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Whitewater controversy
The Whitewater controversy, Whitewater scandal, or simply Whitewater, was an American political controversy during the 1990s, surrounding the Whitewater Development Corporation, a real estate company owned by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton and their associates, Jim and Susan McDougal.
In 1979, while Clinton was governor of Arkansas, the Clintons and McDougals incorporated the Whitewater Development Corporation with the purpose of building vacation properties on land along the White River near Flippin, Arkansas. The corporation was not a success. In 1989, Madison Guaranty, a savings and loan association owned by Jim McDougal, collapsed amid the national savings and loan crisis. Whitewater came to public attention on March 8, 1992, when The New York Times reported on Whitewater during Clinton's campaign for president of the United States.
Neither Bill nor Hillary Clinton was prosecuted for their role in the corporation or their conduct during the numerous investigations. Three separate independent inquiries found insufficient evidence linking them with the criminal conduct of the others involved in Whitewater. However, the McDougals; Jim Guy Tucker, Clinton's successor as governor of Arkansas; and twelve other people involved in the scandal were convicted for over forty financial crimes. President Clinton pardoned Susan McDougal before leaving office; Jim McDougal died in 1998.
The term "Whitewater" is sometimes used to include other controversies from the Bill Clinton administration, such as Travelgate, Filegate, and the circumstances surrounding Vince Foster's death, that were also investigated by the Whitewater Independent Counsel, but Whitewater properly refers to the matters stemming from the Whitewater Development Corporation, the association between the Clintons and McDougals, and subsequent developments.
Bill Clinton first met Jim McDougal, an Arkansas businessman and political figure, in 1968. Clinton first invested in real estate with McDougal in 1977. In spring 1978, McDougal proposed that the Clintons join him and his wife, Susan, in buying 230 acres (93 ha) of undeveloped land on the south bank of the White River near Flippin, Arkansas, in the Ozark Mountains. The goal was to subdivide the site into lots for vacation homes for the large number of Midwesterners interested in Ozark vacation homes, owing to the low property taxes, fishing, rafting, and mountain scenery. The plan was to hold the property for a few years and then sell the lots at a profit.
The Clintons and McDougals borrowed $203,000 to buy the land and subsequently transferred ownership to the newly created Whitewater Development Corporation, in which all four participants had equal shares. In the following years, the Clintons contributed additional funds to Jim McDougal, which he claimed were necessary to pay interest on the loan and other expenses; the Clintons later claimed to have no knowledge of how these funds were used. Susan McDougal chose the name "Whitewater Estates," and their sales pitch was, "One weekend here and you'll never want to live anywhere else." The business was incorporated on June 18, 1979.
By the time the lots were surveyed and available for sale at the end of 1979, interest rates in the United States had climbed to near 20%, and prospective buyers could no longer afford vacation homes. Rather than accepting a loss on the venture, the four decided to build a model home and wait for better economic conditions to sell. In May 1985, Jim McDougal sold the remaining lots to a local realtor, Chris Wade. By 1993, when the property attracted public attention as part of the controversy, there were a few occupied houses on the site, but most of the properties were still for sale. One owner, tired of the many reporters who visited the site, hung a sign saying "Go Home, Idiots".
Ultimately, the Clintons lost between $37,000 and $69,000 on their investment in Whitewater, less than the McDougals despite their equal legal ownership. The cause of the unequal losses are unknown, but Clinton's critics later cited the discrepancy as evidence that Clinton provided intangible, potentially corrupt, contributions to the project.
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Whitewater controversy
The Whitewater controversy, Whitewater scandal, or simply Whitewater, was an American political controversy during the 1990s, surrounding the Whitewater Development Corporation, a real estate company owned by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton and their associates, Jim and Susan McDougal.
In 1979, while Clinton was governor of Arkansas, the Clintons and McDougals incorporated the Whitewater Development Corporation with the purpose of building vacation properties on land along the White River near Flippin, Arkansas. The corporation was not a success. In 1989, Madison Guaranty, a savings and loan association owned by Jim McDougal, collapsed amid the national savings and loan crisis. Whitewater came to public attention on March 8, 1992, when The New York Times reported on Whitewater during Clinton's campaign for president of the United States.
Neither Bill nor Hillary Clinton was prosecuted for their role in the corporation or their conduct during the numerous investigations. Three separate independent inquiries found insufficient evidence linking them with the criminal conduct of the others involved in Whitewater. However, the McDougals; Jim Guy Tucker, Clinton's successor as governor of Arkansas; and twelve other people involved in the scandal were convicted for over forty financial crimes. President Clinton pardoned Susan McDougal before leaving office; Jim McDougal died in 1998.
The term "Whitewater" is sometimes used to include other controversies from the Bill Clinton administration, such as Travelgate, Filegate, and the circumstances surrounding Vince Foster's death, that were also investigated by the Whitewater Independent Counsel, but Whitewater properly refers to the matters stemming from the Whitewater Development Corporation, the association between the Clintons and McDougals, and subsequent developments.
Bill Clinton first met Jim McDougal, an Arkansas businessman and political figure, in 1968. Clinton first invested in real estate with McDougal in 1977. In spring 1978, McDougal proposed that the Clintons join him and his wife, Susan, in buying 230 acres (93 ha) of undeveloped land on the south bank of the White River near Flippin, Arkansas, in the Ozark Mountains. The goal was to subdivide the site into lots for vacation homes for the large number of Midwesterners interested in Ozark vacation homes, owing to the low property taxes, fishing, rafting, and mountain scenery. The plan was to hold the property for a few years and then sell the lots at a profit.
The Clintons and McDougals borrowed $203,000 to buy the land and subsequently transferred ownership to the newly created Whitewater Development Corporation, in which all four participants had equal shares. In the following years, the Clintons contributed additional funds to Jim McDougal, which he claimed were necessary to pay interest on the loan and other expenses; the Clintons later claimed to have no knowledge of how these funds were used. Susan McDougal chose the name "Whitewater Estates," and their sales pitch was, "One weekend here and you'll never want to live anywhere else." The business was incorporated on June 18, 1979.
By the time the lots were surveyed and available for sale at the end of 1979, interest rates in the United States had climbed to near 20%, and prospective buyers could no longer afford vacation homes. Rather than accepting a loss on the venture, the four decided to build a model home and wait for better economic conditions to sell. In May 1985, Jim McDougal sold the remaining lots to a local realtor, Chris Wade. By 1993, when the property attracted public attention as part of the controversy, there were a few occupied houses on the site, but most of the properties were still for sale. One owner, tired of the many reporters who visited the site, hung a sign saying "Go Home, Idiots".
Ultimately, the Clintons lost between $37,000 and $69,000 on their investment in Whitewater, less than the McDougals despite their equal legal ownership. The cause of the unequal losses are unknown, but Clinton's critics later cited the discrepancy as evidence that Clinton provided intangible, potentially corrupt, contributions to the project.