Bill Clinton

President of the United States from 1993 to 2001

"William Clinton" redirects here. For other uses, see William Clinton (disambiguation).

Bill Clinton
Attorney General of Arkansas
In office January 3, 1977 – January 9, 1979
Governor	David Pryor Joe Purcell (acting)
Preceded by	Jim Guy Tucker
Succeeded by	Steve Clark
Personal details
Born	William Jefferson Blythe III (1946-08-19) August 19, 1946 (age 77) Hope, Arkansas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	List of honors and awards
Signature
Bill Clinton's voice Clinton speaking on U.S. decision to join NATO forces in military airstrikes against Yugoslavia Recorded March 24, 1999
Other offices 1986–1987: Chair of the National Governors Association 1985–1986: Vice Chair of the National Governors Association

William Jefferson Clinton (

Governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992. Clinton, whose policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" political philosophy, became known as a New Democrat

.

Clinton was born and raised in

Baby Boomer

generation.

Clinton presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history. He signed into law the

expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe and many former Warsaw Pact members joined NATO during his presidency. Clinton's foreign policy in the Middle East saw him sign the Iraq Liberation Act which gave aid to groups against Saddam Hussein. He also participated in the Oslo I Accord and Camp David Summit to advance the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, and assisted the Northern Ireland peace process

.

Clinton's second term was dominated by the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal, which began in 1995, when he had a sexual relationship with the then 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky. In January 1998, news of the affair made tabloid headlines.^[1] This scandal escalated throughout the year, culminating in December when Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives, becoming the first U.S. president to be impeached since Andrew Johnson. The two impeachment articles that the House passed were centered around perjury and Clinton using the powers of the presidency to commit obstruction of justice. In 1999, Clinton's impeachment trial began in the Senate, where he was acquitted on both charges.

Clinton left office in 2001 with the joint-highest approval rating of any U.S. president. His presidency ranks among the middle to upper tier in

historical rankings of U.S. presidents. However, his personal conduct and allegations of sexual abuse have made him the subject of substantial scrutiny. Since leaving office, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work. He created the Clinton Foundation to address international causes such as the prevention of HIV/AIDS and global warming. In 2009, he was named the United Nations special envoy to Haiti. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Clinton founded the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. He has remained active in Democratic Party politics, campaigning for his wife's 2008 and 2016 presidential campaigns

.

Early life and career

Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946, at Julia Chester Hospital in

credit to people of all races.^{[5][6][7][8][9]} In 1950, Bill's mother returned from nursing school and married Roger Clinton Sr., who co-owned an automobile dealership in Hot Springs, Arkansas, with his brother and Earl T. Ricks.^[5] The family moved to Hot Springs in 1950.^[10]

Although he immediately assumed use of his stepfather's surname, it was not until Clinton turned 15[11] that he formally adopted the surname Clinton as a gesture toward him.^[5] Clinton has described his stepfather as a gambler and an alcoholic who regularly abused his mother and half-brother, Roger Clinton Jr. The physical abuse only ceased after a then-14-year-old Bill challenged his stepfather to "stand and face" him, though the verbal/emotional abuse continued.^[12] Bill would eventually forgive Roger Sr. for his abusive actions near the latter's death.^[13][14]

In Hot Springs, Clinton attended St. John's Catholic Elementary School, Ramble Elementary School, and the segregated Hot Springs High School, where he was an active student leader, avid reader, and musician.^[5] Clinton was in the chorus and played the tenor saxophone, winning first chair in the state band's saxophone section. While in high school, Clinton performed for two years in a jazz trio, The 3 Kings, with Randy Goodrum, who became a successful professional pianist.^[15]

In 1961, Clinton became a member of the Hot Springs Chapter of the Order of DeMolay, a youth group affiliated with Freemasonry, but he never became a Freemason.^[16] He briefly considered dedicating his life to music, but as he noted in his autobiography My Life:

Sometime in my sixteenth year, I decided I wanted to be in public life as an elected official. I loved music and thought I could be very good, but I knew I would never be John Coltrane or Stan Getz. I was interested in medicine and thought I could be a fine doctor, but I knew I would never be Michael DeBakey. But I knew I could be great in public service.^[5]

Clinton began an interest in law at Hot Springs High, when he took up the challenge to argue the defense of the ancient

Roman senator Catiline in a mock trial in his Latin class.^[17] After a vigorous defense that made use of his "budding rhetorical and political skills", he told the Latin teacher Elizabeth Buck it "made him realize that someday he would study law".^[18]

Clinton has identified two influential moments in his life, both occurring in 1963, that contributed to his decision to become a public figure. One was his visit as a Boys Nation senator to the White House to meet President John F. Kennedy.^[12] The other was watching Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech on TV, which impressed him so much that he later memorized it.^[19]

College and law school years

Georgetown University

With the aid of scholarships, Clinton attended the

School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., receiving a Bachelor of Science in foreign service degree in 1968. Georgetown was the only university where Clinton applied.^[20]

In 1964 and 1965, Clinton won elections for class president.^[21] From 1964 to 1967, he was an intern and then a clerk in the office of Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright.^[5] While in college, he became a brother of service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega^[22] and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He is a member of Kappa Kappa Psi honorary band fraternity.^[23]

Oxford

Upon graduating from Georgetown in 1968, Clinton won a

philosophy, politics, and economics but transferred to a B.Litt. in politics and, ultimately, a B.Phil. in politics.^[24] Clinton did not expect to return for the second year because of the draft and so he switched programs; this type of activity was common among other Rhodes Scholars from his cohort. He had received an offer to study at Yale Law School, and so he left early to return to the United States and did not receive a degree from Oxford.^[12][25][26]

