The People President Clinton Didn’t Have to Pardon…Because They’re All Dead-Truth! & Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
This a list of people associated with Bill Clinton…all of whom have died, some of them under mysterious circumstances.
Note: Our research on some of this story is still continuing, but
because of the number of requests, we are posting what we have. Check
back for updates.
The Truth:
This has also become known as “Clinton’s Body Count.” We’ll go
through the entire list and evaluate each one, but it is true that some
of them had some connection with Bill Clinton, or with someone who was
in Clinton’s sphere, and that many of them died violently or by
suicide. That raises the question of whether their deaths were related
and whether any of the deaths can be linked in any way to Bill Clinton.
There is no credible evidence that any of the deaths is related or
can be attributed to Bill Clinton. Some of the descriptions of the
deaths are not accurate.
According to a May 5, 2000 article in the Arkansas Times, the “Body
Count” list originated on an Internet site in 1994 run by an
Indianapolis lawyer named Linda Thompson of the American Justice
Federation. It has been circulating ever since. The list came up in
sworn testimony that White House employee Linda Tripp gave to Judicial
Watch chairman Larry Klayman in December, 1998. Trip testified that a
hand-written list of people who were involved with Clinton and who had
suffered mysterious deaths ended up on her office chair in the White
House.
This was just before the sex scandal between White House Intern
Monica Lewinsky and President Clinton became known publicly. Tripp said
that the list was accompanied by a note that said, “Linda, just thought
you’d find this of interest.”
One important comment.
There are many well-known
historical events that are surrounded by unanswered questions. A lack
of answers to the questions doesn’t mean that the questions are
meaningless or that new facts couldn’t be found. It is easier to come
up with questions, however, than to come up with answers, and if we are
to come to any conclusions, it should be based on evidence, not just the
fact that questions exist.
Unless otherwise specified, the information has been confirmed from
multiple published sources such as USA Today, CNN, The Associated Press,
or other general media.
Let’s go through the names one-by-one. Please note that the
Truth! or
Fiction! designations refer only to whether the stories are factual and have nothing to do with any criminal connection to Bill Clinton.
eRumor James McDougal –
Clinton’s
convicted Whitewater partner died of an apparent heart attack, while in
solitary confinement. He was a key witness in Ken Starr’s
investigation.
The Truth:
James McDougal died on Sunday, March 8, 1998 in John
Petersmith Hospital in Ft. Worth, Texas. He had been serving a federal
prison sentence for fraud in connection with the Whitewater land deal.
At first, he claimed to be innocent, but after being convicted of 18
felony counts, he cooperated with Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr’s
investigation of the Clintons. He was scheduled to give damaging
testimony against the Clintons, although critics of the investigation
say his testimony had previously been inconsistent and that nothing new
was expected to be revealed. A prison spokesman said McDougal died of a
heart attack and had been suffering from heart disease and blocked
arteries.
eRumor Mary Mahoney – A
former White House intern was murdered July 1997 at a Starbucks Coffee
Shop in Georgetown. The murder happened just after she was to go public
with her story of sexual harassment in the White House.
The Truth:
Mary Caitrin Mahoney was murdered over the July 4th weekend in 1997
at the Georgetown Starbucks near Washington D.C. She was the assistant
manager and, according to published reports, she and two other employees
were working late at night after the coffee bar had closed. All three
were found shot to death. No money was taken and there was no sign of
forced entry.
In 1999, Carl Derick Cooper was charged with the murders,
six armed robberies, and other shootings. Mahoney had interned for
the White House official responsible for contact with the Asian-American
community.
TruthOrFiction.com has not found any documentation that she
was about to “go public with her story of sexual harassment in the
White House” or that her death was anything beyond that of a murder
associated with the robbery. A report in The Washington Weekly explains
that journalist Mike Isikoff had written that “a former White House
staffer” with the initial “M” in her name was going to go public with a
sexual harassment story and people speculated he meant Mary Mahoney and
that was why she was killed.
Later, it turned out that he was referring
to Monica Lewinsky.
eRumor Vince Foster –
Former white House councilor, and colleague of Hillary Clinton at Little
Rock’s Rose Law firm. Died of a gunshot wound to the head, ruled a
suicide.
