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PreviewAdvancedSpecial charactersHelpHeadingLevel 2Level 3Level 4Level 5FormatInsertLatinLatin extendedIPASymbolsGreekGreek extendedCyrillicArabicArabic extendedHebrewBanglaTamilTeluguSinhalaDevanagariGujaratiThaiLaoKhmerCanadian AboriginalRunesÁáÀàÂâÄäÃãǍǎĀāĂ㥹ÅåĆćĈĉÇçČčĊċĐđĎďÉéÈèÊêËëĚěĒēĔĕĖėĘęĜĝĢģĞğĠġĤĥĦħÍíÌìÎîÏïĨĩǏǐĪīĬĭİıĮįĴĵĶķĹĺĻļĽľŁłŃńÑñŅņŇňÓóÒòÔôÖöÕõǑǒŌōŎŏǪǫŐőŔŕŖŗŘřŚśŜŝŞşŠšȘșȚțŤťÚúÙùÛûÜüŨũŮůǓǔŪūǖǘǚǜŬŭŲųŰűŴŵÝýŶŷŸÿȲȳŹźŽžŻżÆæǢǣØøŒœßÐðÞþƏəFormattingLinksHeadingsListsFilesDiscussionReferencesDescriptionWhat you typeWhat you getItalic''Italic text''Italic textBold'''Bold text'''Bold textBold & italic'''''Bold & italic text'''''Bold & italic textDescriptionWhat you typeWhat you getReferencePage text.<ref>[https://www.example.org/ Link text], additional text.</ref>Page text.[1]Named referencePage text.<ref name="test">[https://www.example.org/ Link text]</ref>Page text.[2]Additional use of the same referencePage text.<ref name="test" />Page text.[2]Display references<references />↑ Link text, additional text.↑ Link text==Presidency (1993–2001)== {{Main|Presidency of Bill Clinton}} {{for timeline|Timeline of the Bill Clinton presidency}} 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.<ref>David Palmer, "'What Might Have Been'--Bill Clinton and American Political Power." ''Australasian Journal of American Studies'' (2005): 38–58.</ref> During his presidency, [[Presidency of Bill Clinton#Legislation and programs|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 [[Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act|welfare reform]], have been attributed to a [[centrism|centrist]] [[Third Way]] philosophy of governance.<ref>{{cite news | last=Safire | first=William | author-link=William Safire | title=Essay; Looking Beyond Peace | work=The New York Times | date=December 6, 1993 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/06/opinion/essay-looking-beyond-peace.html | access-date=October 29, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Duffy|first1=Michael |last2=Barrett |first2=Laurence I. |last3=Blackman |first3=Ann |last4=Carney |first4=James | title=Secrets Of Success | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=November 29, 1993 | url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,979697,00.html | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> His policy of [[fiscal conservatism]] helped to reduce deficits on budgetary matters.<ref name=wp070914>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/14/AR2007091402451.html | title=Greenspan Is Critical Of Bush in Memoir | first=Bob | last=Woodward | author-link=Bob Woodward | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=September 15, 2007 | access-date=January 9, 2014}}</ref><ref name=bbc010115>{{cite news | author=Steve Schifferes | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1110165.stm | title=Bill Clinton's economic legacy | work=[[BBC News]] | date=January 15, 2001 | access-date=January 9, 2014}}</ref> Clinton presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/02/AR2008020202521.html | title=Bill Clinton's Legacy | first=Peter| last=Baker| newspaper=The Washington Post | date=February 3, 2008 | access-date=July 13, 2010}}</ref><ref name=NYTExpansion>{{cite news| title=The Battle of the Decades; Reaganomics vs. Clintonomics Is a Central Issue in 2000| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/08/business/the-battle-of-the-decades-reaganomics-vs-clintonomics-is-a-central-issue-in-2000.html| last=Stevenson| first=Richard| newspaper=The New York Times| date=February 8, 2000| access-date=March 15, 2011}}</ref> The [[Congressional Budget Office]] reported budget surpluses of $69 billion in 1998, $126 billion in 1999, and $236 billion in 2000,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43904 |title=Revenues, Outlays, Deficits, Surpluses, and Debt Held by the Public, 1968 to 2007, in Billions of Dollars |publisher=Congressional Budget Office |date=September 2008 |format=PDF |access-date=July 13, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208082112/http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43904 |archive-date=February 8, 2013 }}</ref> during the last three years of Clinton's presidency.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://factcheck.org/2008/02/the-budget-and-deficit-under-clinton | title=The Budget and Deficit Under Clinton | publisher=FactCheck.org | access-date=August 17, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110728091132/http://factcheck.org/2008/02/the-budget-and-deficit-under-clinton/| archive-date=July 28, 2011 | url-status=live| date=February 3, 2008 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Historical Debt Outstanding—Annual 1950–1999 | url=https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo4.htm | publisher=[[TreasuryDirect]] | access-date=April 3, 2015 | archive-date=April 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428030645/https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo4.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Historical Debt Outstanding—Annual 2000–2015 | url=https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo5.htm | publisher=TreasuryDirect | access-date=October 31, 2016 | archive-date=May 8, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508122149/https://treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo5.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Fiscal Year 2013 Historical Tables | url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2013-TAB/pdf/BUDGET-2013-TAB.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2013-TAB/pdf/BUDGET-2013-TAB.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live | publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office]]}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nagourney |first=Adam |date=September 3, 1999 |title=With Some Help, Clintons Purchase a White House |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/03/nyregion/with-some-help-clintons-purchase-a-white-house.html |access-date=August 25, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ===First term (1993–1997)=== {{Listen | title = First inauguration of Bill Clinton (January 20, 1993) | filename = First Inaugural (January 20, 1993) Bill Clinton.ogv | description = Video of the [[First inauguration of Bill Clinton]] | title2 = First inauguration of Bill Clinton (January 20, 1993) | filename2 = First Inaugural (January 20, 1993) Bill Clinton.ogg | description2 = audio only version | pos = right }} {{Quote box | width=25em | bgcolor=#c6dbf7 | align=right | quote="Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." | source=Inaugural address, January 20, 1993.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/clinton1.asp | first=Bill | last=Clinton | title=First Inaugural Address of William J. Clinton; January 20, 1993 | publisher=[[Yale Law School]] | date=January 20, 1993 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref>}} [[File:Dan Hadani collection (990040377410205171).jpg|thumb|alt=Clinton during the signing of the Israel–Jordan peace treaty, with Yitzhak Rabin (left) and King Hussein of Jordan (right)|Clinton during the signing of the [[Israel–Jordan peace treaty]], with [[Yitzhak Rabin]] (left) and King [[Hussein of Jordan]] (right)]] After [[Presidential transition of Bill Clinton|his presidential transition]], Clinton was [[First inauguration of Bill Clinton|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.<ref>Elizabeth Drew, ''On the Edge: The Clinton Presidency'' (1994), pp. 36–56.</ref> 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.<ref>Drew, pp 114–122.</ref> His popularity at the 100 day mark of his term was the lowest of any president at that point.<ref>Stanley A. Renshon, ed., ''The Clinton Presidency: Campaigning, Governing, and the Psychology of Leadership'' (1995), p. 138.</ref> 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,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=1&vote=00011 | title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 103rd Congress—1st Session | publisher=United States Senate | access-date= August 30, 2011}}</ref> and was popular with the public.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.protectfamilyleave.org/pdf/030608_ncpfl_fmla_national_survey.pdf |title=New Nationwide Poll Shows Strong Support for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) |publisher=Protect Family Leave |access-date=August 30, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227065806/http://www.protectfamilyleave.org/pdf/030608_ncpfl_fmla_national_survey.pdf |archive-date=December 27, 2011 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sharon L. Camp|chapter=The Politics of U.S. Population Assistance|title=Beyond the Numbers: A Reader on Population, Consumption and the Environment|editor=Laurie Ann Mazur|page=130}}</ref> 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.<ref>Amy Sullivan, ''The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats Are Closing the God Gap'' (Simon & Schuster: 2008), pp. 91–92.</ref> During the eight years of the Clinton administration, the abortion rate declined by 18 percent.<ref>Sullivan, ''The Party Faithful'', pp. 236–237.</ref> On February 15, 1993, Clinton made his first address to the nation, announcing his plan to raise taxes to close a [[budget deficit]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/15/us/white-house-hones-all-out-campaign-to-sell-sacrifice.html | title=White House Hones All-Out Campaign to Sell Sacrifice | newspaper=The New York Times | date=February 15, 1993 | author=Richard L. Burke | access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> Two days later, in a nationally televised address to a [[joint session of Congress]], Clinton unveiled his economic plan. The plan focused on reducing the deficit rather than on cutting taxes for the middle class, which had been high on his campaign agenda.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/cron | title=The Clinton Years: Chronology | work=[[Frontline (American TV program)|Frontline]] | access-date=June 13, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502012813/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/cron/| archive-date=May 2, 2010 | url-status=live}}</ref> Clinton's advisers pressured him to raise taxes, based on the theory that a smaller federal budget deficit would reduce bond interest rates.