During his time at Oxford, Clinton befriended fellow American Rhodes Scholar Frank Aller. In 1969, Aller received a draft letter that mandated deployment to the Vietnam War. Aller's 1971 suicide had an influential impact on Clinton.^[24][27] British writer and feminist Sara Maitland said of Clinton, "I remember Bill and Frank Aller taking me to a pub in Walton Street in the summer term of 1969 and talking to me about the Vietnam War. I knew nothing about it, and when Frank began to describe the napalming of civilians I began to cry. Bill said that feeling bad wasn't good enough. That was the first time I encountered the idea that liberal sensitivities weren't enough and you had to do something about such things".^[24] Clinton was a member of the Oxford University Basketball Club and also played for Oxford University's rugby union team.^[28]

While Clinton was president in 1994, he received an honorary degree and a fellowship from the University of Oxford, specifically for being "a doughty and tireless champion of the cause of world peace", having "a powerful collaborator in his wife", and for winning "general applause for his achievement of resolving the gridlock that prevented an agreed budget".^[25][29]

Vietnam War opposition and draft controversy

During the Vietnam War, Clinton received educational draft deferments while he was in England in 1968 and 1969.

National Guard and the Air Force officer candidate school, and he then made arrangements to join the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program at the University of Arkansas.^[31][32]

He subsequently decided not to join the ROTC, saying in a letter to the officer in charge of the program that he opposed the war, but did not think it was honorable to use ROTC, National Guard, or Reserve service to avoid serving in Vietnam. He further stated that because he opposed the war, he would not volunteer to serve in uniform, but would subject himself to the draft, and would serve if selected only as a way "to maintain my political viability within the system".[33] Clinton registered for the draft and received a high number (311), meaning that those whose birthdays had been drawn as numbers 1 to 310 would be drafted before him, making it unlikely he would be called up. (In fact, the highest number drafted was 195.)^[34]

ROTC program ... I believe that he purposely deceived me, using the possibility of joining the ROTC as a ploy to work with the draft board to delay his induction and get a new draft classification.^[35]

During the 1992 campaign, it was revealed that Clinton's uncle had attempted to secure him a position in the Navy Reserve, which would have prevented him from being deployed to Vietnam. This effort was unsuccessful and Clinton said in 1992 that he had been unaware of it until then.^[36] Although legal, Clinton's actions with respect to the draft and deciding whether to serve in the military were criticized during his first presidential campaign by conservatives and some Vietnam veterans, some of whom charged that he had used Fulbright's influence to avoid military service.^[37][38] Clinton's 1992 campaign manager, James Carville, successfully argued that Clinton's letter in which he declined to join the ROTC should be made public, insisting that voters, many of whom had also opposed the Vietnam War, would understand and appreciate his position.^[39]

Law school

After Oxford, Clinton attended Yale Law School and earned a

After graduating from Yale Law School, Clinton returned to Arkansas and became a law professor at the University of Arkansas. In 1974, he ran for the House of Representatives. Running in the conservative 3rd district against incumbent Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt, Clinton's campaign was bolstered by the anti-Republican and anti-incumbent mood resulting from the Watergate scandal. Hammerschmidt, who had received 77 percent of the vote in 1972, defeated Clinton by only a 52 percent to 48 percent margin. In 1976, Clinton ran for Arkansas attorney general. Defeating the secretary of state and the deputy attorney general in the Democratic primary, Clinton was elected with no opposition at all in the general election, as no Republican had run for the office.^[46][12]

Governor of Arkansas (1979–1981, 1983–1992)

In the early 1980s, Clinton made reform of the Arkansas education system a top priority of his gubernatorial administration. The Arkansas Education Standards Committee was chaired by Clinton's wife Hillary, who was also an attorney as well as the chair of the

Also in the 1980s, the Clintons' personal and business affairs included transactions that became the basis of the Whitewater controversy investigation, which later dogged his presidential administration.^[55] After extensive investigation over several years, no indictments were made against the Clintons related to the years in Arkansas.^[12][56]

According to some sources, Clinton was a death penalty opponent in his early years, but he eventually switched positions.^[57][58] However he might have felt previously, by 1992, Clinton was insisting that Democrats "should no longer feel guilty about protecting the innocent".^[59] During Clinton's final term as governor, Arkansas performed its first executions since 1964 (the death penalty had been reinstated in 1976).^[60] As Governor, he oversaw the first four executions carried out by the state of Arkansas since the death penalty was reinstated there in 1976: one by electric chair and three by lethal injection.^[61] To draw attention to his stance on capital punishment, Clinton flew home to Arkansas mid-campaign in 1992, in order to affirm in person that the controversial execution of Ricky Ray Rector, would go forward as scheduled.^[62][63]

1988 Democratic presidential primaries

In 1987, the media speculated that Clinton would enter the presidential race. Clinton decided to remain as Arkansas governor (following consideration for the potential candidacy of Hillary for governor, initially favored—but ultimately vetoed—by the First Lady).^[64] For the nomination, Clinton endorsed Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis. He gave the nationally televised opening night address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention, but his speech, which was 33 minutes long and twice the length it was expected to be, was criticized for being too long.^[65] Clinton presented himself both as a moderate and as a member of the New Democrat wing of the Democratic Party, and he headed the moderate Democratic Leadership Council in 1990 and 1991.^[53][66]

