Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. Clinton served as the Democratic governor of Arkansas before coming to the White House. Clinton is married to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY).

Clinton is most notable for moving his party to the right - encouraging Democrats to cut welfare spending, balancing the federal budget, and embracing the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar, and is the founder of the Clinton Foundation.


 * Prize Winner 2007, TED
 * Cofounder, Progressive Governance Network

Links to Foriegn Governments
"Among the William J. Clinton Foundation donors who are publicly known are the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a foundation linked to the United Arab Emirates, the governments of Kuwait and Qatar and a Ukrainian tycoon who was the son-in-law of the former Soviet republic's ousted authoritarian president."

Links to Corporate Interests
In 2008 media outlets reported that "Mr Clinton had travelled to Kazakhstan with a Canadian mining magnate, Frank Giustra, to meet its dictator president. Mr Giustra later won three lucrative uranium mining contracts from the government and then donated $US31 million to Mr Clinton's charity." 

Tobacco issues
"On August 23, 1996, President Clinton announced the nation's first-ever comprehensive program to protect children from the dangers of tobacco and a lifetime of nicotine addiction. The President's program was launched with the publication of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) final rule on tobacco and children, and with FDA's initiation of a process to require tobacco companies to educate children and adolescents -- using a national multi-media campaign -- about the dangers of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. The first provisions of the rule -- making 18 the age for the purchase of tobacco products nationwide and requiring photo IDs for anyone under age 27 -- became effective February 28, 1997. The President's comprehensive and coordinated plan is intended to reduce tobacco use by children and adolescents by 50 percent in seven years. This ambitious initiative will work to accomplish this objective while preserving the availability of tobacco products for adults. The proposed tobacco settlement will be evaluated within this framework to evaluate whether it meets the President's objectives."

President Clinton's administration also initiated the 1999 U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against the major American tobacco companies. The suit resolved in August, 2006, with Judge Gladys Kessler of the U.S. District Court finding the tobacco companies guilty of fraud, conspiracy and racketeering.

A 1995 narrative written by "Todd" (presumably Todd Haymore, a staffer for then-Congressman L.F. Payne, D-VA) chronicles a series of secret meetings between the Clinton White House and representatives from tobacco-growing states to broker a deal to stop the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's attempt to regulate nicotine a drug. The memo, a chronology of events apparently written to refresh Payne's memory, indicates that then-White House chief of Staff Leon Panetta engaged in secret negotiations with representatives of tobacco-growing states to "remove [FDA Commissioner David] Kessler from the radar." Panetta dangled a proposal in front of tobacco companies by telling the tobacco-growing state representatives that "voluntary action" by tobacco companies on the youth access issue "may be the best way to stop Kessler from attempting to regulate tobacco products" :

"After it became apparent that the FDA/Kessler situation was the greatest problem facing tobacco state members, it was decided that voluntary action by the tobacco companies on youth access issues maybe the best way to stop Kessler from attempting to regulate tobcco products. Panetta said that if the industry came forth with a voluntary proposal aimed at reducing youth access the administration would remove Kessler/FDA from the radar."

The memo also indicates White House attempts to keep the negotiations secret:

"Panetta stressed the need to keep this meeting and the comments within as quiet as possible. He said that if the meeting or discussions reached the press, the 'negotiations' would be off and the White House would deny knowing about them."

Tobacco-friendly Congressman Thomas Bliley (R-VA) met with tobacco industry leaders and told them about the Clinton White House's youth access proposal. The industry put together a proposal and submitted it to Panetta. As a subsequent meeting, Panetta warned Congressmen L.F. Payne (D-VA), Bliley (R-VA) and Charlie Rose (D-NC) "to keep this proposal and this meeting very quiet because media leaks would cancel any further discussions."

Ultimately, White House Counsel Abner Mikva reviewed the industry's proposal and made a counter proposal that the industry found unacceptable. There is no way to know the affect these negotiations may have had on tobacco companies ramping up of youth smoking prevention programs in the mid-1990s.

