When news breaks, you need to understand what matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital.
We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today? To understand why the Clintons have a reputation on the right as secretive schemers, and on the left as victims of vindictive witch hunts, you have to know a thing or two about the Whitewater scandal. Bill and Hillary began scouting opportunities for investment income to supplement his government salary and her earnings as an attorney at the Rose Law Firm.
Some of these efforts were successful. A later White House investigation into the trades found no evidence Hillary committed any trading violations. Ultimately, none of the many investigations found that the Clintons did anything criminal. Also in , Bill and Hillary formed the Whitewater Development Corporation with James and Susan McDougal, intending to buy up acres of riverfront land and sell it as lots for vacation homes.
The Whitewater project was a failure. What Jim McDougal did after the initial deal, however, was. How this relates to the Whitewater investment — if at all — is disputed to this day, and the details are hazy and complicated. In , Webster Hubbell — who would later plead guilty to fraud charges for overbilling clients at the Rose Law Firm, where he and Hillary Clinton worked at the time — and then—Gov.
McDougal himself, after the fraud conviction, turned against the Clintons, alleging that they were in on his schemes. Investigations into Whitewater uncovered real wrongdoing. Fifteen people, in total, were convicted of various charges.
