Posted on 02/09/2002 6:59:22 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
In an astonishing reversal of President Bush's nonchalant attitude towards an array of corruption charges against Bill and Hillary Clinton, the president and his aides are now said to be "quietly pushing" a probe into allegations that Clinton staffers trashed the White House in Jan. 2001.
What's more, they've asked that the newly revved up investigation focus on the East Wing, where former first lady Hillary Clinton had her offices.
The shift could mean the GAO probe will also examine evidence that Mrs. Clinton absconded with furniture and other White House artifacts to decorate her private mansions in New York and Washington.
"White House folks suggested we cast as wide a net as possible," GAO director Bernard Ungar told the New York Daily News Saturday, adding that the Bushies wanted to redirect the probe's previous focus from the Eisenhower office building to Mrs. Clinton official digs.
The request for action on the Clinton vandalism charges prompted complaints from GAO chief David Walker, who told the News, "they want us to do more work than is even reasonable."
The Clinton probe could prove distracting to Walker's focus in recent weeks: prying loose White House records on meetings between Vice President Dick Cheney and Enron officials.
Immediately after reports of White House vandalism, Bush seemed to take no interest in the episode and urged the media to look that other way.
"There might have been a prank or two, maybe somebody put a cartoon on the wall, but that's OK." he told reporters. "It's time now to move forward."
But after Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner complained last June that Clinton workers had been unfairly smeared and demanded the Bushies apologize, White House press spokesman Ari Fleischer said the destruction was more extensive then the president had let on.
A list of damages he released included:
75 phones that had been "tampered with," including 10 where the lines had been cut.
Twenty percent of the desks in the Eisenhower Office complex had been overturned.
Obscene graffiti was discovered by Bush staffers in six offices.
A 20-inch-wide presidential seal had been ripped off a wall.
One hundred computer keyboards had been rendered inoperable by the Clinton vandals.
Pornography was left behind in White House photocopiers.
Trash was spilled throughout the White House counsel's office, along with other assorted random damage.
One estimate put the cost of the destruction as high as $250,000.
Bush administration spokeswoman Claire Buchan said the White House counsel's office had photographs of the vandalism, but did not explain why they were not offered to the GAO when the agency first requested proof in April.
In releasing the list of damages, Fleischer explained, "We tried to be gracious, but the last administration would not take graciousness." Claims that Bush staffers had lied about the destruction had forced him to respond, he said.
After Fleischer's comments, the GAO's Ungar began backtracking on his April report that there was no unusual damage to the White House after Clinton staffers departed.
"Ungar said the GAO found accounts of damage that included telephones disconnected from wall jacks, phones with extension numbers defaced and tables and desks that were overturned," reported Newsday, in a follow up story on Fleischer's list.
It's not clear whether the White House's newly aggressive attitude will translate into action in the office of the U.S. Attorney for New York's Southern District, which has been accused of footdragging in its probe into the Clinton Pardongate scandal.
Er....President Bush, er, TERRIFIED of the clintons? Oh........ROLL ON FLOOR LAUGHING MY ARSE OFF!!!! What a great bit of humor to start out Sunday with...thanks! You have made my day!!!:^)
Someone needs to tell Snopes to update his website to reflect the latest stance: Outgoing Democratic staff members vandalized the White House. Status: Uh, maybe?
The last update was in June of 2001 and rebuffed the claims of damage.
I do not turn to Snopes for my BS detection but I know that a number of FReepers do use this site as a reference for validation of rumors.
I detect too much bias in the rumors that Snopes chooses to list or not include and more importantly in the way that they are framed (the framing statement is his basis for "TRUE" or "NOT TRUE"). I would think that at least of few of his readers simply read the headline of at least a few of the rumors (face it, who has read every snopes article) and at least some of those readers will go out into the world with the thought, no that was just a NET rumor.
Some recent examples:
A new can design introduced by Dr Pepper includes the text of the Pledge of Allegiance with the words "under God" omitted. Status: Not quite. sorry to say but it is true. His explanation states that the original version of the Pledge did not include the words "under God". Fair enough but to put "one nation... indivisible" indicates that yes, words were removed.
Seventh graders in California are subjected to an intense three-week course in Islam in which they are required to pray to Allah and memorize Koran verses. Status: Not quite. There is no rebuttal to the claim of memorization of Koran verses (just a statement that the school has not addressed the question). Determination of "prayer" can be a vague thing as the students were required to have their own "jihad" (this has to be the non-violent kind, certainly). As the peaceful muslims claim this to be a devotion to Allah, it would have to be catagorized as a prayerful act.
I don't mean to stray too far from the thread but just wanted to raise this for anyone who found value in snopes website.
A conviction here would do much more than lead to the other crimes. A plea/deal would kill the virus as well, maybe she doesn't really love Bill.
Thanks again!
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It should be pointed out that this is far from the first instance of art playing fast and loose with racial history. Countless World War II films depict black and white American soldiers fighting side by side, yet black soldiers were restricted to service support organizations and a few separate combat units during the war...
If they are going to expect to find truth in films based on history, then they are sorely mistaken.
A commemorative statue is more than just a piece of "art", it is a testimonial to the actions of people. To alter the statue is to alter the historical record. The statue serves as propaganda to begin with (not necessarily a bad thing). An altered statue also serves as propaganda. The alteration shifts the meaning of the propaganda.
They have not.
LOL!!! She may not have been there physically but I'm sure she had all sorts of surveillance equipment monitering her husband 24/7 plus a sqawk box for screaming his daily marching orders.
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You're right, of course. I have a conscience, so it's hard for me to remember she and those like her don't. And since I'm not narcissitic, like her, I forget to try and twist my brain into the ugliness inside hers. Thanks for the reminder, lol.
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