1992 United States presidential election

In the first primary contest, the

Winning the big prizes of Florida and Texas and many of the Southern primaries on Super Tuesday gave Clinton a sizable delegate lead. However, former California governor Jerry Brown was scoring victories and Clinton had yet to win a significant contest outside his native South.^[12][66] With no major Southern state remaining, Clinton targeted New York, which had many delegates. He scored a resounding victory in New York City, shedding his image as a regional candidate.^[66] Having been transformed into the consensus candidate, he secured the Democratic Party nomination, finishing with a victory in Jerry Brown's home state of California.^[12]

During the campaign, questions of conflict of interest regarding state business and the politically powerful Rose Law Firm, at which Hillary Rodham Clinton was a partner, arose. Clinton argued the questions were moot because all transactions with the state had been deducted before determining Hillary's firm pay.^[69] Further concern arose when Bill Clinton announced that, with Hillary, voters would be getting two presidents "for the price of one".^[70]

Clinton was still the governor of Arkansas while campaigning for U.S. president, and he returned to his home state to see that Ricky Ray Rector would be executed. After killing a police officer and a civilian, Rector shot himself in the head, leading to what his lawyers said was a state where he could still talk but did not understand the idea of death. According to both Arkansas state law and federal law, a seriously mentally impaired inmate cannot be executed. The courts disagreed with the allegation of grave mental impairment and allowed the execution. Clinton's return to Arkansas for the execution was framed in an article for The New York Times as a possible political move to counter "soft on crime" accusations.^[57][71]

Bush's approval ratings were around 80 percent during the Gulf War, and he was described as unbeatable. When Bush compromised with Democrats to try to lower federal deficits, he reneged on his promise not to raise taxes, which hurt his approval rating. Clinton repeatedly condemned Bush for making a promise he failed to keep.^[66] By election time, the economy was souring and Bush saw his approval rating plummet to just slightly over 40 percent.^[66][72] Finally, conservatives were previously united by anti-communism, but with the end of the Cold War, the party lacked a uniting issue. When Pat Buchanan and Pat Robertson addressed Christian themes at the Republican National Convention—with Bush criticizing Democrats for omitting God from their platform—many moderates were alienated.^[73] Clinton then pointed to his moderate, "New Democrat" record as governor of Arkansas, though some on the more liberal side of the party remained suspicious.^[74] Many Democrats who had supported Ronald Reagan and Bush in previous elections switched their support to Clinton.^[75] Clinton and his running mate, Al Gore, toured the country during the final weeks of the campaign, shoring up support and pledging a "new beginning".^[75]

On March 26, 1992, during a Democratic

Clinton won the 1992 presidential election (370 electoral votes) against Republican incumbent George H. W. Bush (168 electoral votes) and billionaire populist Ross Perot (zero electoral votes), who ran as an independent on a platform that focused on domestic issues. Bush's steep decline in public approval was a significant part of Clinton's success.^[75] Clinton's victory in the election ended twelve years of Republican rule of the White House and twenty of the previous twenty-four years. The election gave Democrats full control of the United States Congress,^[3] the first time one party controlled both the executive and legislative branches since Democrats held the 96th United States Congress during the presidency of Jimmy Carter.^[78][79]

According to Seymour Martin Lipset, the 1992 election had several unique characteristics. Voters felt that economic conditions were worse than they actually were, which harmed Bush. A rare event was the presence of a strong third-party candidate. Liberals launched a backlash against 12 years of a conservative White House. The chief factor was Clinton's uniting his party, and winning over a number of heterogeneous groups.^[80]

Presidency (1993–2001)

Clinton's "third way" of moderate liberalism built up the nation's fiscal health and put the nation on a firm footing abroad amid globalization and the development of anti-American terrorist organizations.^[81]

During his presidency, Clinton advocated for a wide variety of legislation and programs, most of which were enacted into law or implemented by the executive branch. His policies, particularly the North American Free Trade Agreement and welfare reform, have been attributed to a centrist Third Way philosophy of governance.^[82][83] His policy of fiscal conservatism helped to reduce deficits on budgetary matters.^[84][85] Clinton presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history.^[86][87]

The Congressional Budget Office reported budget surpluses of $69 billion in 1998, $126 billion in 1999, and $236 billion in 2000,^[88] during the last three years of Clinton's presidency.^[89] Over the years of the recorded surplus, the gross national debt rose each year. At the end of the fiscal year (September 30) for each of the years a surplus was recorded, the U.S. Treasury reported a gross debt of $5.413 trillion in 1997, $5.526 trillion in 1998, $5.656 trillion in 1999, and $5.674 trillion in 2000.^[90][91] Over the same period, the Office of Management and Budget reported an end of year (December 31) gross debt of $5.369 trillion in 1997, $5.478 trillion in 1998, $5.606 in 1999, and $5.629 trillion in 2000.^[92] At the end of his presidency, the Clintons moved to 15 Old House Lane in Chappaqua, New York, in order to quell political worries about his wife's residency for election as a U.S. Senator from New York.^[93]

First term (1993–1997)

First inauguration of Bill Clinton (January 20, 1993)

Video of the First inauguration of Bill Clinton

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First inauguration of Bill Clinton (January 20, 1993)

