
Berger, Raoul
Bernath, Clifford
bimbo
Blackley, Ronald
Blitzer, Wolf
Blumenthal, Sidney
Bourke, James
Bowles, Erskine
Bradley, Ed
Brandeis, Louis
Braun, Sergeant Cheryl
Braver, Rita
bribery
British constitution; system; impeachments
Brown, Kent Masterson
Browning, Dolly Kyle
Bruce, Carol Elder
Buchanan, Pat
Buford, Douglas
Burke, Edmund
Burton, Dan
Bush, George
Cammarata, Joseph
Campbell, Donovan
Carter, Jimmy
Carville, James
Casey, Dennis
Castle Grande
Caudle, Charles
Cerda, Clarissa
Chinese
Chippewa tribe
Christian Coalition
citizens, duties of
Clarendon
Clift, Eleanor
Clinger, William
Clinton, Hillary Rodham
Cohen, William
communist conspiracy
Constitution, U.S.
Consumer Support and Education Fund
Corcoran, Thomas
Cornelius, Catherine
corruption: definition; nature of
Cox, Archibald
criminal acts
Cronin, Robert
Cuomo, Mario
Currie, Betty
Dale, Billy
Davie, William
Davis, Lanny
de la Pole, Michael
Dean, John
Declaration of Independence
definitions
Democratic National Committee
Denton, H. Don
Dinwiddie, Jacquelyn
DNC.
See
Democratic National Committee
See
Democratic National Committee
Dole, Bob
Donaldson, Sam
Drudge, Matt
duty, impeachment as
Eckstein, Paul
EEOC.
See
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
See
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Eisele, Albert
Eller, Jeff
Ellsberg, Daniel
English law
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