Current Professional Roles

 * Honorary co-chair, Council for Excellence in Government
 * Chair, Global Fairness Initiative
 * Director, Leon H. Sullivan Foundation
 * Advisory Board, Seeds of Peace
 * Clinton Hunter Development Initiative
 * Co-Chair, Global Progress Council, IDEAS Foundation for Progress

Published Works

 * My Life, Knopf, June 22, 2004, ISBN 0375414576.

Criticism of Clinton's Philanthropic Work

 * Michael Barker, "Bill Clinton’s Philanthropic Propaganda", Swans Commentary, August 9, 2010.

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Bush administration
 * Clinton administration
 * Clinton administration anti-terrorism law
 * Clinton administration: Homeland Defense Before 2001
 * Reagan administration
 * "The Path to 9/11" (2006 Docudrama)

Resources

 * Compare your opinions to Bill Clinton

Profiles

 * William Jefferson Clinton, Official White House Biography.
 * William J. Clinton Biography, AmericanPresident.org.
 * Events: Bill Clinton, Harpers.org.
 * Yahoo! Directory of Links on the Clinton Administration and Biographical Information on Bill Clinton.
 * Bill Clinton in the Wikipedia.
 * Ismail M. Asif, "The Clinton Top 100: Where Are They Now?" Center for Public Integrity, April 2, 2003.

Websites

 * Clinton Presidential Materials Project.
 * William J. Clinton Presidential Library.
 * William J. Clinton Foundation website.
 * BillClinton.org. Unofficial website.

General News Links

 * Bill Clinton, TIME Magazine newsfile.
 * William J. Clinton News in the New York Times.
 * Bill Clinton in The Guardian Unlimited (UK).
 * Bill Clinton's Speech, at the Center for American Progress.

2002

 * Barton Gellman, "A Strategy's Cautious Evolution. Before Sept. 11, the Bush Anti-Terror Effort Was Mostly Ambition," Washington Post, January 20, 2002.

2005

 * "Clinton says Iraq invasion was a big mistake," Associated Press (Jerusalem Post), May 16, 2005.
 * Tina Brown, "Bill Clinton, Beyond the White House," Washington Post, September 22, 2006.