The Truth:
Vince Foster was Deputy White House Counsel and the Clinton’s
lawyer.
He was found dead in Fort Marcy Park on July 20, 1993. Three
investigations into Foster’s death, including one by Independent Counsel
Kenneth Starr, have concluded that the death was a suicide. Critics of
the investigations say Foster’s death does not fit the facts of a
suicide and that there are a lot of unanswered questions about his
death, some of the activities at the White House after his body was
found, and the investigations themselves. Although there are numerous
theories about what may have happened to Foster and why, none of them
has been proven.
eRumor Ron Brown –
Secretary of Commerce and former DNC Chairman. Reported to have died by
impact in a plane crash. A pathologist close to the investigation
reported that there was a hole in the top of Brown’s skull resembling a
gunshot wound. At the time of his death Brown was being investigated,
and spoke publicly of his willingness to cut a deal with prosecutors.
The Truth:
Brown and 34 others died on April 3, 1996 when the Air Force jet
carrying crashed into a mountainside in Croatia.
The Air Force, in a
22-volume report issued in June of 1996, confirmed its initial judgment
that the crash resulted from pilot errors and faulty navigation
equipment.
Subsequent controversy erupted, however, over autopsy
photos. There is a hole in Ron Brown’s skull which investigators say is
consistent with a puncture that could have been caused by debris during
the crash.
Investigative reporter Christopher Ruddy came forward with
an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in which he quoted Air Force
pathologist, Lt. Col. Steve Cogswell as saying that the hole was
perfectly round shape of a 45 caliber bullet. Cogswell had not actually
examined the body. Later, another pathologist, Army Lt. Col. David
Hause, said he had been working nearby the Ron Brown autopsy, overheard
discussion about the round hole, walked over and looked at it and said
it seemed like a bullet hole to him.
Air Force Col. William Gormley,
the pathologist who actually did the Ron Brown autopsy, said, however,
that it is more of an indentation than a hole and that if there had been
a bullet, there would have been either an exit wound or a bullet found
in the body, and there were not.
The Justice Department had opened an
investigation into Brown’s financial dealings.
eRumor C. Victor Raiser II –
& – Montgomery Raiser, Major players in the Clinton fund raising
organization died in a private plane crash in July1992.
The Truth:
On July 30, 1992, Victor and Montgomery Raiser were killed in a plane
crash while on a fishing trip in Alaska. He was a Washington lawyer
and described as a “major player” in the Clinton organization.
Investigation of the crash by the National Transportation Safety Board
concluded that it was the result of pilot error. Some “body count”
lists have removed the Raiser’s names because there is not any evidence
that their death was the result of foul play.
eRumor Paul Tulley –
Democratic National Committee Political Director found dead in a hotel
room in Little Rock, September 1992. Described by Clinton as a “Dear
friend and trusted advisor”.
The Truth:
His name was spelled “Tully” and he was a top strategist for the
Democrats and working with the Clinton campaign. He died of massive
heart failure in a Little Rock motel room. There has been no
controversy over his death that we could find.
eRumor Ed Willey – Clinton
fund raiser, found dead November 1993 deep in the woods in VA of a
gunshot wound to the head. Ruled a suicide. Ed Willey died on the same
day his wife Kathleen Willey claimed Bill Clinton groped her in the oval
office in the White House.
Ed Willey was involved in several Clinton
fund raising events.
The Truth:
According to published reports, Ed Willey was an attorney who owed
the IRS $400,000 and had embezzled nearly $270,000 from one of his
clients. The Willey’s financial woes were a source of stress between Ed
Willey and Kathleen Willey and she finally demanded a plan that would
bring it to an end. There was a stormy family meeting about it on the
night of November 28, 1993 and Ed Willey moved out of the house. The
next day is when Kathleen Willey went to the White House to see Bill
Clinton about a job. She says the president assaulted her during that
visit. It was later discovered that Ed Willey had driven into the woods
on the same day. His body was found by hunters on November 30, 1993.
