Bill Clinton

House Oversight Committee Releases Epstein Birthday Book with Trump Contributions Including "Fully Depreciated Woman" Check Photo

| Importance: 9/10

The House Oversight Committee released Jeffrey Epstein’s 238-page birthday book “The First Fifty Years,” compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. The album contains two deeply disturbing contributions connected to Donald Trump that reveal the culture …

Donald Trump Jeffrey Epstein Ghislaine Maxwell Joel Pashcow James Comer +4 more epstein-connections mar-a-lago sexual-misconduct congressional-oversight obstruction-of-oversight +1 more
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Chairman Comer Issues 11 Subpoenas Including Clintons and Former AGs

| Importance: 6/10

House Oversight Chairman James Comer escalated dramatically on August 5, 2025, by issuing 11 subpoenas: one to the DOJ demanding complete files by August 19, depositions from Bill and Hillary Clinton, and testimony from six former attorneys general and two former FBI directors. The selection notably …

James Comer Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton Department of Justice epstein-files congressional-oversight subpoenas clinton-connection
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Jeffrey Epstein Associates Documents Released to Public

| Importance: 9/10

Federal court releases approximately 900 pages of previously sealed documents from the Giuffre v. Maxwell case, revealing names of dozens of Epstein associates and new details about his network. The release includes depositions, emails, and court filings, though many documents remain heavily …

Loretta Preska Virginia Giuffre Ghislaine Maxwell Bill Clinton Alan Dershowitz document-release transparency-victory public-disclosure institutional-accountability media-access
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Trump Stages Pre-Debate Event with Bill Clinton Accusers

| Importance: 8/10

On October 9, 2016, just 90 minutes before the second presidential debate in St. Louis, Donald Trump staged a surprise press conference with four women who have accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct or been connected to the Clintons’ legal history. The event, held at the Four Seasons Hotel …

Donald Trump Paula Jones Juanita Broaddrick Kathleen Willey Kathy Shelton +2 more trump-campaign clinton-campaign presidential-debate election-2016 deflection-strategy +2 more
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Clinton Pardon Scandal Reveals Payments to President's Brother and Brother-in-Law

| Importance: 8/10

New revelations emerge that Hugh Rodham, Hillary Clinton’s brother, received $400,000 in payments for successfully lobbying President Clinton to grant a pardon to Almon Glenn Braswell, a businessman under investigation for money laundering, and a commutation for convicted drug trafficker …

Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton Roger Clinton Hugh Rodham Almon Glenn Braswell +1 more presidential-pardons corruption influence-peddling accountability
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Clinton Pardons Fugitive Marc Rich Amid Corruption Allegations

| Importance: 9/10

Hours before leaving office, President Bill Clinton grants a controversial presidential pardon to Marc Rich, an international fugitive who fled to Switzerland in 1983 to avoid prosecution on 51 counts of tax fraud, racketeering, and illegal oil trading with Iran during the 1979-1980 hostage crisis. …

Bill Clinton Marc Rich Denise Rich Hillary Clinton presidential-pardons corruption campaign-finance political-influence accountability
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Clinton Roadless Rule Protects 58 Million Acres of National Forests from Logging

| Importance: 8/10

In one of his final acts as president, Bill Clinton implements the “Roadless Rule,” prohibiting road construction, timber harvest, and most commercial development on nearly 58 million acres of pristine national forest land—more than a quarter of the entire National Forest System. The …

Bill Clinton U.S. Forest Service Timber Industry Mining Industry environment public-lands deregulation natural-resources conservation +1 more
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Clinton Signs Commodity Futures Modernization Act, Cementing Derivatives Deregulation

| Importance: 10/10

President Bill Clinton signed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (CFMA) into law on his last day before Christmas recess, completing the deregulation of the derivatives market that Brooksley Born had warned against two years earlier. The legislation, inserted into a 10,000-page authorization …

Bill Clinton Lawrence Summers Phil Gramm Alan Greenspan Wall Street derivatives dealers derivatives deregulation cfma financial-crisis credit-default-swaps +1 more
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Phil Gramm Inserts 262-Page CFMA into 11,000-Page Spending Bill Hours Before Christmas Recess

| Importance: 9/10

In the early evening of Friday, December 15, 2000, with Christmas recess only hours away and the presidential election still unresolved, the U.S. Senate rushes to pass an essential 11,000-page government reauthorization bill. Senator Phil Gramm of Texas inserts a complex 262-page amendment - the …