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After his presidential transition, Clinton was inaugurated as the 42nd president of the United States on January 20, 1993. Clinton was physically exhausted at the time, and had an inexperienced staff. His high levels of public support dropped in the first few weeks, as he made a series of mistakes. His first choice for attorney general had not paid her taxes on babysitters and was forced to withdraw. The second appointee also withdrew for the same reason. Clinton had repeatedly promised to encourage gays in the military service, despite what he knew to be the strong opposition of the military leadership. He tried anyway, and was publicly opposed by the top generals, and forced by Congress to a compromise position of "Don't ask, don't tell" whereby gays could serve if and only if they kept it secret.^[95] He devised a $16-billion stimulus package primarily to aid inner-city programs desired by liberals, but it was defeated by a Republican filibuster in the Senate.^[96] His popularity at the 100 day mark of his term was the lowest of any president at that point.^[97]

Public opinion did support one liberal program, and Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which required large employers to allow employees to take unpaid leave for pregnancy or a serious medical condition. This action had bipartisan support,^[98] and was popular with the public.^[99]

Two days after taking office, on January 22, 1993—the 20th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade—Clinton reversed restrictions on domestic and international family planning programs that had been imposed by Reagan and Bush.^[100] Clinton said abortion should be kept "safe, legal, and rare"—a slogan that had been suggested by political scientist Samuel L. Popkin and first used by Clinton in December 1991, while campaigning.^[101] During the eight years of the Clinton administration, the abortion rate declined by 18 percent.^[102]

On February 15, 1993, Clinton made his first address to the nation, announcing his plan to raise taxes to close a

President Clinton's attorney general Janet Reno authorized the FBI's use of armored vehicles to deploy tear gas into the buildings of the Branch Davidian community near Waco, Texas, in hopes of ending a 51 day siege. During the operation on April 19, 1993, the buildings caught fire and 75 of the residents died, including 24 children. The raid had originally been planned by the Bush administration; Clinton had played no role.^[106][107]

In August, Clinton signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which passed Congress without a Republican vote. It cut taxes for 15 million low-income families, made tax cuts available to 90 percent of small businesses,^[108] and raised taxes on the wealthiest 1.2 percent of taxpayers. Additionally, it mandated that the budget be balanced over many years through the implementation of spending restraints.^[109]

On September 22, 1993, Clinton made a major speech to Congress regarding

That month, Clinton implemented a Department of Defense directive known as "

On January 1, 1994, Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement into law.^[116] Throughout his first year in office, Clinton consistently supported ratification of the treaty by the U.S. Senate. Clinton and most of his allies in the Democratic Leadership Committee strongly supported free trade measures; there remained, however, strong disagreement within the party. Opposition came chiefly from anti-trade Republicans, protectionist Democrats and supporters of Ross Perot. The bill passed the house with 234 votes in favor and 200 votes opposed (132 Republicans and 102 Democrats in favor; 156 Democrats, 43 Republicans, and one independent opposed). The treaty was then ratified by the Senate and signed into law by the president.^[116]

On July 29, 1994, the Clinton administration launched the first official White House website, whitehouse.gov.^[117] The site was followed with three more versions, with the final version being launched on July 21, 2000.^[117] The White House website was part of a wider movement of the Clinton administration toward web-based communication. According to Robert Longley, "Clinton and Gore were responsible for pressing almost all federal agencies, the U.S. court system and the U.S. military onto the Internet, thus opening up America's government to more of America's citizens than ever before. On July 17, 1996, Clinton issued Executive Order 13011—Federal Information Technology, ordering the heads of all federal agencies to utilize information technology fully to make the information of the agency easily accessible to the public."^[118]

The Omnibus Crime Bill, which Clinton signed into law in September 1994,^[119] made many changes to U.S. crime and law enforcement legislation including the expansion of the death penalty to include crimes not resulting in death, such as running a large-scale drug enterprise. During Clinton's re-election campaign he said, "My 1994 crime bill expanded the death penalty for drug kingpins, murderers of federal law enforcement officers, and nearly 60 additional categories of violent felons."^[120] It also included a subsection of assault weapons ban for a ten-year period.^[121]

After two years of Democratic Party control, the Democrats lost control of Congress to the Republicans in the mid-term elections in 1994, for the first time in forty years.^[122]

A speech delivered by President Bill Clinton at the December 6, 1995

Despite DOMA, Clinton was the first president to select openly gay persons for administrative positions,[131] and he is generally credited as being the first president to publicly champion gay rights.^[132] During his presidency, Clinton issued two substantially controversial executive orders on behalf of gay rights, the first lifting the ban on security clearances for LGBT federal employees^[133] and the second outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal civilian workforce.^[134] Under Clinton's leadership, federal funding for HIV/AIDS research, prevention and treatment more than doubled.^[135] Clinton also pushed for passing hate crimes laws for gays and for the private sector Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which, buoyed by his lobbying, failed to pass the Senate by a single vote in 1996.^[136] Advocacy for these issues, paired with the politically unpopular nature of the gay rights movement at the time, led to enthusiastic support for Clinton's election and reelection by the Human Rights Campaign.^[132] Clinton came out for gay marriage in July 2009^[137] and urged the Supreme Court to overturn DOMA in 2013.^[138] He was later honored by GLAAD for his prior pro-gay stances and his reversal on DOMA.^[139]

The 1996 United States campaign finance controversy was an alleged effort by China to influence the domestic policies of the United States, before and during the Clinton administration, and involved the fundraising practices of the administration itself.^[141][142] Despite the evidence,^[141][143] the Chinese government denied all accusations.^[144]

As part of a 1996 initiative to curb illegal immigration, Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) on September 30, 1996. Appointed by Clinton,^[145] the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform recommended reducing legal immigration from about 800,000 people a year to about 550,000.^[146][147]