<ref>{{cite book | last=Woodward | first=Bob | author-link=Bob Woodward | title=Maestro | url=https://archive.org/details/maestrogreenspan00wood | url-access=registration | publisher=Simon & Schuster | location=New York | year=2000 | page=[https://archive.org/details/maestrogreenspan00wood/page/116 116]}}</ref> 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 [[Waco siege|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.<ref>Mollie Dickenson, "A Bipartisan Disaster" ''New York Times'' August 3, 1995, p. A25</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://theconversation.com/waco-the-siege-25-years-on-94324| author=Andrew Crome| title=Waco: the siege 25 years on| publisher=The Conversation| date=April 19, 2018}}</ref> In August, Clinton signed the [[Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993]], which passed Congress without a Republican vote. It cut taxes for 15{{nbsp}}million low-income families, made tax cuts available to 90 percent of small businesses,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/080393-presidential-press-conference-in-nevada.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927022455/http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/080393-presidential-press-conference-in-nevada.htm | archive-date=September 27, 2007 | title=Presidential Press Conference in Nevada | date=August 3, 1993 | first=Bill | last=Clinton}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | first=Bill | last=Clinton | url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/219941 | title=William J. Clinton: Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union | publisher=Presidency.ucsb.edu | date=January 25, 1994 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> [[File:Bill Clinton Al Gore.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Clinton and Vice President [[Al Gore]] on the South Lawn, August 10, 1993]] On September 22, 1993, Clinton made a major speech to Congress regarding [[Clinton health care plan|a health care reform plan]]; the program aimed at achieving universal coverage through a national health care plan. This was one of the most prominent items on Clinton's legislative agenda and resulted from a task force headed by Hillary Clinton. The plan was well received in political circles, but it was eventually doomed by well-organized lobby opposition from conservatives, the [[American Medical Association]], and the health insurance industry. However, Clinton biographer [[John F. Harris]] said the program failed because of a lack of coordination within the White House.<ref name="The Survivor" /> Despite the Democratic majority in Congress, the effort to create a national health care system ultimately died when compromise legislation by [[George J. Mitchell]] failed to gain a majority of support in August 1994. The failure of the bill was the first major legislative defeat of the Clinton administration.<ref name="The Natural" /><ref name="The Survivor" /> On November 30, 1993, Clinton signed into law the [[Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act|Brady Bill]], which mandated federal [[background check]]s on people who purchase firearms in the United States. The law also imposed a five-day waiting period on purchases, until the [[National Instant Criminal Background Check System|NICS system]] was implemented in 1998. He also expanded the [[Earned Income Tax Credit]], a subsidy for low-income workers.<ref name="The Survivor" /> In December of the same year, allegations by Arkansas state troopers [[Larry Patterson]] and Roger Perry were first reported by [[David Brock]] in ''[[The American Spectator]].'' In the affair later known as "[[Troopergate (Bill Clinton)|Troopergate]]", the officers alleged that they had arranged sexual liaisons for Clinton back when he was governor of Arkansas. The story mentioned a woman named ''Paula'', a reference to [[Paula Jones]]. Brock later apologized to Clinton, saying the article was politically motivated "bad journalism", and that "the troopers were greedy and had slimy motives".<ref name="apology">{{Cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/03/10/brocks.remorse | title=Reporter Apologizes For Clinton Sex Article | work=CNN | date=March 10, 1998 | first=Jonathan | last=Karl | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614124146/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/03/10/brocks.remorse/| archive-date=June 14, 2008}}</ref> [[File:Bill Clinton, Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat at the White House 1993-09-13.jpg|thumb|[[Yitzhak Rabin]], Clinton and [[Yasser Arafat]] during the [[Oslo Accords]] on September 13, 1993]] That month, Clinton implemented a Department of Defense directive known as "[[Don't Ask, Don't Tell]]", which allowed gay men and women to serve in the armed services provided they kept their sexual preferences a secret. The Act forbade the military from inquiring about an individual's sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Feder |first1=Jody | title="Don't Ask, Don't Tell": A Legal Analysis | publisher=DIANE Publishing | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-4379-2208-0}}</ref> The policy was developed as a compromise after Clinton's proposal to allow gays to serve openly in the military met staunch opposition from prominent Congressional Republicans and Democrats, including senators [[John McCain]] (R-AZ) and [[Sam Nunn]] (D-GA). According to [[David Mixner]], Clinton's support for the compromise led to a heated dispute with Vice President Al Gore, who felt that "the President should lift the ban ... even though [his executive order] was sure to be overridden by the Congress".<ref name="Mixner2009">{{cite book | last=Mixner | first=David | title=Stranger Among Friends | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Jeg2X025UgC| date=November 25, 2009 | publisher=Random House Publishing Group | isbn=978-0-307-42958-2 | pages=495–497}}</ref> Some gay-rights advocates criticized Clinton for not going far enough and accused him of making his campaign promise to get votes and contributions.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stranger Among Friends—book reviews |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n11_v28/ai_18855826 |newspaper=[[Washington Monthly]] |first=John | last=Cloud |date=November 1996 |access-date=August 30, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826114431/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n11_v28/ai_18855826/ |archive-date=August 26, 2011 }}</ref> Their position was that Clinton should have integrated the military by executive order, noting that President [[Harry S. Truman]] used executive order to racially desegregate the armed forces. Clinton's defenders argued that an executive order might have prompted the Senate to write the exclusion of gays into law, potentially making it harder to integrate the military in the future.<ref name="The Natural" /> Later in his presidency, in 1999, Clinton criticized the way the policy was implemented, saying he did not think any serious person could say it was not "out of whack".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://archives.cnn.com/1999/ALLPOLITICS/stories/12/11/clinton.gays.military/index.html | title=President seeks better implementation of 'don't ask, don't tell' | date=December 11, 1999 | work=CNN | access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> The policy remained controversial, and was finally [[Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010|repealed in 2011]], removing open sexual orientation as a reason for dismissal from the armed forces.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama certifies end of military's gay ban | agency=[[Reuters]] | work=[[NBC News]] | date=July 22, 2011 | url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/43859711 | access-date=September 7, 2011}}</ref> {{listen |title=Remarks on the Signing of NAFTA (December 8, 1993) |filename=Remarks on the Signing of NAFTA (December 8, 1993) Bill Clinton.ogv |description=Clinton's December 8, 1993, remarks on the signing of the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] |title2=Remarks on the Signing of NAFTA (December 8, 1993) |filename2=Remarks on the Signing of NAFTA (12-8-93, WJC).ogg |description2=audio only version |image=none }} On January 1, 1994, Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement into law.<ref name=NAFTA>{{cite journal |last1=Livingston |first1=C. Don |last2=Wink |first2=Kenneth A. |title=The Passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the U.S. House of Representatives: Presidential Leadership or Presidential Luck? |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |date=1997 |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=52–70 |id={{Gale|A19354304}} {{ProQuest|215685340}} |jstor=27551700 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=NAFTA /> On July 29, 1994, the Clinton administration launched the first official White House website, [[whitehouse.gov]].<ref name=":1">{{cite news |title=The Clinton White House Web Site |publisher=[[About.com]] |url=http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa012201b.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=August 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722064216/http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa012201b.htm |archive-date=July 22, 2011}}</ref> The site was followed with three more versions, with the final version being launched on July 21, 2000.<ref name=":1" /> 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."<ref>{{cite web |last=Longley |first=Robert |title=The Clinton White House Web Site: Part 1: Perhaps the most important Web site in American history |url=http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa012201a.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118024833/http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa012201a.htm |archive-date=January 18, 2017 |access-date=June 6, 2007 |publisher=About.com}}</ref> The [[Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act|Omnibus Crime Bill]], which Clinton signed into law in September 1994,<ref>{{cite web | title=HR 3355—Omnibus Crime Bill | url=https://votesmart.org/bill/2666/8428/omnibus-crime-bill | publisher=votesmart.org | access-date=September 12, 2015}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|title=Bill Clinton |date=February 25, 2015 |url=http://www.4to40.com/biographies-for-kids/bill-clinton/ |publisher=4to40.com |access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> It also included a subsection of [[Federal Assault Weapons Ban|assault weapons ban]] for a ten-year period.