Phil Gramm U.S. Senate U.S. House of Representatives Bill Clinton Enron Corporation derivatives cfma legislative-corruption enron-loophole lame-duck +2 more
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Clinton Signs China PNTR Ending Annual Review, Enabling WTO Entry and Manufacturing Exodus

| Importance: 9/10

President Bill Clinton signs the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000, granting China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status and ending the annual congressional review process that had existed since 1980 under Jackson-Vanik provisions. The House passed the legislation on May 24, 2000 and the …

Bill Clinton U.S. Senate U.S. House of Representatives Chinese Government Corporate Lobbies +1 more china trade-policy wto pntr globalization +3 more
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Halliburton Opens Tehran Office While Cheney Still CEO, Completing $40 Million Annual Iran Business Through Cayman Islands Subsidiary Designed to Circumvent U.S. Sanctions

| Importance: 9/10

In February 2000, Halliburton’s offshore subsidiary Halliburton Products and Services opened an office in Tehran, Iran, while Dick Cheney remained CEO of the parent company, completing a systematic sanctions evasion structure that generated approximately $40 million annually in oil field …

Dick Cheney Halliburton Halliburton Products and Services Bill Clinton sanctions-evasion conflicts-of-interest regulatory-arbitrage corporate-impunity foreign-influence
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Ron Burkle becomes Diddy's business partner and godfather to his children

| Importance: 9/10

Billionaire Ron Burkle, a frequent passenger on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane and close associate of Bill Clinton, forms deep business and personal relationships with Sean Combs, eventually becoming godfather to Combs’ children. In 2003, Burkle invested $100 million in Combs’ Sean John …

Ron Burkle Sean Combs Bill Clinton Jeffrey Epstein ron-burkle jeffrey-epstein bill-clinton business-partnership entertainment +4 more
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Clinton Signs Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Formally Repealing Glass-Steagall

| Importance: 10/10

President Bill Clinton signs the Financial Services Modernization Act (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act), formally repealing key provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act after two decades of systematic erosion. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Phil Gramm, Representative Jim Leach, and Representative Thomas …

Bill Clinton Phil Gramm Jim Leach Thomas Bliley Congress gramm-leach-bliley-act glass-steagall-repeal financial-deregulation clinton-administration bipartisan-support
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Lawrence Summers Becomes Treasury Secretary, Accelerates Derivatives Deregulation Campaign

| Importance: 8/10

The U.S. Senate confirms Lawrence Summers as the 71st Secretary of the Treasury, replacing Robert Rubin and continuing the aggressive deregulation agenda. Summers had spent the previous year as Deputy Secretary orchestrating opposition to derivatives regulation, including making an “irate …

Lawrence Summers Bill Clinton Robert Rubin U.S. Senate Wall Street Derivatives Dealers treasury derivatives deregulation revolving-door financial-crisis +2 more
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Senate Acquits President Clinton on Both Impeachment Articles

| Importance: 8/10

The U.S. Senate votes to acquit President Bill Clinton on both articles of impeachment following a five-week trial. On the perjury charge (Article I), the Senate votes 45-55, with 45 Democrats and 10 Republicans voting “not guilty.” On the obstruction of justice charge (Article II), the …

Bill Clinton U.S. Senate Senate Republicans Senate Democrats impeachment presidential-accountability constitutional-process senate-trial
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House of Representatives Impeaches President Clinton on Perjury and Obstruction Charges

| Importance: 9/10

The U.S. House of Representatives votes to impeach President Bill Clinton on two articles: perjury before a grand jury (Article I, passed 228-206) and obstruction of justice (Article II, passed 221-212). Clinton becomes the second American president to be impeached, the first being Andrew Johnson in …

Bill Clinton House Republicans Kenneth Starr impeachment presidential-accountability constitutional-crisis perjury obstruction-of-justice
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Federal Reserve Grants Citigroup Temporary Waiver for Glass-Steagall Violation

| Importance: 8/10

In September 1998, the Federal Reserve Board granted Citicorp a temporary waiver allowing its merger with Travelers Group, effectively circumventing the Glass-Steagall Act and Bank Holding Company Act. This strategic regulatory maneuver created Citigroup, the first ‘universal bank’ since …

Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan Citicorp Travelers Group Sandy Weill +4 more federal-reserve citigroup glass-steagall-violation regulatory-waiver systemic-corruption +3 more
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Monica Lewinsky Affair Becomes Public as Clinton Issues Denial

| Importance: 9/10

News breaks that President Bill Clinton engaged in an extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky, a 22-year-old White House intern, during 1995-1997. The scandal emerges during a sexual harassment civil suit by Paula Jones, when evidence surfaces that Clinton had an inappropriate relationship with …

Bill Clinton Monica Lewinsky Kenneth Starr presidential-accountability impeachment scandal investigation perjury
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Welfare Reform Mandates Work Requirements After Two Years of Assistance

| Importance: 7/10

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act implements strict work requirements mandating that welfare recipients must work or participate in work-related activities after receiving assistance for two years. The law includes “strong work requirements” and a …

Bill Clinton Republican Congress Low-Income Workers welfare-reform poverty labor-policy social-safety-net legislation
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Welfare Reform Imposes Five-Year Lifetime Limit on Cash Assistance

| Importance: 8/10

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act establishes a five-year lifetime limit on federally funded cash assistance through the new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. This represents a fundamental restructuring of the American social safety net, …

Bill Clinton Republican Congress Poor Families welfare-reform poverty social-safety-net inequality legislation
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Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act Ends Welfare Entitlement

| Importance: 9/10

President Bill Clinton signs the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), fulfilling his 1992 campaign promise to “end welfare as we know it.” The legislation represents the most significant overhaul of the American welfare system since the New …

Bill Clinton Newt Gingrich Republican Congress welfare-reform poverty social-safety-net legislation inequality
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Chinese Military Intelligence Funnels Campaign Donations Through Johnny Chung

| Importance: 9/10

Democratic fundraiser Johnny Chung receives $300,000 from Ji Shengde, the head of Chinese military intelligence, with instructions to funnel the money to help reelect President Clinton in 1996. Chung tells federal investigators that he passed on $35,000 of this money to the Democratic National …

Johnny Chung Ji Shengde Bill Clinton Democratic National Committee Chinese Military Intelligence campaign-finance foreign-interference election-interference china illegal-donations +1 more
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Lincoln Bedroom Fundraising Scandal Reveals White House Donor Access Program

| Importance: 8/10

Documents revealed in February 1997 show that President Bill Clinton and top aides orchestrated a broad fundraising operation during his first term, explicitly using overnight stays in the White House Lincoln Bedroom and other perks to woo and reward major donors. President Clinton personally …

Bill Clinton Democratic National Committee Major Donors campaign-finance political-corruption influence-peddling fundraising-scandal white-house
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Telecommunications Act of 1996 Enables Media Consolidation Through Corporate Capture

| Importance: 9/10

President Bill Clinton signs the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the first major overhaul of U.S. telecommunications law in over 60 years. While ostensibly designed to promote competition by allowing ‘anyone to enter any communications business,’ the act was heavily influenced by …

Bill Clinton Telecommunications Industry Lobbyists Clear Channel Communications Viacom Corporate Media Lobbies +1 more regulatory-capture telecommunications deregulation media-consolidation corporate-lobbying +2 more
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Telecommunications Act of 1996 Enables Media Consolidation Through Corporate Capture

| Importance: 9/10

President Bill Clinton signs the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the first major overhaul of U.S. telecommunications law in over 60 years. While ostensibly designed to promote competition by allowing ‘anyone to enter any communications business,’ the act was heavily influenced by …

Bill Clinton Telecommunications Industry Lobbyists Clear Channel Communications Viacom Corporate Media Lobbies +1 more regulatory-capture telecommunications deregulation media-consolidation corporate-lobbying +1 more
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Hillary Clinton Delivers "Super-Predators" Speech Supporting 1994 Crime Bill

| Importance: 8/10

First Lady Hillary Clinton delivers a speech at Keene State College in New Hampshire supporting the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, in which she uses the now-infamous “super-predators” terminology. In her remarks, Clinton stated: “They are not just gangs of kids …

Hillary Clinton Bill Clinton mass-incarceration racial-justice criminal-justice rhetoric political-discourse
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Robert Rubin Appointed Treasury Secretary After 26 Years at Goldman Sachs

| Importance: 8/10

Robert E. Rubin was sworn in as the 70th Secretary of the Treasury, bringing Wall Street directly into the highest levels of economic policymaking. Rubin had spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs, rising to co-chairman from 1990-1992, before joining the Clinton administration as director of the National …

