From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Troopergate (Bill Clinton)
Troopergate (Bill Clinton)
Troopergate is the popular name of allegations of a scandal by two Arkansas State Troopers that they arranged sexual liaisons for then-Governor Bill Clinton. The allegations by state troopers Larry Patterson and Roger Perry were first reported by David Brock in the American Spectator in 1993.[1] The story mentioned a woman named Paula, a reference to Paula Jones who later sued Clinton in Jones v. Clinton.[2] Brock has since apologized to Clinton, saying the exposé based on the troopers was politically motivated "bad journalism" and said "The troopers were greedy and had slimy motives."[2] Later Jones said Brock’s "account of her encounter with Clinton was totally wrong."[3] to pay her now considerable legal expenses; meanwhile, her marriage had broken apart.
"Distinguishing characteristic" quote origins
Ann Coulter, working as an unpaid legal advisor for the attorneys representing Jones, leaked questionable information about Clinton to the press. David Daley wrote an interview piece for the Hartford Courant in which he noted “ Coulter played one particularly key ” role in keeping the Jones case alive. In Newsweek reporter Michael Isikoff’s new book Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter’s Story, Coulter is unmasked as the one who leaked word of Clinton’s "distinguishing characteristic" — his reportedly bent penis that Jones said that she could recognize and describe — to the news media. Her hope was to foster mistrust between the Clinton and Jones camps and forestall a settlement... I thought if I leaked the distinguishing characteristic it would show bad faith in negotiations. Clinton lawyer Bob Bennett would think Jones had leaked it. Cammaratta would know he himself hadn’t leaked it and would get mad at Bennett. It might stall negotiations enough for me to get through to [Jones adviser] Susan Carpenter-McMillan to tell her that I thought settling would hurt Paula, that this would ruin her reputation, and that there were other lawyers working for her. Then 36 hours later, she returned my phone call. I just wanted to help Paula. I really think Paula Jones is a hero. I don’t think I could have taken the abuse she came under. She’s this poor little country girl and she has the most powerful man she’s ever met hitting on her sexually, then denying it and smearing her as president.
History
In his book, Blinded by the Right, David Brock claimed that in order to maintain journalistic integrity, he agreed to write the Troopergate article only if the four troopers whom he interviewed were not paid. In 1998, a conservative fundraiser admitted that he had paid each of the troopers $6,700 after the articles were published. The payments were made behind Brock’s back. Following the admission, Brock publicly apologized to President Clinton for his Troopergate story, which he stated was written not "in the interest of good government or serious journalism," but as part of an "anti-Clinton crusade."
[4][2]
This reference was cited by Paula Jones in her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton. According to Gennifer Flowers’s deposition in Jones v. Clinton, she claimed that Clinton told her to contact Larry Patterson or Roger Perry to communicate.[5] Jones v. Clinton was summarily dismissed as groundless by Judge Susan Webber Wright, because Jones could not show that she had suffered any damages whatsoever, even should all her charges prove true. Jones threatened to appeal the decision. On November 13, 1998, Clinton settled with Jones for $850,000 (one third the size she asked for) and no apology, in exchange for dropping the appeal. All but $151,000 went
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
And she never did anything tacky. It’s not like she was going on TV or trying to make a buck out of it.(1999)
Troopergate (Bill Clinton)
References
[1] http://www.slate.com/id/2100712/ [2] ^ "Reporter Apologizes For Clinton Sex Article". CNN. March 10, 1998. http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/ 03/10/brocks.remorse/. Retrieved on 2008-10-17. [3] "The Real David Brock: A Right-Wing Hatchet Man". Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. April 1995. http://www.fair.org/ index.php?page=1281. Retrieved on 2008-10-17. [4] "David Brock Interview". All Things Considered. National Public Radio. 2001-07-02. [5] "Declaration of Gennifer G. Flowers" Washington Post, March 13, 1998, [1] [6] "Everybody’s Had Their 15 Minutes". New York Daily News. April 2th 1998,. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/ news/1998/04/02/ 1998-04-02_everybody_s_had_their_15_min.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-17. [7] ^ The Falwell connection by Murray Waas Salon.com [8] Linda Satter, "Ex-Arkansas State Trooper Larry Patterson sentenced for lying to FBI agent," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, March 12, 2005
Arkansas state troopers
Following Brock’s article, in 1994 four troopers conducted interviews with various allegations about Clinton and "the Daily News reveals that one of the troopers is an accused wife beater, another was caught sleeping on the job, a third pleaded guilty to starting a barroom brawl and a fourth allegedly slept with a fellow trooper’s wife."[6] Then in 1994 and 1995, Jerry Falwell paid $200,000 to Citizens for Honest Government, who in turn paid two Arkansas state troopers who had made allegations supporting a conspiracy about Vincent Foster in the Clinton Chronicles video.[7] The two troopers, Roger Perry and Larry Patterson, also were paid after making their allegations in the Jones-Clinton trial.[7] In March 2005, trooper Patterson was convicted of lying to the FBI about an unrelated incident.[8]
See also
• Arkansas Project • Clinton Chronicles • Vast right-wing conspiracy
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troopergate_(Bill_Clinton)" Categories: Lewinsky scandal, Political scandals in the United States This page was last modified on 11 May 2009, at 19:13 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
2