<ref>Jeffrey A. Roth and Christopher S. Koper, "Impacts of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban: 1994–96". U.S. Department of Justice/National Institute of Justice, ''Research in Brief'' (Mar. 1999); available at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/173405.pdf</ref> After two years of Democratic Party control, the Democrats lost control of Congress to the Republicans in the [[1994 United States House of Representatives elections|mid-term elections in 1994]], for the first time in forty years.<ref>{{cite web | last=Hulsey | first=Byron | title=The Altered Terrain of American Politics (Review of Do Elections Matter?) | url=http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=1463 | date=November 27, 1997 | access-date=October 29, 2008}}</ref> A speech delivered by President Bill Clinton at the December 6, 1995 [[White House Conference]] on HIV/AIDS projected that a cure for AIDS and a vaccine to prevent further infection would be developed. The President focused on his administration's accomplishments and efforts related to the [[epidemic]], including an accelerated drug-approval process. He also condemned [[homophobia]] and discrimination against people with [[HIV]]. Clinton announced three new initiatives: creating a special working group to coordinate AIDS research throughout the [[federal government]]; convening public health experts to develop an action plan that integrates HIV prevention with substance abuse prevention; and launching a new effort by the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] to ensure that health care facilities provide equal access to people with HIV and AIDS.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Activists at gathering plead with Clinton to take the lead |journal=AIDS Policy & Law |date=December 29, 1995 |volume=10 |issue=22 |pages=1, 10 |pmid=11362952 }}</ref> [[File:Coat of Arms of Bill Clinton.svg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|Clinton's coat of arms, granted by the [[Chief Herald of Ireland]] in 1995]] On September 21, 1996, Clinton signed into law the [[Defense of Marriage Act]] (DOMA), which defined marriage for federal purposes as the legal union of one man and one woman; the legislation allowed individual states to refuse to recognize gay marriages that were performed in other states.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/PLAW-104publ199 | publisher=United States Government Printing Office | title=Public Law 104 - 199 - Defense of Marriage Act }}</ref> [[Paul Yandura]], speaking for the White House gay and lesbian liaison office, said Clinton's signing DOMA "was a political decision that they made at the time of a re-election". In defense of his actions, Clinton has said that DOMA was intended to "head off an attempt to send a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to the states", a possibility he described as highly likely in the context of a "very reactionary Congress".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/bill-clinton-doma-2012-3/ | work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] | first=Frank | last=Rich | title=Bill Clinton's shifting justifications for signing the Defense of Marriage Act | date=February 26, 2012}}</ref> Administration spokesman [[Richard Socarides]] said, "the alternatives we knew were going to be far worse, and it was time to move on and get the president re-elected."<ref name="metroweekly">{{cite news | url=https://www.metroweekly.com/2011/09/becoming-law/ | work=[[Metro Weekly]] | first=Chris | last=Geidner | title=Becoming Law | date=September 29, 2011}}</ref> Clinton himself said DOMA was something "which the Republicans put on the ballot to try to get the base vote for Bush up, I think it's obvious that something had to be done to try to keep the Republican Congress from presenting that";<ref>{{cite web | url=https://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/bill-clinton-doma-2012-3/ | title=Bill Clinton's Justifications for Signing DOMA—New York Magazine | work=New York | date=February 24, 2012 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> others were more critical. The veteran gay rights and gay marriage activist [[Evan Wolfson]] has called these claims "historic revisionism".<ref name="metroweekly" /> Despite this, it has been noted that other than a brief written response to a Reader's Digest that questioned whether he agreed with it, Clinton had made no documented reference to the issue of gay marriage until May 1996.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/09/18/doma-anniversary-bill-clinton-book-excerpt-512686|title=Bill Clinton Tried to Avoid the DOMA Trap Republicans Set. Instead, He Trapped Himself.|first=Sasha|last=Issenberg|publisher=Politico|date=September 18, 2021|accessdate=November 29, 2022}}</ref> In a July 2, 2011, editorial ''The New York Times'' opined, "The Defense of Marriage Act was enacted in 1996 as an election-year wedge issue, signed by President Bill Clinton in one of his worst policy moments."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/opinion/sunday/03sun1.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/opinion/sunday/03sun1.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited | work=The New York Times | title=Unfinished Business: The Defense of Marriage Act | date=July 2, 2011 | department=Editorial}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Ultimately, in ''[[United States v. Windsor]]'', the U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA in June 2013.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-court-ruled-on-doma-and-prop-8 | title=How The Court Ruled on DOMA and Prop. 8 | first=Richard | last=Socarides | date=June 26, 2013 | magazine=[[The New Yorker]] | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> Despite DOMA, Clinton was the first president to select openly gay persons for administrative positions,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/Accomplishments/ac399.html | title=ClintonGore Accomplishments: Gay and Lesbian Americans | publisher=Clinton2.nara.gov | access-date=September 12, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319132707/http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/Accomplishments/ac399.html | archive-date=March 19, 2013 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref> and he is generally credited as being the first president to publicly champion gay rights.<ref name="newyorker.com">{{cite magazine | last=Socarides | first=Richard | url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-bill-clinton-signed-the-defense-of-marriage-act | title=Why Bill Clinton Signed the Defense of Marriage Act | magazine=The New Yorker | date=March 8, 2013 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> 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<ref>Volsky, Igor. (August 5, 1995) [http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/08/05/288942/clinton-issued-order-letting-gays-get-security-clearances-16-years-ago-today/?mobile=nc Clinton Issued Order Letting Gays Get Security Clearances 16 Years Ago Today] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326175219/http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/08/05/288942/clinton-issued-order-letting-gays-get-security-clearances-16-years-ago-today/?mobile=nc |date=March 26, 2014 }}</ref> and the second outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal civilian workforce.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/29/us/clinton-grants-gay-workers-job-protection.html | title=Clinton Grants Gay Workers Job Protection | work=The New York Times | date=May 29, 1998 | access-date=September 12, 2013}}</ref> Under Clinton's leadership, federal funding for HIV/AIDS research, prevention and treatment more than doubled.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://archive.hhs.gov/news/press/2000pres/00fsaids.html | title=2000.12.01: (Fact Sheet) Clinton Administration Record on HIV/AIDS | publisher=Archive.hhs.gov | access-date=September 12, 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930185839/http://archive.hhs.gov/news/press/2000pres/00fsaids.html | archive-date=September 30, 2013 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/104-1996/s281 | title=S. 2056 (104th): Employment Nondiscrimination Act of 1996 (On Passage of the Bill) | publisher=Govtrack.us | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="newyorker.com" /> Clinton came out for gay marriage in July 2009<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/bill-clinton-backs-same-sex-marriage/ | title=Bill Clinton Backs Same-Sex Marriage | magazine=[[The Nation]] | date=July 14, 2009 | access-date=February 22, 2020| last1=Tracey | first1=Michael }}</ref> and urged the Supreme Court to overturn DOMA in 2013.<ref>{{cite news | last=Clinton | first=Bill | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bill-clinton-its-time-to-overturn-doma/2013/03/07/fc184408-8747-11e2-98a3-b3db6b9ac586_story.html | title=It's time to overturn DOMA | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=March 7, 2013 | access-date=September 12, 2013}}</ref> He was later honored by [[GLAAD]] for his prior pro-gay stances and his reversal on DOMA.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/entertainment/glaad-honours-bill-clinton-2013042206 | work=[[3 News NZ]] | title=GLAAD honours Bill Clinton| date=April 22, 2013}}</ref> {{Quote box | width = 30em | bgcolor = #c6dbf7 | align = right | quote = "When I took office, only high energy physicists had ever heard of what is called the Worldwide Web ... Now even [[Socks (cat)|my cat]] has its own page." | source = Bill Clinton's announcement of [[Next Generation Internet Program|Next Generation Internet initiative]], October 1996.<ref name="NetValley">{{cite news | first=Gregory | last=Gromov | url=http://www.netvalley.com | title=History of the Internet and World Wide Web | access-date=August 30, 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720213401/http://www.netvalley.com/| archive-date=July 20, 2011 <!-- DASHBot -->| url-status=live}}</ref> }} 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.<ref name="wsjchinagate">{{cite news |title=China Was Bill Clinton's Russia |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-was-bill-clintons-russia-1488585526 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=March 3, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Not All Foreign-Influence Scandals Are Created Equal |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/07/chinese-illegally-donated-bill-clinton-reelection-campaign-media-downplayed/ |work=[[National Review]] |date=July 16, 2017}}</ref> Despite the evidence,<ref name="wsjchinagate"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Findings Link Clinton Allies to Chinese Intelligence |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/02/10/findings-link-clinton-allies-to-chinese-intelligence/87265d5d-7452-41f2-ad2f-aa4abe7e579e/?noredirect=on |newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Bob|last=Woodward|author-link=Bob Woodward |date=February 10, 1998}}</ref> the [[Government of China|Chinese government]] denied all accusations.