In November 1996, Clinton narrowly escaped possible assassination in the Philippines,^[148] which was a bridge bomb planted by al-Qaeda and was masterminded by Osama bin Laden. During Clinton's presidency, the attempt remained top secret,^[149] and it remains classfied as of March 2024^[update], when Reuters reported having spoken with eight retired secret service agents about the incident.^[150]

1996 presidential campaign

In the

In November 1993, David Hale—the source of criminal allegations against Bill Clinton in the Whitewater controversy—alleged that while governor of Arkansas, Clinton pressured Hale to provide an illegal $300,000 loan to Susan McDougal, the Clintons' partner in the Whitewater land deal.^[155] A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation resulted in convictions against the McDougals for their role in the Whitewater project, but the Clintons themselves were never charged, and Clinton maintains his and his wife's innocence in the affair.^[156] Investigations by Robert B. Fiske and Ken Starr found insufficient to evidence to prosecute the Clintons.^[157][158]

The

On May 19, 1993, Clinton fired seven employees of the White House Travel Office. This caused the White House travel office controversy even though the travel office staff served at the pleasure of the president and could be dismissed without cause. The White House responded to the controversy by claiming that the firings were done in response to financial improprieties that had been revealed by a brief FBI investigation.^[161] Critics contended that the firings had been done to allow friends of the Clintons to take over the travel business and the involvement of the FBI was unwarranted.^[162] The House Government Reform and Oversight Committee issued a report which accused the Clinton administration of having obstructed their efforts to investigate the affair.^[163] Special counsel Robert Fiske said that Hillary Clinton was involved in the firing and gave "factually false" testimony to the GAO, congress, and the independent counsel. However Fiske said there was not enough evidence to prosecute.^[164][165]

Impeachment and acquittal

After

While the

The Senate later acquitted Clinton of both charges.[172] The Senate refused to meet to hold an impeachment trial before the end of the old term, so the trial was held over until the next Congress. Clinton was represented by Washington law firm Williams & Connolly.^[173] The Senate finished a twenty-one-day trial on February 12, 1999, with the vote of 55 not guilty/45 guilty on the perjury charge^[172] and 50 not guilty/50 guilty on the obstruction of justice charge.^[174] Both votes fell short of the constitutional two-thirds majority requirement to convict and remove an officeholder. The final vote was generally along party lines, with no Democrats voting guilty, and only a handful of Republicans voting not guilty.^[172]

On January 19, 2001, Clinton's law license was suspended for five years after he acknowledged to an Arkansas circuit court he had engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice in the Jones case.^[175][176]

Pardons and commutations

Clinton

In February 1997 it was discovered upon documents being released by the

In 1996, it was found that several Chinese foreigners made contributions to Clinton's reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee with the backing of the People's Republic of China. Some of them also attempted to donate to Clinton's defense fund.^[185] This violated United States law forbidding non-American citizens from making campaign contributions. Clinton and Al Gore also allegedly met with the foreign donors.^{[186][187][188][189]} A Republican investigation led by Fred Thompson found that Clinton was targeted by the Chinese government. However, Democratic senators Joe Lieberman and John Glenn said that the evidence showed that China only targeted congressional elections and not presidential elections.^[190]

Military and foreign affairs

Somalia

American troops had first entered

In April 1994, genocide broke out in Rwanda. Intelligence reports indicate that Clinton was aware a "final solution to eliminate all Tutsis" was underway, long before the administration publicly used the word "genocide".^{[194][195][196]} Fearing a reprisal of the events in Somalia the previous year, Clinton chose not to intervene.^[197] Clinton has called his failure to intervene one of his main foreign policy failings, saying "I don't think we could have ended the violence, but I think we could have cut it down. And I regret it."^[198]

Bosnia and Herzegovina

In 1993 and 1994, Clinton pressured Western European leaders to adopt a strong military policy against

In 1992, before his presidency, Clinton proposed sending a peace envoy to Northern Ireland, but this was dropped to avoid tensions with the British government. In November 1995, in a ceasefire during the Troubles, Clinton became the first president to visit Northern Ireland, examining both of the two divided communities of Belfast.^[201] Despite unionist criticism, Clinton used his visit as a way to negotiate an end to the violent conflict, playing a key role in the peace talks that produced the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.^[202]

Iran

Clinton sought to continue the Bush administration's policy of limiting Iranian influence in the Middle East, which he laid out in the

In Clinton's 1998 State of the Union Address, he warned Congress that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was building an arsenal of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.^[205]

Clinton signed the

Capturing Osama bin Laden was an objective of the U.S. government during the Clinton presidency (and continued to be until bin Laden's death in 2011).^[210] Despite claims by Mansoor Ijaz and Sudanese officials that the Sudanese government had offered to arrest and extradite bin Laden, and that U.S. authorities rejected each offer,^[211] the 9/11 Commission Report stated that "we have not found any reliable evidence to support the Sudanese claim".^[212]

In response to a 1996 State Department warning about bin Laden^[213] and the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa by al-Qaeda (which killed 224 people, including 12 Americans), Clinton ordered several military missions to capture or kill bin Laden, all of which were unsuccessful. In August 1998, Clinton ordered cruise missile strikes on terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan, targeting the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Sudan, which was suspected of assisting bin Laden in making chemical weapons, and bin Laden's terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. The factory was destroyed by the attack, resulting in the death of one employee and the wounding of 11 other people.^[214] After the destruction of the factory, there was a medicine shortage in Sudan due to the plant providing 50 percent of Sudan's medicine, and the destruction of the plant led to a shortage of chloroquine, a drug which is used to treat malaria.^[215] U.S. officials later acknowledged that there was no evidence the plant was acknowledging manufacturing or storing nerve gas.^[216] The attack provoked criticism of Clinton from journalists and academics including Christopher Hitchens,^[217] Seymour Hersh,^[218] Max Taylor,^[219] and others.^[220]