Robert Rubin Bill Clinton Goldman Sachs revolving-door goldman-sachs treasury financial-deregulation regulatory-capture
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Clinton Healthcare Reform Dies After Insurance Industry Lobbying Campaign

| Importance: 9/10

Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell declares the Clinton administration’s Health Security Act dead, with the bill never coming to a vote in either chamber of Congress. The failure represents a devastating defeat for comprehensive healthcare reform after an intense lobbying campaign by …

Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton Health Insurance Industry Health Insurance Association of America Pharmaceutical Industry healthcare regulatory-capture lobbying insurance-industry corporate-power +1 more
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Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act Fuels Mass Incarceration

| Importance: 9/10

President Bill Clinton signs the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the largest crime bill in U.S. history, consisting of 356 pages that provided for 100,000 new police officers and $9.7 billion in funding for prisons. Drafted by then-Senator Joe Biden and sponsored by …

Bill Clinton Joe Biden Jack Brooks mass-incarceration criminal-justice prison-industrial-complex racial-justice legislation
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Federal Three Strikes Law Mandates Life Imprisonment for Third Violent Felony

| Importance: 8/10

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 includes a federal “three strikes” provision mandating life imprisonment without possibility of parole for individuals convicted of a third violent felony or serious drug offense. Specifically, the law requires mandatory life …

Bill Clinton Joe Biden Congress mass-incarceration criminal-justice mandatory-minimums sentencing-reform legislation
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Crime Bill Allocates $8.7 Billion for Prison Construction With Truth-in-Sentencing Requirements

| Importance: 8/10

As part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, the Clinton administration allocates $8.7 billion in federal grants for prison construction to states that enact “truth-in-sentencing” (TIS) laws requiring inmates convicted of violent crimes to serve at least 85 percent of …

Bill Clinton State Governors Prison Construction Industry mass-incarceration prison-industrial-complex criminal-justice legislation federal-funding
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Kenneth Starr Replaces Robert Fiske as Whitewater Independent Counsel

| Importance: 8/10

Pursuant to the newly reauthorized Ethics in Government Act, a special three-judge division of the D.C. Circuit Court appoints Kenneth Starr, former U.S. Solicitor General under George H.W. Bush, as independent counsel to continue the Whitewater investigation, replacing Robert Fiske. The Special …

Kenneth Starr Robert Fiske Special Division Court Bill Clinton whitewater investigation independent-counsel political-corruption
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Whitewater Investigation Launches Under Special Counsel Robert Fiske

| Importance: 7/10

Attorney General Janet Reno appoints Robert Fiske, a moderate Republican and former U.S. Attorney, as special counsel to investigate the Whitewater controversy involving President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton. The investigation focuses on the Clintons’ 1978 investment in the …

Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton Robert Fiske Janet Reno whitewater investigation political-corruption real-estate arkansas
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NAFTA Takes Effect as Zapatista Uprising Protests Privatization of Indigenous Lands

| Importance: 8/10

The North American Free Trade Agreement officially takes effect on January 1, 1994, the same day that 3,000-4,000 indigenous campesinos of the EZLN (Zapatista Army of National Liberation) launch an armed uprising in Chiapas, Mexico, declaring NAFTA a “death sentence” for indigenous …

EZLN Zapatista Army Mexican Government Indigenous Campesinos Bill Clinton Mexican Farmers nafta zapatista-uprising indigenous-rights privatization trade-policy +3 more
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Clinton Signs NAFTA Creating Corporate Tribunals to Override National Laws

| Importance: 9/10

President Bill Clinton signs the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) into law, creating the first major free trade agreement to include Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions binding developed nations. NAFTA’s Chapter 11 establishes corporate tribunals that allow …

Bill Clinton Al Gore Robert Rubin NAFTA Corporate Lobbies Mexican Government +1 more nafta free-trade corporate-tribunals isds investor-state-disputes +3 more
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$25 Million Corporate Lobbying Blitz Drives NAFTA Passage Despite Labor Opposition

| Importance: 8/10

U.S. businesses and the Mexican government launch a $25 million coordinated lobbying and public relations campaign to secure Congressional approval of NAFTA, overcoming fierce opposition from labor unions and environmental groups. The Business Roundtable, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and National …

Business Roundtable U.S. Chamber of Commerce National Association of Manufacturers American Express Mexican Government +2 more nafta corporate-lobbying trade-policy labor-opposition business-roundtable +2 more
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