<ref name=embassy>{{cite news|first1=Bob | last1=Woodward |first2=Brian | last2=Duffy | author-link1=Bob Woodward | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/china1.htm | title=Chinese Embassy Role In Contributions Probed | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=February 13, 1997 | access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> As part of a 1996 initiative to curb [[Illegal immigration to the United States|illegal immigration]], Clinton signed the [[Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996|Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act]] (IIRIRA) on September 30, 1996. Appointed by Clinton,<ref>{{cite news | author=Louis Freedberg | url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/PAGE-ONE-WASHINGTON-New-Limits-In-Works-on-3031581.php | title=New Limits In Works on Immigration / Powerful commission focusing on families of legal entrants | newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] | date=June 2, 1995 | access-date=February 22, 2020 }}</ref> the [[History of laws concerning immigration and naturalization in the United States#1990s|U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform]] recommended reducing legal immigration from about 800,000 people a year to about 550,000.<ref>{{cite book | last=Jones|first=Plummer Alston Jr. | year=2004 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bmSKvXN2a1IC&pg=PA153 | title=Still Struggling for Equality: American public library services with minorities | publisher=Libraries Unlimited | page=154 | isbn=978-1-59158-243-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/08/us/clinton-embraces-a-proposal-to-cut-immigration-by-a-third.html | title=Clinton Embraces a Proposal To Cut Immigration by a Third | first=Robert | last=Pear | newspaper=The New York Times | date=June 8, 1995 | access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> In November 1996, Clinton narrowly escaped possible assassination in the Philippines,<ref name="youtube.com">{{cite AV media | last1=Discovery TV | title=Clinton Assassination Attempt—Secret Service Secrets | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvhldq-OHK0 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220083137/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvhldq-OHK0 | archive-date=February 20, 2015 | via=YouTube | access-date=March 29, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> 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,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gormley|first1=Ken | title=The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr | date=February 1, 2011 | publisher=Crown Publishing Group | isbn=978-0-307-40945-4 | page=800}}</ref> and it remains classfied {{As of|lc=yes|2024|03}}, when [[Reuters]] reported having spoken with eight retired secret service agents about the incident.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/al-qaeda-plot-kill-bill-clinton-that-history-nearly-forgot-2024-03-23/|title=The al Qaeda plot to kill Bill Clinton that history nearly forgot|first=Jonathan|last=Landay|work=[[Reuters]]|date=2024-03-23|access-date=2024-03-24}}</ref> ====1996 presidential campaign==== {{Main|Bill Clinton 1996 presidential campaign|1996 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1996 United States presidential election}} [[File:ElectoralCollege1996.svg|right|thumb|upright=1.25|1996 electoral vote results. Clinton won 379–159.]] In the [[1996 United States presidential election|1996 presidential election]], Clinton was re-elected, receiving 49.2 percent of the popular vote over Republican [[Bob Dole]] (40.7 percent of the popular vote) and [[Reform Party of the United States of America|Reform]] candidate Ross Perot (8.4 percent of the popular vote). Clinton received 379 of the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] votes, with Dole receiving 159 electoral votes. With his victory, he became the first Democrat to win two consecutive presidential elections since [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=November 6, 1996|title=Clinton Rides Landslide First Democrat To Be Re-Elected Since Roosevelt|work=[[The Spokesman-Review]]|url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/nov/06/clinton-rides-landslide-first-democrat-to-be-re/|access-date=August 14, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Clinton@2">{{Cite book | last=Jones | first=Charles O. | title=The Presidency in a Separated System | url=https://archive.org/details/presidencysepara00jone | url-access=limited | publisher=[[The Brookings Institution]] | year=2005 | page=[https://archive.org/details/presidencysepara00jone/page/n336 318]}}</ref> ===Second term (1997–2001)=== In the January 1997, State of the Union address, Clinton proposed a new initiative to provide health coverage to up to five million children. Senators [[Ted Kennedy]]—a Democrat—and [[Orrin Hatch]]—a Republican—teamed up with Hillary Rodham Clinton and her staff in 1997, and succeeded in passing legislation forming the [[State Children's Health Insurance Program]] (SCHIP), the largest (successful) health care reform in the years of the Clinton Presidency. That year, Hillary Clinton shepherded through Congress the [[Adoption and Safe Families Act]] and two years later she succeeded in helping pass the [[Foster Care Independence Act]]. Bill Clinton negotiated the passage of the [[Balanced Budget Act of 1997]] by the Republican Congress. In October 1997, he announced he was getting hearing aids, due to hearing loss attributed to his age, and his time spent as a musician in his youth.<ref>{{cite news | last=Shogren | first=Elizabeth | title=Clinton to Get Hearing Aids for Both Ears | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-04-mn-39089-story.html | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=October 4, 1997 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> In 1999, he signed into law the Financial Services Modernization Act also known as the [[Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act]], which repealed the part of the [[Glass–Steagall Act]] that had prohibited a bank from offering a full range of [[Investment banking|investment]], [[commercial bank]]ing, and insurance services since its enactment in 1933.<ref>{{cite news | title=Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 | url=https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/gramm_leach_bliley_act | publisher=Federal Reserve History | access-date=February 22, 2020 }}</ref> ==== Investigations ==== In November 1993, [[David Hale (Whitewater)|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.<ref name="salon031798">{{cite news |last1=Broder |first1=Jonathan |last2=Waas |first2=Murray |author2-link=Murray Waas |date=March 17, 1998 |title=The Road To Hale |work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] |url=http://www.salon.com/news/1998/03/cov_17news.html |url-status=dead |access-date=August 25, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060616194202/http://salon.com/news/1998/03/cov_17news.html |archive-date=June 16, 2006}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Washingtonpost.com: Caught in the Whitewater Quagmire |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/whitewater/stories/wwtr950828.htm |access-date=October 23, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Investigations by [[Robert B. Fiske]] and [[Ken Starr]] found insufficient to evidence to prosecute the Clintons.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 21, 2002 |title='Insufficient Evidence' Ends Whitewater Case |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-mar-21-mn-33965-story.html |access-date=October 23, 2022 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Washingtonpost.com: Whitewater Special Report |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/whitewater112098.htm |access-date=October 23, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> The [[White House FBI files controversy]] of June 1996 arose concerning improper access by the White House to [[FBI]] security-clearance documents. Craig Livingstone, head of the White House Office of Personnel Security, improperly requested, and received from the FBI, background report files without asking permission of the subject individuals; many of these were employees of former Republican administrations.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ray |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Ray (prosecutor) |date=March 16, 2000 |title=Final Report of the Independent Counsel ... of the Investigation In Re: Anthony Marceca |url=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/icreport/marceca/sec1-2.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/icreport/marceca/sec1-2.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |access-date=August 30, 2011 |publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]}}{{dead link|date=April 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> In March 2000, Independent Counsel [[Robert Ray (prosecutor)|Robert Ray]] determined there was no credible evidence of any crime. Ray's report further stated, "there was no substantial and credible evidence that any senior White House official was involved" in seeking the files.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 28, 2000 |title=Independent counsel: No evidence to warrant prosecution against first lady in 'filegate' |work=CNN|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/07/28/clinton.filegate |url-status=dead |access-date=April 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529015957/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/07/28/clinton.filegate/ |archive-date=May 29, 2010}}</ref> 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 [[At-will employment|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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clinton |first=Hillary |title=Living History |title-link=Living History (book) |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7432-2224-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/livinghistory00clin/page/n189 172] |author-link=Hillary Clinton}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gormley |first=Ken |url=https://archive.org/details/deathofamericanv00gorm/page/70 |title=The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr |publisher=[[Crown Publishers]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-307-40944-7 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/deathofamericanv00gorm/page/70 70–71] |author-link=Ken Gormley (academic)}}</ref> The House Government Reform and Oversight Committee issued a report which accused the Clinton administration of having obstructed their efforts to investigate the affair.