Kosovo

In the midst of a brutal crackdown on

Clinton aimed to increase trade with China, minimizing import tariffs and offering the country most favoured nation status in 1993, his administration minimized tariff levels in Chinese imports. Clinton initially conditioned extension of this status on human rights reforms, but ultimately decided to extend the status despite a lack of reform in the specified areas, including free emigration, treatment of prisoners in terms of international human rights, and observation of human rights specified by UN resolutions, among others.^[236]

Relations were damaged briefly by the American bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in May 1999. Clinton apologized for the bombing, stating it was accidental.^[237]

On October 10, 2000, Clinton signed into law the United States–China Relations Act of 2000, which granted permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) trade status to China.^[238] The president asserted that free trade would gradually open China to democratic reform.^[239][240]

In encouraging Congress to approve the agreement and China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Clinton stated that more trade with China would advance America's economic interests, saying that "economically, this agreement is the equivalent of a one-way street. It requires China to open its markets—with a fifth of the world's population, potentially the biggest markets in the world—to both our products and services in unprecedented new ways."^[241]

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Clinton attempted to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Secret negotiations mediated by Clinton between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat led to a historic declaration of peace in September 1993, called the Oslo Accords, which were signed at the White House on September 13. The agreement led to the Israel–Jordan peace treaty in 1994 and the Wye River Memorandum in October 1998, however, this did not end the conflict. He brought Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat together at Camp David for the 2000 Camp David Summit, which lasted 14 days in July.^[56] Following another attempt in December 2000 at Bolling Air Force Base, in which the president offered the Clinton Parameters, the situation broke down completely after the end of the Taba Summit and with the start of the Second Intifada.^[56]

Judicial appointments

Clinton appointed two justices to the Supreme Court: Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993^[242] and Stephen Breyer in 1994.^[243] Both justices went on to serve until the 2020s, leaving a lasting judicial legacy for President Clinton.^[244]

Clinton was the first president in history to appoint more women and minority judges than white male judges to the federal courts.^[245] In his eight years in office, 11.6% of Clinton's court of appeals nominees and 17.4% of his district court nominees were black; 32.8% of his court of appeals nominees and 28.5% of his district court nominees were women.^[245]

Public opinion

Throughout Clinton's first term, his job approval rating fluctuated in the 40s and 50s. In his second term, his rating consistently ranged from the high-50s to the high-60s.

As he was leaving office, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll revealed that 45 percent of Americans said they would miss him; 55 percent thought he "would have something worthwhile to contribute and should remain active in public life"; 68 percent thought he would be remembered more for his "involvement in personal scandal" than for "his accomplishments"; and 58 percent answered "No" to the question "Do you generally think Bill Clinton is honest and trustworthy?"^[249] The same percentage said he would be remembered as either "outstanding" or "above average" as a president, while 22 percent said he would be remembered as "below average" or "poor".^[249] ABC News characterized public consensus on Clinton as, "You can't trust him, he's got weak morals and ethics—and he's done a heck of a good job."^[250]

In May 2006, a CNN poll comparing Clinton's job performance with that of his successor, George W. Bush, found that a strong majority of respondents said Clinton outperformed Bush in six different areas questioned.^[251] Gallup polls in 2007 and 2011 showed that Clinton was regarded by 13 percent of Americans as the greatest president in U.S. history.^[252][253]

In 2014, 18 percent of respondents in a Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll of American voters regarded Clinton as the best president since World War II, making him the third most popular among postwar presidents, behind John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.^[254] The same poll showed that just 3 percent of American voters regarded Clinton as the worst president since World War II.^[254]

A 2015 poll by The Washington Post asked 162 scholars of the American Political Science Association to rank all the U.S. presidents in order of greatness. According to their findings, Clinton ranked eighth overall, with a rating of 70 percent.^[255]

Public image

Clinton was the first

Clinton drew strong support from the African American community and insisted that the improvement of race relations would be a major theme of his presidency.[268] In 1998, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison called Clinton "the first black president", saying, "Clinton displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas".^[269] Morrison noted that Clinton's sex life was scrutinized more than his career accomplishments, and she compared this to the stereotyping and double standards that, she said, black people typically endure.^[269] Many viewed this comparison as unfair and disparaging both to Clinton and to the African-American community.^[270]

Sexual assault and misconduct allegations

Several women have publicly accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct, including rape, harassment, and sexual assault. Additionally, some commentators have characterized Clinton's sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky as predatory or non-consensual, despite the fact that Lewinsky called the relationship consensual at the time. These allegations have been revisited and lent more credence in 2018, in light of the

In 1994, Paula Jones initiated a sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton, claiming he had made unwanted advances towards her in 1991; Clinton denied the allegations. In April 1998, the case was initially dismissed by Judge Susan Webber Wright on the grounds that it lacked legal merit.^[274] Jones appealed Webber Wright's ruling, and her suit gained traction following Clinton's admission to having an affair with Monica Lewinsky in August 1998.^[275] In 1998, lawyers for Paula Jones released court documents that alleged a pattern of sexual harassment by Clinton when he was Governor of Arkansas. Robert S. Bennett, Clinton's main lawyer for the case, called the filing "a pack of lies" and "an organized campaign to smear the President of the United States" funded by Clinton's political enemies.^[276] In October 1998, Clinton's attorneys tentatively offered $700,000 to settle the case, which was then the $800,000 which Jones' lawyers sought.^[277] Clinton later agreed to an out-of-court settlement and paid Jones $850,000.^[278] Bennett said the president made the settlement only so he could end the lawsuit for good and move on with his life.^[279] During the deposition for the Jones lawsuit, which was held at the White House,^[280] Clinton denied having sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky—a denial that became the basis for an impeachment charge of perjury.^[281]