2006

 * Common Good Reaffirmed - Clinton's Speech, Center for American Progress, October 18, 2006.
 * Faiz Shakir, "Clinton On Path To 9/11: Film Contradicts 'The Factual Findings of the 9/11 Commission'," Think Progress, September 8, 2006.
 * Jeralyn Merritt, "Bill Clinton Meets Bloggers," TalkLeft.com, September 12, 2006.
 * "Clinton Weighs In on Detainees, Iraq and Iran," NPR Morning Edition, September 21, 2006.
 * Judd Legum, Think Progress: "FULL TRANSCRIPT: Clinton Takes On Fox News," September 22, 2006; "FLASHBACK: Days After 9/11 Commission Testimony, Wallace Doesn’t Ask Rice About Infamous PDB," September 23, 2006; and "VIDEO: Clinton Sets The Record Straight On Terrorism, Smacks Down Fox News," September 24, 2006.
 * Kenneth R. Bazinet, "Bill: At least I tried. Clinton reveals Bin Laden hit plans in Fox News rant," New York Daily News, September 23, 2006.
 * "Fox Lies on Its Website Regarding What Clinton Interview Would Be About," The Rude Pundit, September 23, 2006. Warning: Includes language which may be considered offensive.
 * "Rude Pundit tees off on Fox Website," The Raw Story, September 23, 2006. See comments that follow.
 * Joe Gandelman, "Bill Clinton Takes On Fox News Over 911 And 'False Pretenses' Interview," The Moderate Voice, September 23, 2006.
 * "Bill Clinton: I got closer to killing bin Laden," CNN, September 24, 2006.
 * "Clinton Spars Over Bin Laden Record. Ex-President Accuses TV Host Of Preparing A 'Conservative Hit Job'," Associated Press/CBS News, September 24, 2006.
 * "Former US president Clinton defends his record on bin Laden," Deutsche Presse Agentur (The Raw Story), September 24, 2006.
 * "Dean applauds Clinton for standing up to 'Fox News' right-wing bullying and propaganda machine'," The Raw Story, September 24, 2006.
 * Noel Sheppard, "Chris Wallace Talks About His Upcoming Interview With Bill Clinton," NewsBusters, September 24, 2006.
 * "Chris Wallace has indeed grilled Bush officials about failing to get Osama before 9/11," Patterico's Pontifications, September 24, 2006.
 * Nicolle Bell, "Olbermann’s Special Comment: Are YOURS the actions of a true American?" Crooks and Liars, September 25, 2006. Note: See 10:30-minute Video/Keith Olbermann.
 * "Fox News' Live Desk cluttered with falsehoods on Clinton, Bush terrorism records" and "Kurtz highlighted Clinton's 'finger-wagging' Fox interview, ignored substance of his response to Wallace," Media Matters for America, September 25, 2006.
 * Tom Blumer, "BUSTED: Clinton's Claim of Leaving Bush a 'Comprehensive Anti-Terror Strategy'," NewsBusters, September 25, 2006.
 * "Media largely ignored substance of Clinton's criticism of Bush anti-terror efforts," Media Matters for America, September 26, 2006.
 * Joe Sudbay, "Condi, who lied to Americans about the Iraq War, challenges Clinton," AMERICAblog, September 26, 2006.
 * John Aravosis, "Condi Rice and George Bush did NOTHING after the CIA warned them that Bin Laden was determined to strike in the US" and "Bush refuses to give evidence that he did anything to stop Bin Laden pre-9/11," AMERICAblog, September 26, 2006.
 * Ian Bishop, "Rice Boils Over at Bubba. Rips 'Flatly False' Claim on Bush's Bid to Get bin Laden," New York Post, September 26, 2006.
 * "Rice Falsely Claims Clinton Administration Did Not Leave A ‘Strategy To Fight Al Qaeda’," Think Progress, September 26, 2006.
 * Judd Legum, "Rice Falsely Claims Bush’s Pre-9/11 Anti-Terror Efforts Were ‘At Least As Aggressive’ As Clinton’s," Think Progress, September 26, 2006.
 * "Fact-Checking Condi on Anti-Terror Claims," truthdig, September 26, 2006.
 * Larry Womack, "2001 memo to Rice contradicts statements about Clinton, Pakistan," The Raw Story, September 26, 2006. Also see:
 * January 25, 2001, memo from Richard A. Clarke to Condoleezza Rice (3-page pdf).
 * 2000 "Strategy for Eliminating the Threat from the Jihadist Networks of al-Qida: Status and Prospects." (13-page pdf).


 * Harry Fuller, "Right, left, Clinton, Fox, combustion," C|Net News, September 26, 2006.
 * Brent Baker, "Instead of Assessing Clinton's Claims, Nets Portray Strategy to Motivate Democrats," NewsBusters, September 26, 2006.

2007

 * Interview: "Susan McDougal: The Woman Who Wouldn’t Talk," Truthdig, January 16, 2007.
 * "Colombia to honor Bill Clinton amid growing Democrat scrutiny," The Associated Press, May 24, 2007.
 * Media Mouse, "Clinton's Iraq Legacy Questioned as he comes to Grand Rapids," Mediamouse.org, May 31, 2007.
 * Media Mouse, "Bill Clinton, NAFTA, and Michigan," Mediamouse.org, June 1, 2007.
 * Virgil Larson, "Gupta says Clinton's services worth the money," Omaha World-Herald, June 6, 2007.
 * "Colombia tries to enlist Bill Clinton," Financial Times, June 7, 2007.
 * Media Mouse, "Bill Clinton and Welfare Reform," Mediamouse.org, June 11, 2007.
 * Media Mouse, "Bill Clinton and Media Policy," Mediamouse.org, June 15, 2007.
 * Media Mouse, "Clinton's Environmental Policy," Mediamouse.org, June 16, 2007.

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