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AllPolitics - Travelgate Report OK'd - Sept. 18, 1996 |url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/news/9609/18/travelgate/index.shtml |access-date=October 23, 2022 |website=CNN}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 28, 2007 |title=III. Findings |url=http://a255.g.akamaitech.net/7/255/2422/13may20041504/icreport.access.gpo.gov/watkins/13-17.pdf |access-date=October 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628181404/http://a255.g.akamaitech.net/7/255/2422/13may20041504/icreport.access.gpo.gov/watkins/13-17.pdf |archive-date=June 28, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AllPolitics - Travelgate Report OK'd - Sept. 18, 1996 |url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/news/9609/18/travelgate/index.shtml |access-date=October 23, 2022 |website=CNN}}</ref> ====Impeachment and acquittal==== {{Main|Impeachment of Bill Clinton|Impeachment trial of Bill Clinton}} [[File:Senate in session.jpg|thumb|Clinton's impeachment trial in 1999]] After [[Impeachment inquiry against Bill Clinton|a House inquiry]], Clinton was [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeached]] on December 19, 1998, by the House of Representatives. The House voted 228–206 to impeach him for perjury to a [[grand jury]]<ref name=ai>{{cite web | author = Miller, Lorraine C. | title = Final vote results for roll call 543 | publisher = Office of the Clerk | date = December 19, 1998 | url = http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1998/roll543.xml | access-date = April 20, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100106230404/http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1998/roll543.xml | archive-date = January 6, 2010 | url-status = live }}</ref> and voted 221–212 to impeach him for obstruction of justice.<ref name=aiii>{{cite web | author = Miller, Lorraine C. | title = Final vote results for roll call 545 | publisher = Office of the Clerk | date = December 19, 1998 | url = http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1998/roll545.xml | access-date = April 20, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100302015416/http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1998/roll545.xml | archive-date = March 2, 2010 | url-status = live }}</ref> Clinton was only the second U.S. president (the first being [[Andrew Johnson]]) to be impeached.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-have-presidents-been-impeached-for-these-were-the-articles-of-impeachment-johnson-nixon-and-clinton/|title=What have presidents been impeached for? These were the articles of impeachment for Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton|agency=CBS News|access-date=December 12, 2019}}</ref> Impeachment proceedings were based on allegations that Clinton had illegally lied about and covered up his relationship with 22-year-old White House (and later [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]) employee [[Monica Lewinsky]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Time Line | date=September 13, 1998 | page=A32 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/timeline.htm | newspaper=The Washington Post | access-date=January 20, 2007}}</ref> After the [[Starr Report]] was submitted to the House providing what it termed "substantial and credible information that President Clinton Committed Acts that May Constitute Grounds for an Impeachment",<ref>{{cite book | title=The Starr Report: The Findings of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr on President Clinton and the Lewinsky Affair | year=1998 | isbn=978-1-891620-24-9 | url=https://archive.org/details/starrreportfindi00star }}</ref> the House began impeachment hearings against Clinton before the [[United States midterm election|mid-term elections]]. To hold impeachment proceedings, Republican leadership called a [[lame-duck session]] in December 1998. [[File:Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.jpg|thumb|Clinton in 2000 at [[Trump Tower]], shaking hands with future President [[Donald Trump]].]] While the [[House Judiciary Committee]] hearings ended in a straight party-line vote, there was lively debate on the House floor. The two charges passed in the House (largely with Republican support, but with a handful of Democratic votes as well) were for perjury and obstruction of justice. The perjury charge arose from Clinton's testimony before a grand jury that had been convened to investigate perjury he may have committed in his sworn deposition during ''[[Clinton v. Jones|Jones v. Clinton]],'' Paula Jones's sexual harassment lawsuit.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/pjones/pjones.htm | title=Case Closed | first=Dan | last=Froomkin | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=August 26, 1999 | access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> The obstruction charge was based on his actions to conceal his relationship with Lewinsky before and after that deposition. The Senate later acquitted Clinton of both charges.<ref name=senvoteai>{{cite web | author=Senate LIS | title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 106th Congress—1st Session: vote number 17—Guilty or Not Guilty (Art I, Articles of Impeachment v. President W. J. Clinton) | publisher=United States Senate | date=February 12, 1999 | url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=106&session=1&vote=00017 |access-date =February 22, 2020}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Clinton impeached | work=BBC News | date=December 19, 1998 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/clinton_under_fire/latest_news/238784.stm | access-date=October 29, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211142909/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/clinton_under_fire/latest_news/238784.stm | archive-date=December 11, 2008 | url-status=live}}</ref> 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<ref name=senvoteai /> and 50 not guilty/50 guilty on the obstruction of justice charge.<ref name="washingtonpostimpeachment">{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-impeachment/senate-acquits-president-clinton/ | title=The Senate Acquits President Clinton | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=February 13, 1999 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref name=senvoteai /> 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.<ref name="arkcomm">{{cite court |litigants=Neal v. Clinton |opinion=Civ. No. 2000-5677 |pinpoint=Agreed Order of Discipline |court=Ark. Cir. Ct. |year=2001 |quote=Mr. Clinton admits and acknowledges ... that his discovery responses interfered with the conduct of the ''Jones'' case by causing the court and counsel for the parties to expend unnecessary time, effort, and resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826214725/https://www.arcourts.gov/sites/default/files/opc_opinions_59 |url=https://www.arcourts.gov/sites/default/files/opc_opinions_59 }}</ref><ref name="wsj01plea">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB980120797221261327|title=Bill cops a plea|author=<!--No by-line.-->|date=January 22, 2001|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> ====Pardons and commutations ==== Clinton [[Bill Clinton pardon controversy|issued]] 141 pardons and 36 commutations on his last day in office on January 20, 2001.<ref name="The Survivor" /><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010120/aponline135239_000.htm | title=Clinton Pardon's List | agency=[[Associated Press]] | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=January 20, 2001 | access-date=August 30, 2011 | archive-date=January 15, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115053709/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010120/aponline135239_000.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref> Controversy surrounded [[Marc Rich]] and allegations that Hillary Clinton's brother, [[Hugh Edwin Rodham|Hugh Rodham]], accepted payments in return for influencing the president's decision-making regarding the pardons.<ref>{{cite news | title=Clinton pardons: Cast of characters | work=BBC News | date=February 22, 2001 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1184118.stm | access-date=September 11, 2011}}</ref> Federal prosecutor [[Mary Jo White]] was appointed to investigate the pardon of Rich. She was later replaced by then-Republican [[James Comey]]. The investigation found no wrongdoing on Clinton's part.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/james-comey-fbi-bill-clinton-233808|title = Comey 'enthusiastic' about Bill Clinton probe in 2001, FBI memo says|newspaper = [[Politico]]}}</ref> Clinton also pardoned four defendants in the [[Whitewater Scandal]], [[Chris Wade (real estate broker)|Chris Wade]], [[Susan McDougal]], [[Stephen Smith (Whitewater)|Stephen Smith]], and [[Robert W. Palmer]], all of whom had ties to Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Clinton Pardons McDougal, Hearst, Others|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=122001&page=1|access-date=August 11, 2021|agency=ABC News}}</ref> Former Clinton [[HUD Secretary]] [[Henry Cisneros]], who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, was also among Clinton's pardons.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Stout|first=David|date=January 20, 2001|title=Clinton Pardons McDougal, Cisneros|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/20/politics/clinton-pardons-mcdougal-cisneros.html|access-date=August 11, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ==== Campaign finance controversies ==== {{Further|Lincoln Bedroom for contributors controversy|1996 United States campaign finance controversy}} In February 1997 it was discovered upon documents being released by the [[Clinton Administration]] that 938 people had stayed at the White House and that 821 of them had made donations to the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] and got the opportunity to stay in the Lincoln bedroom as a result of the donations.