In 1998, Kathleen Willey alleged that Clinton had groped her in a hallway in 1993. An independent counsel determined Willey gave "false information" to the FBI, inconsistent with sworn testimony related to the Jones allegation.^[282] On March 19, 1998, Julie Hiatt Steele, a friend of Willey, released an affidavit, accusing the former White House aide of asking her to lie to corroborate Ms. Willey's account of being sexually groped by Clinton in the Oval Office.^[283] An attempt by Kenneth Starr to prosecute Steele for making false statements and obstructing justice ended in a mistrial and Starr declined to seek a retrial after Steele sought an investigation against the former independent counsel for prosecutorial misconduct.^[284]

Also in 1998, Juanita Broaddrick alleged that Clinton had raped her in the spring of 1978, although she said she did not remember the exact date.^[285] To support her charge, Broaddrick notes that she told multiple witnesses in 1978 she had been raped by Clinton, something these witnesses also state in interviews to the press.^[286] Broaddrick had earlier filed an affidavit denying any "unwelcome sexual advances" and later repeated the denial in a sworn deposition.^[285] In a 1998 NBC interview wherein she detailed the alleged rape, Broaddrick said she had denied (under oath) being raped only to avoid testifying about the ordeal publicly.^[285]

The Lewinsky scandal has had an enduring impact on Clinton's legacy, beyond his impeachment in 1998.

Clinton admitted to having extramarital affairs with singer Gennifer Flowers and Monica Lewinsky.^[290] Actress Elizabeth Gracen,^[291] Miss Arkansas winner Sally Perdue,^[292] and Dolly Kyle Browning^[293] all claimed that they had affairs with Clinton during his time as governor of Arkansas. Browning later sued Clinton, Bruce Lindsey, Robert S. Bennett, and Jane Mayer, alleging they engaged in a conspiracy to attempt to block her from publishing a book loosely based on her relationship with Clinton and tried to defame him. However, Browning's lawsuit was dismissed.^[294]

Post-presidency (2001–present)

Bill Clinton has continued to be active in public life since leaving office in 2001, giving speeches, fundraising, and founding charitable organizations,^[295] and has spoken in prime time at every Democratic National Convention.^[296]

Activities until 2008 campaign

In 2002, Clinton warned that pre-emptive military action against Iraq would have unwelcome consequences,

In the aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami, U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan appointed Clinton to head a relief effort.^[304] After Hurricane Katrina, Clinton joined with fellow former president George H. W. Bush to establish the Bush-Clinton Tsunami Fund in January 2005, and the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund in October of that year.^[305] As part of the tsunami effort, these two ex-presidents appeared in a Super Bowl XXXIX pre-game show,^[306] and traveled to the affected areas.^[307] They also spoke together at the funeral of Boris Yeltsin in April 2007.^[308]

Based on his philanthropic worldview,

During the

In 2009, Clinton travelled to North Korea on behalf of two American journalists

Since then, Clinton has been assigned many other diplomatic missions. He was named United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti in 2009 following a series of hurricanes which caused $1 billion in damages.^[326] Clinton organized a conference with the Inter-American Development Bank, where a new industrial park was discussed in an effort to "build back better".^[327] In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, U.S. president Barack Obama announced that Clinton and George W. Bush would coordinate efforts to raise funds for Haiti's recovery.^[328] Funds began pouring into Haiti, which led to funding becoming available for Caracol Industrial Park in a part of the country unaffected by the earthquake. While Hillary Clinton was in South Korea, she and Cheryl Mills worked to convince SAE-A, a large apparel subcontractor, to invest in Haiti despite the company's deep concerns about plans to raise the minimum wage. In the summer of 2010, the South Korean company signed a contract at the U.S. State Department, ensuring that the new industrial park would have a key tenant.^[327] In 2010, Clinton announced support of, and delivered the keynote address for, the inauguration of NTR, Ireland's first environmental foundation.^[329][330] At the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Clinton gave a widely praised speech nominating Barack Obama.^[331]

2016 presidential election and after

During the 2016 presidential election, Clinton again encouraged voters to support Hillary, and made appearances speaking on the campaign trail.^[332] In a series of tweets, then-President-elect Donald Trump criticized his ability to get people out to vote.^[333] Clinton served as a member of the electoral college for the state of New York.^[334] He voted for the Democratic ticket consisting of his wife Hillary and her running-mate Tim Kaine.^{[citation needed]}

On September 7, 2017, Clinton partnered with former presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama to work with One America Appeal to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma in the Gulf Coast and Texas communities.^[335]

In 2020, Clinton again served as a member of the United States Electoral College from New York, casting his vote for the successful Democratic ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.^[336][337]

Post-presidential health concerns

In September 2004, Clinton underwent quadruple bypass surgery.