Authorities ruled his death a suicide by shotgun. There was a suicide
note apologizing for the financial problems.
eRumor Jerry Parks – Head of Clinton’s gubernatorial security
team in Little Rock. Gunned down in his car at a deserted intersection
outside Little Rock. Park’s son said his father was building a dossier
on Clinton. He allegedly threatened to reveal this information. After
he died the files were mysteriously removed from his house.
The Truth:
Jerry Luther Parks was the head of security for the
Clinton-Gore Little Rock headquarters in 1992.
On September 26, 1996,
he was murdered down while driving through a Little Rock intersection. A
lone gunman fired seven shots at him. This was two months after Vince
Foster’s death. Both Parks’ wife and son have said that they believe
Parks was murdered and that he feared for his life. His murder has
never been solved.
According to Gary Parks, Jerry Parks’ son, the files
were on the sexual escapades of Bill Clinton. They were not removed
from Parks’ house after his death. According to investigative reporter
Christopher Ruddy, the files that Parks had been keeping on Clinton were
taken during a burglary several weeks before Parks’ death.
Clyde
Steelman, the homicide sergeant investigating the murders for the Little
Rock Police told New York Times Magazine writer Philip Weiss that he
didn’t believe the theories of Parks’ son and wife and that he’d found
no evidence of the alleged files.
eRumor James Bunch – Died from a gunshot suicide. It was
reported that he had a “Black Book” of people which contained names of
influential people who visited prostitutes in Texas and Arkansas.
The Truth:
We have yet to find the details on this person.
eRumor James Wilson – Was found dead in May 1993 from an apparent hanging suicide. He was reported to have ties to Whitewater.
The Truth:
He was known as John Wilson, a popular leader and political figure in
the Washington D.C. area and Chairman of the District of Columbia
Council. He was found dead on May 19,1993. Authorities ruled Wilson’s
death a suicide by hanging. According to numerous articles in the
Washington Post, Wilson had long suffered from depression and had twice
before attempted suicide. TruthOrFiction.com has found no evidence that
he had any information about the Clintons or any ties to Whitewater.
eRumor Kathy Ferguson,
ex-wife of Arkansas Trooper Danny Ferguson, was found dead in May 1994,
in her living room with a gunshot to her head. It was ruled a suicide
even though there were several packed suitcases, as if she were going
somewhere. Danny Ferguson was a co-defendant along with Bill Clinton in
the Paula Jones lawsuit. Kathy Ferguson was a possible corroborating
witness for Paula Jones.
The Truth:
Kathy Ferguson was found dead on May 11, 1994, five days after
Paula Jones filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill
Clinton.
She died of a gunshot wound to the head and a suicide note was
found. Her ex-husband was Arkansas Trooper Danny Ferguson, one of
those named in the so-called “Troopergate” cases involving those who had
been a part of then Governor Clinton’s security detail.
He was named
in Paula Jones’ suit. According to an Associated Press article on May
14, 1993, she was found not in her living room, however, but in the
apartment of her boyfriend, Sherwood police officer Bill Shelton. The
suicide note said, “I can’t stay here any longer. Things will never be
the same for us. I can’t take that.”
eRumor Bill Shelton – Arkansas State Trooper and fiancee of Kathy Ferguson.
Critical of the suicide ruling of his fiancee, he was found dead in June, 1994 of a gunshot wound also ruled a suicide at the grave site of his fiancee.
The Truth:
Thirty-one year old Bill Shelton was police officer in Sherwood,
Arkansas, and engaged to Kathy Ferguson. It was in his apartment that
she was found dead. He was one of many of her friends who felt that
Ferguson did not commit suicide and that the coroner’s report was not
accurate about her wound being self-inflicted. He was found a month
later sprawled over her grave with a gunshot wound to his head that was
similar to what the coroner had described as Ferguson’s wound.
eRumor Gandy Baugh –
Attorney for Clinton’s friend Dan Lassater, died by jumping out a window
of a tall building January, 1994. His client was a convicted drug
distributor.