<ref>{{Cite news|title=AllPolitics - White House Sleepovers - Feb. 25, 1997|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/02/25/clinton.money/|access-date=August 9, 2021|agency=CNN}}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{Cite news|title=President Had Big Role in Setting Donor Perks|date=February 26, 1997|first1=Peter|last1=Baker|first2=Susan|last2=Schmidt|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/lincoln.htm|access-date=August 9, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Some donors included [[Steven Spielberg]], [[Tom Hanks]], [[Jane Fonda]], and [[Judy Collins]]. Top donors also got golf games and morning jogs with Clinton as a result of the contributions.<ref name="washingtonpost.com"/> [[Janet Reno]] was called on to investigate the matter by [[Trent Lott]], but she refused.<ref>{{Cite web|title=AllPolitics - Reno Resisting Pressure - Feb. 27, 1997|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/02/27/fundraising/|access-date=August 9, 2021|website=CNN}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|title=washingtonpost.com: Campaign Finance Key Player – Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/players/trie.htm|access-date=August 9, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> This violated United States law forbidding non-American citizens from making campaign contributions. Clinton and [[Al Gore]] also allegedly met with the foreign donors.<ref>{{Cite web|title=AllPolitics - Fund-Raising Flap - Cast of Characters|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/infocus/fundraising.flap/characters.html|access-date=August 9, 2021|website=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=May 24, 2008|title=Chinese Aerospace Official Denies Giving To Democrats - May 21, 1998|website=[[CNN]]|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/05/21/china.money/|access-date=August 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524033516/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/05/21/china.money/|archive-date=May 24, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=August 5, 2006|title=Fund-raiser Charlie Trie pleads guilty under plea agreement - May 21, 1999|website=[[CNN]]|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/05/21/trie/|access-date=August 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060805092557/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/05/21/trie/|archive-date=August 5, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=April 23, 2009|title=AllPolitics - A Chinese Spy? - May 12, 1997|website=[[CNN]]|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/05/12/chinese.donor/|access-date=August 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423050727/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/05/12/chinese.donor/|archive-date=April 23, 2009}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Washingtonpost.com: Campaign Finance Special Report|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/cf072097.htm|access-date=August 9, 2021|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> ===Military and foreign affairs=== {{Further|Foreign policy of the Bill Clinton administration}} ====Somalia==== [[File:President Clinton talks with Col. Paul Fletcher, USAF.jpeg|thumb|[[Colonel (United States)|Col.]] [[Paul J. Fletcher|Paul Fletcher]], [[United States Air Force|USAF]] and Clinton speak before boarding [[Air Force One]], November 4, 1999]] American troops had first entered [[Somalia]] during the [[Foreign policy of the George H. W. Bush administration|Bush administration]] in response to a humanitarian crisis and [[Somali Civil War|civil war]]. Though initially involved to assist humanitarian efforts, the Clinton administration shifted the objectives set out in the mission and began pursuing a policy of attempting to neutralize Somali warlords. In 1993, during the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu]], [[MH-60 Black Hawk|two U.S. helicopters]] were shot down by [[rocket-propelled grenade]] attacks to their [[tail rotor]]s, trapping soldiers behind enemy lines. This resulted in an urban battle that killed 18 American soldiers, wounded 73 others, and resulted in one being taken prisoner.<ref name="NPR">{{cite web|title=What A Downed Black Hawk In Somalia Taught America|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/10/05/229561805/what-a-downed-black-hawk-in-somalia-taught-america|website=[[NPR]]|date=October 5, 2013|access-date=March 3, 2022}}</ref> Television news programs depicted the supporters of warlord [[Mohammed Aidid]] desecrating the corpses of troops.<ref name="NPR"/> The backlash resulting from the incident prompted in a drop in support for American intervention in the country and coincided with a more cautious use of troops throughout the rest of the Clinton administration.<ref name="NPR"/> Following a subsequent national security policy review, U.S. forces were withdrawn from Somalia and later conflicts were approached with fewer soldiers on the ground.<ref>{{cite news |title=The people killed them. Chopped them up. I consider myself lucky |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1993/oct/09/usa |work=The Guardian |date=October 9, 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dauber |first1=Cori Elizabeth |title=The Shot Seen 'Round the World: The Impact of the Images of Mogadishu on American Military Operations |journal=Rhetoric & Public Affairs |date=December 1, 2001 |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=653–687 |doi=10.1353/rap.2001.0066 |id={{Project MUSE|29928}} |jstor=41940265 |s2cid=153565083 }}</ref> ====Rwanda==== In April 1994, [[Rwandan genocide|genocide]] broke out in [[Rwanda]]. Intelligence reports indicate that Clinton was aware a "final solution to eliminate all [[Tutsi]]s" was underway, long before the administration publicly used the word "genocide".<ref>{{cite news|last=Carrol|first=Rory|title=US chose to ignore Rwandan genocide|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/31/usa.rwanda|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|date=April 1, 2004|access-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228191139/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/31/usa.rwanda|archive-date=December 28, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=[[Bureau of Intelligence and Research]] |title=Secretary [of State Warren Christopher]'s Morning Summary |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB117/Rw23.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB117/Rw23.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |date=April 26, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |title=National Intelligence Daily |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB117/Rw34.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB117/Rw34.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |date=April 23, 1994}}</ref> Fearing a reprisal of the events in Somalia the previous year, Clinton chose not to intervene.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ambush in Mogadishu: Transcript |publisher=[[PBS]] |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/etc/script.html |access-date=October 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506142008/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/etc/script.html |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news|last=Chozick|first=Amy|title=In Africa, Bill Clinton Toils for a Charitable Legacy|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/us/politics/in-africa-bill-clinton-works-to-leave-a-charitable-legacy.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 4, 2012 |access-date=October 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022022004/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/us/politics/in-africa-bill-clinton-works-to-leave-a-charitable-legacy.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=October 22, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> ====Bosnia and Herzegovina==== [[File:U.S. delegation pose for a group photo with Air Force personnel during the flight to Tuzla, Bosnia - Flickr - The Central Intelligence Agency.jpg|thumb|left|Clinton with the U.S. delegation to Bosnia and Air Force personnel in a flight to [[Tuzla]] on December 22, 1997. Clinton is seen alongside future President [[Joe Biden]].]] In 1993 and 1994, Clinton pressured Western European leaders to adopt a strong military policy against [[Bosnian Serbs]] during the [[Bosnian War]]. This strategy faced staunch opposition from the [[United Nations]], [[NATO]] allies, and Congressional Republicans, leading Clinton to adopt a more diplomatic approach.<ref>{{cite book|first=Carole|last=Hodge|title=Britain and the Balkans: 1991 Until the Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qNqCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA55|year=2006|publisher=Routledge|pages=55–56|isbn=9781134425570}}</ref> In 1995, U.S. and NATO aircraft [[Operation Deliberate Force|bombed Bosnian Serb targets]] to halt attacks on UN safe zones and pressure them into a peace accord that would end the [[Bosnian war]]. Clinton deployed U.S. peacekeepers to Bosnia in late 1995, to uphold the subsequent [[Dayton Agreement]].<ref>Halberstam, 2001, pp 349–60.</ref> ====Irish peace talks==== [[File:President Bill Clinton and Gerry Adams.jpg|thumb|right|Clinton shaking hands with [[Gerry Adams]] outside a business in East Belfast, November 30, 1995]] 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]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=1995: Clinton kindles hope in Northern Ireland|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/30/newsid_4459000/4459860.stm|date=November 30, 1995 |access-date=December 12, 2019}}</ref> Despite [[Unionism in Ireland|unionist]] criticism, Clinton used his visit as a way to negotiate an end to the violent conflict, playing a key role in the [[Northern Ireland peace process|peace talks]] that produced the [[Good Friday Agreement]] in 1998.