In October 2021, Clinton was treated for sepsis at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center.^[344][345]

In December 2022, Clinton tested positive for COVID-19.^[346]

Wealth

The Clintons incurred several million dollars in legal bills during his presidency, which were paid off four years after he left office.^[347] Bill and Hillary Clinton have each earned millions of dollars from book publishing.^[348] In 2016, Forbes reported Bill and Hillary Clinton made about $240 million in the 15 years from January 2001, to December 2015, (mostly from paid speeches, business consulting and book-writing).^[349] Also in 2016, CNN reported the Clintons combined to receive more than $153 million in paid speeches from 2001 until spring 2015.^[350] In May 2015, The Hill reported that Bill and Hillary Clinton have made more than $25 million in speaking fees since the start of 2014, and that Hillary Clinton also made $5 million or more from her book, Hard Choices, during the same time period.^[351] In July 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that at the end of 2012, the Clintons were worth between $5 million and $25.5 million, and that in 2012 (the last year they were required to disclose the information) the Clintons made between $16 and $17 million, mostly from speaking fees earned by the former president.^[352] Clinton earned more than $104 million from paid speeches between 2001 and 2012.^[353] In June 2014, ABC News and The Washington Post reported that Bill Clinton has made more than $100 million giving paid speeches since leaving public office, and in 2008, The New York Times reported that the Clintons' income tax returns^[354] show they made $109 million in the eight years from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2007, including almost $92 million from his speaking and book-writing.^{[348][355][356][357]}

Bill Clinton has given dozens of paid speeches each year since leaving office in 2001, mostly to corporations and philanthropic groups in North America and Europe; he often earned $100,000 to $300,000 per speech.^{[350][358][359][360]} Russian investment bank with ties to the Kremlin paid Clinton $500,000 for a speech in Moscow.^[361][362] Hillary Clinton said she and Bill came out of the White House financially "broke" and in debt, especially due to large legal fees incurred during their years in the White House. "We had no money when we got there, and we struggled to, you know, piece together the resources for mortgages, for houses, for Chelsea's education". She added, "Bill has worked really hard ... we had to pay off all our debts ... he had to make double the money because of, obviously, taxes; and then pay off the debts, and get us houses, and take care of family members".^[356]

Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

In the early 2000s, Clinton took flights on

However, later reports showed that Clinton had flown on Epstein's plane 26 times.[371] In another statement Clinton said "one meeting with Epstein in his Harlem office in 2002, and around the same time made one brief visit to Epstein's New York apartment with a staff member and his security detail". In July 2019 it was reported that Clinton attended a dinner with Epstein in 1995, a meeting with Epstein that Clinton had not previously disclosed.^[372]

Clinton reportedly used Epstein's private jet to visit

In 2024, unsealed court documents revealed allegations that Clinton had visited the offices of Vanity Fair and 'threatened' the paper not to print stories about Epstein's sexual trafficking. Former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter denied the incident ever took place.^[384][385]

Personal life

At the age of 10, he was baptized at Park Place

On October 11, 1975, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, he married Hillary Rodham, whom he met while studying at Yale University. They had Chelsea Clinton, their only child, on February 27, 1980.^[388] He is the maternal grandfather to Chelsea's three children.^[389]

Honors and recognition

Various colleges and universities have awarded Clinton honorary degrees, including

He has been honored in various other ways, in countries that include the Czech Republic,[407]^[408] Papua New Guinea,^[409] Germany,^[410] and Kosovo.^[399] The Republic of Kosovo, in gratitude for his help during the Kosovo War, renamed a major street in the capital city of Pristina as Bill Clinton Boulevard and added a monumental Clinton statue.^{[411][412][413]}

Clinton was selected as Time's "Man of the Year" in 1992,^[414] and again in 1998, along with Ken Starr.^[415] From a poll conducted of the American people in December 1999, Clinton was among eighteen included in Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century.^[416] In 2001, Clinton received the NAACP's President's Award.^[417] He has also been honored with a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children, a J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding,^[418] a TED Prize (named for the confluence of technology, entertainment and design),^[419] and was named as an Honorary GLAAD Media Award recipient for his work as an advocate for the LGBT community.^[420]

In 2011, President Michel Martelly of Haiti awarded Clinton with the National Order of Honour and Merit to the rank of Grand Cross "for his various initiatives in Haiti and especially his high contribution to the reconstruction of the country after the earthquake of January 12, 2010". Clinton declared at the ceremony that "in the United States of America, I really don't believe former American presidents need awards anymore, but I am very honored by this one, I love Haiti, and I believe in its promise".^[421]

U.S. president Barack Obama awarded Clinton the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 20, 2013.^[422]

Authored books

• Putting People First: How We Can All Change America. New York: Three Rivers Press. September 12, 1992.
  ISBN 978-0-8129-2193-9
  .
• ISBN 978-0-8129-2913-3
  .
• ISBN 978-1-4000-3003-3
  .
• ISBN 978-0-307-26674-3
  .
• ISBN 978-0-307-95975-1
  .
• ISBN 978-0-316-41269-8
  .
• ISBN 978-0-316-54071-1
  .

Bill Clinton is one of the narrators on Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf, a 2003 recording of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf performed by the Russian National Orchestra, on Pentatone, together with Mikhail Gorbachev and Sophia Loren.^[423] This garnered Clinton the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children.^[424][425]

The

Clinton has two more Grammy nominations for his audiobooks: Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World in 2007 and Back to Work in 2012.^[424]

See also

• 1996 United States campaign finance controversy
• Clinton family
• Clinton School of Public Service
• Efforts to impeach Bill Clinton
• Electoral history of Bill Clinton
• Gun control policy of the Clinton Administration
• List of presidents of the United States

References

Citations