Clinton body count conspiracy theory

Bill and Hillary Clinton

The Clinton body count is a conspiracy theory centered around the belief that former U.S. President Bill Clinton and his wife, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have secretly had their political opponents murdered, often made to look like suicides, totaling as many as 50 or more listed victims.[1][2][3] The Congressional Record (1994) stated that the compiler of the original list, Linda Thompson, admitted she had 'no direct evidence' of Clinton killing anyone. Indeed, she says the deaths were probably caused by 'people trying to control the president' but refuses to say who they were."[4]

Such allegations have been circulated since at least 1994, when a film called The Clinton Chronicles, produced by Larry Nichols and promoted by Rev. Jerry Falwell, accused Bill Clinton of multiple crimes, including murder.[5][6] Additional promulgators of the conspiracy include Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy, former U.S. President Donald Trump,[7] and U.S. representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia's 14th congressional district.[8]

Several sources have discredited the conspiracy theory, such as the Congressional Record,[4] the Lakeland Ledger, the Chicago Tribune, Snopes and others, pointing to detailed death records, the unusually large circle of associates that a president is likely to have, and the fact that many of the people listed had been misidentified or were still alive. Others had no known link to the Clintons.[9][10]

  1. ^ Nelson, Lars-Erik (January 4, 1999). "Conspiracy Nuts Hit New Low with The Body Count". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  2. ^ Marcotte, Amanda (August 29, 2016). "The Clinton BS Files: 'Lock her up' isn't really about emails – the right's been accusing the Clintons of murder for decades". Salon. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b "Congressional Record, Volume 140 Issue 112 (Friday, August 12, 1994)". GovInfo. August 12, 1994. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  5. ^ Weiss, Philip (February 23, 1997). "Clinton Crazy". The New York Times Magazine. p. 35. Archived from the original on May 15, 2014.
  6. ^ "The People President Clinton Didn't Have to Pardon...Because They're All Dead". TruthOrFiction.com. March 17, 2015. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  7. ^ Ohlheiser, Abby (August 13, 2019). "Analysis | The dangerous cycle that keeps conspiracy theories in the news — and Trump's tweets". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  8. ^ Gilbert, David (January 29, 2021). "Here's Every Disturbing Conspiracy Marjorie Taylor Greene Believes In". Vice. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  9. ^ "Clinton Body Bags". Snopes. January 24, 1998. Archived from the original on January 30, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  10. ^ Page, Clarence (January 11, 1998). "Ron Brown Murder Plot Has Too Many Holes". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2017.