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=MacGinty |first1=Roger |title=American Influences on the Northern Ireland Peace Process |journal=Journal of Conflict Studies |date=1997 |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=31–50 |url=https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/jcs17_02art02 }}</ref> [[File:Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin 1994.jpg|thumb|right|Clinton plays the saxophone presented to him by Russian president [[Boris Yeltsin]] at a private dinner in Russia, January 13, 1994.]] ====Iran==== Clinton sought to continue the Bush administration's policy of limiting Iranian influence in the Middle East, which he laid out in the [[dual containment]] strategy. In 1994, Clinton declared that Iran was a "[[State Sponsors of Terrorism|state sponsor of terrorism]]" and a "rogue state", marking the first time that an American President used that term.<ref>[https://archive.today/20121209180115/http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JdR4uv-pAv4J:www.germanlawjournal.com/article.php?id%3D188+Clinton:+Iran+is+state+sponsor+of+terrorism&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us The German Law Journal<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Subsequent executive orders heavily sanctioned Iran's oil industry and banned almost all trade between U.S. companies and the Iranian government. In February 1996, the Clinton administration agreed to pay Iran US$131.8{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|131.8|1996|r=2}} million in {{Inflation-year|US}}) in settlement to discontinue a case brought by Iran in 1989 against the U.S. in the [[International Court of Justice]] after the shooting down of [[Iran Air Flight 655]] by the U.S. Navy [[guided missile cruiser]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/07/the-vincennes-downing-of-iran-air-flight-655-the-united-states-tried-to-cover-up-its-own-destruction-of-a-passenger-plane.html | title=America's Flight 17 | work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|first=Fred|last=Kaplan | date=July 23, 2014}}</ref> Following the 1997 election of reformist president [[Mohammad Khatami]], the administration eased sanctions.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} ====Iraq==== 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.<ref>{{cite press release | title=Text of President Clinton's 1998 State of the Union Address | date=January 27, 1998 | first=Bill | last=Clinton | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/states/docs/sou98.htm | newspaper=The Washington Post | access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> Clinton signed the [[Iraq Liberation Act of 1998]] on October 31, 1998, which instituted a policy of "regime change" against Iraq, though it explicitly stated it did not provide for direct intervention on the part of American military forces.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/libera.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218092435/http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/libera.htm | archive-date=February 18, 2007 | title=Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, H.R.4655, One Hundred Fifth Congress of United States of America at Second Session | publisher=Library of Congress | access-date=February 18, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/4655 | title=H.R.4655—Iraq Liberation Act of 1998| date=October 31, 1998}}</ref> The administration then launched a four-day bombing campaign named [[Operation Desert Fox]], lasting from December 16 to 19, 1998. At the end of this operation Clinton announced that "So long as Saddam remains in power, he will remain a threat to his people, his region, and the world. With our allies, we must pursue a strategy to contain him and to constrain his weapons of mass destruction program, while working toward the day Iraq has a government willing to live at peace with its people and with its neighbors."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/225872 | title=Address to the Nation on Completion of Military Strikes in Iraq | publisher=Presidency.ucsb.edu | date=December 19, 1998 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> American and British aircraft in the Iraq no-fly zones attacked hostile Iraqi air defenses 166 times in 1999 and 78 times in 2000.<ref>{{cite web |title= Colin Powell, former soldier and still an all-American hero |url= https://mclane65.tripod.com/cpowell.html|website= tripod.com |access-date= February 3, 2023 }}</ref> ====Osama bin Laden==== Capturing Osama bin Laden was an objective of the U.S. government during the Clinton presidency (and continued to be until [[Killing of Osama bin Laden|bin Laden's death in 2011]]).<ref>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/24/clinton.binladen/index.html | title=Bill Clinton: I got closer to killing bin Laden | work=CNN | date=September 24, 2006 | access-date=September 11, 2011}}</ref> 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,<ref name="articles.latimes.com">{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-05-oe-ijaz05-story.html | title=Clinton Let Bin Laden Slip Away and Metastisize | work=Los Angeles Times | date=December 5, 2001 | access-date=February 22, 2020 | first=Mansoor | last=Ijaz}}</ref> the [[9/11 Commission Report]] stated that "we have not found any reliable evidence to support the Sudanese claim".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/staff_statement_5.pdf | title=Staff Statement No. 5 | publisher=9/11 Commission | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> In response to a 1996 State Department warning about bin Laden<ref>{{cite news | last=Lichtblau | first=Eric | title=State Dept. Says It Warned About bin Laden in 1996 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/17/world/asia/state-dept-says-it-warned-about-bin-laden-in-1996.html | work=The New York Times | date=August 17, 2005 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> and the [[1998 United States embassy bombings|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 [[Operation Infinite Reach|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CNN - U.S. missiles pound targets in Afghanistan, Sudan - August 21, 1998 |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9808/20/us.strikes.02/ |access-date=September 24, 2022 |website=CNN}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 14, 2007 |title=United States Terrorism in the Sudan (by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed) - Media Monitors Network |url=http://www.mediamonitors.net/mosaddeq16.html |access-date=September 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614024139/http://www.mediamonitors.net/mosaddeq16.html |archive-date=June 14, 2007 }}</ref> U.S. officials later acknowledged that there was no evidence the plant was acknowledging manufacturing or storing nerve gas.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cloud |first=David S. |date=April 23, 2006 |title=Colleagues Say C.I.A. Analyst Played by the Rules |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/washington/colleagues-say-cia-analyst-played-by-the-rules.html |access-date=September 24, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The attack provoked criticism of Clinton from journalists and academics including [[Christopher Hitchens]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hitchens |first=Christopher |date=September 23, 1998 |title=They bomb pharmacies, don't they? |url=https://www.salon.com/1998/09/23/news_114/ |access-date=September 24, 2022 |website=Salon.com}}</ref> [[Seymour Hersh]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=October 5, 1998 |title=The Missiles of August |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1998/10/12/the-missiles-of-august |access-date=September 24, 2022 |magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref> [[Max Taylor (psychologist)|Max Taylor]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=Max |last2=Elbushra |first2=Mohamed E. |date=September 1, 2006 |title=Research Note: Hassan al-Turabi, Osama bin Laden, and Al Qaeda in Sudan |journal=Terrorism and Political Violence |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=449–464 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/895988 |doi=10.1080/09546550600752022|s2cid=144769891 }}</ref> and others.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Noah |first=Timothy |date=April 1, 2004 |title=More on Clinton's Sudan bombing. |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/04/more-on-clinton-s-sudan-bombing.html |access-date=September 24, 2022 |magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]}}</ref> ====Kosovo==== [[File:President Clinton is briefed on Kosovo - Flickr - The Central Intelligence Agency.jpg|thumb|left|Clinton during a briefing on Kosovo, March 31, 1999]] In the midst of a brutal crackdown on [[Kosovo Liberation Army|ethnic Albanian separatists]] in the province of [[Kosovo]] by the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]], Clinton authorized the use of U.S. Armed Forces in a NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999, named [[Operation Allied Force]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Clines |first1=Francis X. |title=NATO Opens Broad Barrage Against Serbs as Clinton Denounces 'Brutal Repression' |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/world/europe/032599kosovo-rdp.html |work=The New York Times |date=March 25, 1999}}</ref> The stated reasoning behind the intervention was to stop the [[ethnic cleansing]] (and what the Clinton administration labeled [[genocide]])<ref>{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=William |date=April 7, 1999 |url=https://archive.defense.gov/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=582 |title=Secretary Cohen's Press Conference at NATO Headquarters |access-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604215218/https://archive.defense.gov/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=582 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Clinton |first=Bill |date=August 30, 2011 |url=http://clinton6.nara.gov/1999/06/1999-06-25-press-conference-by-the-president.html |title=Press Conference by the President |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006054609/http://clinton6.nara.gov/1999/06/1999-06-25-press-conference-by-the-president.html |archive-date=October 6, 2006 }}</ref> of Albanians by Yugoslav anti-guerilla military units. General [[Wesley Clark]] was [[Supreme Allied Commander Europe|Supreme Allied Commander of NATO]] and oversaw the mission. With [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244]], the bombing campaign ended on June 10, 1999. The resolution placed Kosovo under UN administration and authorized a [[Kosovo Force|peacekeeping force]] to be deployed to the region.