Bill Clinton's Scandalous Presidency

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Bill Clinton's Scandalous Presidency

William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, was one of the "most popular American presidents of the 20th century", and the second president to be impeached (Dumas 1 of 15). During Clinton's two terms as president, from 1993 to 2001, his contributions to America were great. The country's economic quickly recovered from early ‘90's recession, interest rates fell to an all time low and jobs were plentiful. However, during his tenor as president he will always be remembered for the Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky, and the Whitewater scandals.

In August 1994, independent counselor Kenneth Starr was appointed to investigate what is now known as the "Whitewater Affair". The Whitewater scandal developed in Clinton's first term as president, after the death of deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster (Wikipedia ). It was learned that after Foster's death chief White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum had removed documents concerning Whitewater Development Corporation from Fosters office (Wikipedia ).

Many of Clinton's friends were investors in the project, and prosecutors determined that the failed Whitewater project involved numerous illegal transactions including fraudulent use of banks (Finkelman 267). By the end of 1998, nine individuals had pled guilty to various crimes and three others had been convicted by juries, while two prosecutions had ended in acquittals or mistrials (Finkelman 267).

In 1991, Paula Jones brought a civil lawsuit against Clinton in which she claimed he invited her to a hotel room and made sexual advances toward her. Eventually th...

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...freedom to privacy (Weber 2 of 2). The moment he places his name on a ballot for public office he is public property (Weber 2 of 2).

The sex scandals were brought to America's attention. In disbelief it was dealt with. After all the investigations by Ken Starr, all the testimonies, and after the trial has ended we were close to another President being impeached. Somehow the Senate decided that he was worth saving and he remained our President to serve out the rest of his term. What Bill Clinton did as a person should not affect what he did for the United States as a President. If he wasn't doing his job as our President then that would have been grounds to make a decision of removal from office. Everyone makes mistakes and it's not for us to judge them. In the end there is only one person that can truly judge us for our wrong doing, and he will get what he deserves.

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