The Truth:
Gandy Baugh jumped out of a window of a multi-story building and died
on January 8, 1994. Published reports say he was defending a man named
Dan Lassater in a financial misconduct case. Lassater was an associate
of Bill Clinton’s who was convicted of cocaine distribution.
eRumor Florence Martin –
Accountant & sub-contractor for the CIA, was related to the Barry
Seal Mena Airport drug smuggling case. He died of three gunshot wounds.
The Truth:
This is an interesting one. Many of the “Body Count” lists
say Florence Martin was killed in Mabelle, Texas in 1994. That Florence
Martin, however, was a 69 year old employee of a nearby convenience
store and a spokesperson for the Baylor County, Texas District
Attorney’s office says she had nothing to do with Bobby Seal, Mena,
Arkansas, or the CIA. We’re still working on it.
eRumor Suzanne Coleman –
Reportedly had an affair with Clinton when he was Arkansas Attorney
General. Died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, ruled a
suicide. Was pregnant at the time of her death.
The Truth:
Still working on this one.
eRumor Paula Grober –
Clinton’s speech interpreter for the deaf from 1978 until her death
December 9, 1992. She died in a one car accident.
The Truth:
No evidence that there was anything criminal about her death.
eRumor Danny Casolaro –
Investigative reporter. Investigating Mena Airport and Arkansas
Development Finance Authority. He slit his wrists, apparently, in the
middle of his investigation.
The Truth:
Forty-four year old Danny Casolaro was found dead in the Sheraton
hotel in Martinsburg, West Virginia on August 10, 1991. His wrists had
been slashed. According to an October 14, 1991 People Magazine story on
his death, he had warned friends and family that his life was in
danger.
He said it was because of what he called “the story of the
century” but it was not about Bill Clinton. It was about the Regan-Bush
administration and an alleged effort to delay the freeing of the
hostages being held at the time by Iran in order to do damage to
President Jimmy Carter’s reelection bid.
Casolaro was told that as a
part of the effort, drugs and weapons were being flown into and out of
the airport at Mena, Arkansas. Bill Clinton was governor at the time
and there have been numerous questions about whether Clinton was in any
way involved in any of the activities connected with Mena or protected
those who were involved.
eRumor Paul Wilcher –
Attorney investigating corruption at Mena Airport with Casolaro and the
1980 “October Surprise” was found dead on a toilet June 22, 1993 in his
Washington DC apartment. Had delivered a report to Janet Reno 3 weeks
before his death.
The Truth:
In his report to Attorney General Reno, Wilcher said that he
was in grave danger and that if the information he had for the Attorney
General fell into the wrong hands, there could be people “silenced in
the very near future.”
eRumor Jon Parnell Walker –
Whitewater investigator for Resolution TrustCorp. Jumped to his death
from his Arlington, Virginia apartment balcony August15, 1993. He was
investigating the Morgan Guarantee scandal.
The Truth:
undetermined
eRumor Barbara Wise –
Commerce Department staffer. Worked closely with Ron Brown and John
Huang. Cause of death unknown. Died November 29, 1996. Her bruised, nude
body was found locked in her office at the Department of Commerce.
The Truth:
According to a report on WRC-TV in the Washington area, Wise’s
body was found in a locked office and was partly nude and bruised. The
crime has never been solved. There has not been any evidence that her
death was related to any of the Ron Brown or John Huang events.
eRumor Charles Meissner –
Assistant Secretary of Commerce who gave John Huang special security
clearance, died shortly thereafter in a small plane crash.
The Truth:
Charles Meissner was not killed in a small plane crash but was among
those killed along with Commerce Secretary Ron Brown in the crash of an
Air Force plane in Croatia in 1996.
eRumor Dr. Stanley Heard –
Chairman of the National Chiropractic Health Care Advisory Committee
died with his attorney Steve Dickson in a small plane crash. Dr. Heard,
in addition to serving on Clinton’s advisory council personally treated
Clinton’s mother, stepfather and brother.
The Truth:
According to the National Transportation and Safety Board, the crash
was due to
“AN INADEQUATE ANNUAL INSPECTION OF THE AIRPLANE AND
NON-COMPLIANCE WITH AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES BY COMPANY MAINTENANCE
PERSONNEL.”