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nato.int/kosovo/docu/u990610a.htm | title=Resolution 1244 (1999) | date=June 10, 1999 | publisher=NATO | access-date=August 17, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110629135857/http://www.nato.int/kosovo/docu/u990610a.htm| archive-date= June 29, 2011 | url-status=live}}</ref> NATO announced its soldiers all survived combat,<ref name="roblect">{{cite web | first=Adam | last=Roberts | url=https://lisd.princeton.edu/sites/lisd2017/files/Roberts_Lecture.pdf | title=The Impact of the Laws of War in Contemporary Conflicts (PDF) | date=April 10, 2003 | publisher=Princeton University | access-date=February 22, 2020 | archive-date=February 23, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223022737/https://lisd.princeton.edu/sites/lisd2017/files/Roberts_Lecture.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref> though two died in an [[Boeing AH-64 Apache|Apache helicopter]] crash.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/335709.stm | title=Two die in Apache crash | work=BBC News | date=May 5, 1999 | access-date=August 17, 2011}}</ref> Journalists in the popular press criticized genocide statements by the Clinton administration as false and greatly exaggerated.<ref>{{cite web | last=Pilger | first=John | date=September 4, 2000 | url=https://www.newstatesman.com/node/151946 | title=US and British officials told us that at least 100,000 were murdered in Kosovo. A year later, fewer than 3,000 bodies have been found | work=[[New Statesman]] | access-date=August 28, 2019 | archive-date=May 4, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504061509/https://www.newstatesman.com/node/151946 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first1=Daniel | last1=Pearl |first2=Robert | last2=Block | date=December 31, 1999 | url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB946593838546941319 | title=Despite Tales, the War in Kosovo Was Savage, but Wasn't Genocide | work=The Wall Street Journal | page= A1}}</ref> Prior to the bombing campaign on March 24, 1999, estimates showed that the number of civilians killed in the over year long [[Kosovo war|conflict in Kosovo]] had been approximately 1,800, with critics asserting that little or no evidence existed of genocide.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Layne |first1=Christopher |last2=Schwarz |first2=Benjamin |title=Was It A Mistake? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/2000-03/26/081r-032600-idx.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 26, 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cockburn |first1=Alexander |title=Where's the Evidence of Genocide of Kosovar Albanians? |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-29-me-27493-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 29, 1999}}</ref> In a post-war inquiry, the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] noted "the patterns of the expulsions and the vast increase in lootings, killings, rape, kidnappings and pillage once the NATO air war began on March 24."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Erlanger |first1=Steven |title=Monitors' Reports Provide Chronicle of Kosovo Terror |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/05/world/monitors-reports-provide-chronicle-of-kosovo-terror.html |work=The New York Times |date=February 22, 2020 |orig-date=December 5, 1999}}</ref> In 2001, the [[United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo|UN-supervised]] [[Judiciary of Kosovo|Supreme Court of Kosovo]] ruled that genocide (the [[genocidal intent|intent to destroy]] a people) did not take place, but recognized "a systematic campaign of terror, including murders, rapes, arsons and severe maltreatments" with the intention being the forceful departure of the Albanian population.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1530781.stm | title=Kosovo assault 'was not genocide' | work=BBC News | date=September 7, 2001 | access-date=August 17, 2011}}</ref> The term "ethnic cleansing" was used as an alternative to "genocide" to denote not just ethnically motivated murder but also displacement, though critics charge there is little difference.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | author=George J. Andreopoulos | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethnic-cleansing | title=Ethnic Cleansing | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> [[Slobodan Milošević]], the president of Yugoslavia at the time of the atrocities, was [[Trial of Slobodan Milošević|eventually brought to trial]] before the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] in [[the Hague]] on charges including [[crimes against humanity]] and war crimes for his role in the war.<ref name="Milosevic Charges">{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1402790.stm#kosovo | title=The charges against Milosevic | work=BBC News | date=March 11, 2006 | access-date=August 17, 2011}}</ref> He died in 2006, before the completion of the trial.<ref name="Milosevic Charges" /><ref>{{cite news | title=Milosevic's war crimes trial a 4-year marathon | work=CNN | date=March 11, 2006 | url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/03/11/milosevic.trial/ | access-date=July 30, 2019}}</ref> ====China==== {{See also|1996 United States campaign finance controversy}} [[File:Clinton and jiang.jpg|thumb|left|Clinton and Chinese president [[Jiang Zemin]] holding a joint press conference at the White House, October 29, 1997]] 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 in China|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.<ref>Song, ed., ''Encyclopedia of Chinese-American Relations'' p 74.</ref> Relations were damaged briefly by the [[United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade|American bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade]] in May 1999. Clinton apologized for the bombing, stating it was accidental.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://congressionalresearch.com/RS20547/document.php |title = Chinese Embassy Bombing In Belgrade: Compensation Issues |publisher = Congressional Research Service }}</ref> [[File:Video Recording of Photo Opportunity at Camp David - NARA - 6037428.ogv|thumb|Israeli prime minister [[Ehud Barak]], President Clinton and Palestinian leader [[Yasser Arafat]] at [[Camp David]], July 2000]] 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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Smith |first=Matt |url=http://cgi.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/10/10/clinton.pntr |title=Clinton signs China trade bill |work=CNN|date=October 10, 2000 |access-date=July 3, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714142523/http://cgi.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/10/10/clinton.pntr/ |archive-date=July 14, 2014 }}</ref> The president asserted that free trade would gradually open China to democratic reform.<ref>{{cite book | author=Peter B. Levy | year=2002 | url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofcl00levy| url-access=registration | title=Encyclopedia of the Clinton Presidency | page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofcl00levy/page/57 57] | publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group | isbn=978-0-313-31294-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Was Letting China Into the WTO a Mistake? |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2018-04-02/was-letting-china-wto-mistake |work=Foreign Affairs |date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> 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."<ref>[https://www.iatp.org/sites/default/files/Full_Text_of_Clintons_Speech_on_China_Trade_Bi.htm "Text of Clinton's Speech on China Trade Bill"], Federal News Service, March 9, 2000</ref> ====Israeli-Palestinian conflict==== [[File:Summit_of_the_Peacemakers_in_Sharm_el-Sheikh,_March_13,_1996_II_Dan_Hadani_Archive.jpg|alt=Summit of the Peacemakers in Sharm el-Sheikh, March 1996|thumb|World Leaders attending the Sharm El Sheikh Summit for Peacemakers. From left: [[Hussein of Jordan|King Husein]], [[Shimon Peres]], Clinton, [[Hosni Mubarak]], [[Boris Yeltsin]] and [[Yasser Arafat]] in [[Sharm El Sheikh]], March 1996]] 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.<ref name="The Survivor" /> Following another attempt in December 2000 at [[Bolling Air Force Base]], in which the president offered the [[The Clinton Parameters|Clinton Parameters]], the situation broke down completely after the end of the [[Taba Summit]] and with the start of the [[Second Intifada]].<ref name="The Survivor" /> ===Judicial appointments=== {{Main|Bill Clinton Supreme Court candidates|List of federal judges appointed by Bill Clinton}} [[File:Announcement of Ruth Bader Ginsburg as Nominee for Associate Supreme Court Justice at the White House - NARA - 131493870.jpg|thumb|[[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]] accepting her nomination to the Supreme Court from President Clinton, 1993]] Clinton appointed two justices to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]: [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]] in 1993<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx | title=Biographies of Current Justices of the Supreme Court | publisher=Supreme Court | access-date=August 30, 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721063602/https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx| archive-date=July 21, 2011 | url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Stephen Breyer]] in 1994.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://law.onecle.com/ussc/justices/512usxi-appointment-of-justice-breyer.html | title=Appointment and swearing in of Justice Breyer, 1994 | publisher=Law.onecle.com | date=September 30, 1994 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> Both justices went on to serve until the 2020s, leaving a lasting judicial legacy for President Clinton.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Clinton Legacy: Moderate Judge Appointments|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/politics/0801clinton-crime-judges.html|access-date=January 31, 2022|website=archive.nytimes.com}}</ref> Clinton was the first president in history to appoint more women and minority judges than white male judges to the federal courts.<ref name="Scherer, p. 85">{{cite book|author=Nancy Scherer|title=Scoring Points: Politicians, Activists, and the Lower Federal Court Appointment Process|publisher=Stanford University Press|date=2005|page=85}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Scherer, p. 85"/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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