The NTSB says the airplane caught fire in the air and
crashed while the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing. There
is no evidence that we can find that links the crash or Dr. Stanley
heard to any criminal.
eRumor Barry Seal – Drug
running pilot out of Mena Arkansas, death was no accident Johnny Lawhorn
Jr. – Mechanic, found a check made out to Bill Clinton in the trunk of a
car left at his repair shop. He was found dead after his car had hit a
utility pole.
The Truth:
Several books could be written about Barry Seal. He was a
danger-loving pilot who was regarded as the best known cocaine smuggler
of the 1980’s. He did not die in a car accident. He was murdered in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1986 by three men with machine guns and who
were later arrested and convicted.
They were Colombians and authorities
say they were connected with the Medellin drug cartel. The Attorney
General of Louisiana told U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese in 1986 that
Seal smuggled $3 to $5 billion worth of drugs into the U.S.
In 1981,
Seal began running his smuggling operation out of a highly guarded and,
for a while, secret airport in Mena, Arkansas. That airport and Seal’s
activities were to become a part of the investigation into the
Iran-Contra controversy from the Reagan administration. There have
been questions of whether Bill Clinton, who was governor of Arkansas at
the time, may have looked the other way if he knew about the drug
smuggling operation, but there has not been proof of that.
eRumor Stanley Huggins –
Investigated Madison Guarantee. His death was a purported suicide and
his report was never released. Hershell Friday – Attorney and Clinton
fund raiser died March 1, 1994 when his plane exploded.
The Truth:
Saying that his plane exploded is misleading. According to the
NTSB, it crashed, but without any explosion prior to the crash or
causing the crash.
eRumor Kevin Ives & Don
Henry – Known as “The boys on the track” case. Reports say the boys may
have stumbled upon the Mena Arkansas airport drug operation. A
controversial case, the initial report of death said, due to falling
asleep on railroad tracks. Later reports claim the 2 boys had been slain
before being placed on the tracks. Many linked to the case died before
their testimony could come before a Grand Jury.
The Truth:
This is one of the stories out of Arkansas that has a lot of people
asking very tough questions. It is a story that is often told, however,
as though it has something to do with Bill Clinton, but no Clinton
connection has been established, especially with the boy’s deaths.
The
most notable aspect of the event was that the authorities originally
treated the boy’s death as an accident, but it was later clear that they
had been killed and their bodies placed on the tracks. Some have said
the boys innocently found the secret Mena drug trafficking activities
and were killed to keep them silenced. Others have said that the boys
discovered a local cocaine dealing operation and were killed by drug
dealers.
eRumor THE FOLLOWING PERSONS HAD INFORMATION ON THE
IVES/HENRY CASE:
Keith Coney – Died when his motorcycle slammed into the
back of a truck, 7/88.
Keith McMaskle – Died stabbed 113 times,
Nov,
1988 Gregory Collins – Died from a gunshot wound January 1989.
Jeff
Rhodes – He was shot, mutilated and found burned in a trash dump in
April 1989.
James Milan – Found decapitated. However, the Coroner ruled
his death was due to “natural causes”.
Jordan Kettleson – Was found
shot to death in the front seat of his pickup truck in June 1990.
Richard Winters – A suspect in the Ives / Henry deaths. He was killed in
a set-up robbery July 1989.
THE FOLLOWING CLINTON BODYGUARDS ARE DEAD:
Major William S. Barkley Jr.
Captain Scott J. Reynolds
Sgt. Brian Hanley
Sgt. Tim Sabel Major
General William Robertson
Col. William Densberger
Col. Robert Kelly Spec.
Gary Rhodes
Steve Willis
Robert Williams
Conway LeBleu
Todd McKeehan
The Truth:
We haven’t confirmed all of these, but as stated above, there isn’t
any evidence the Henry and Ives case is connected to Bill Clinton.
Update: A rumor that John Ashe died days before he was scheduled to
testify against a Clinton Foundation donor went viral in June 2016.
Click here for our investigation into that rumor.
