
The Clinton body count is a
conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
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* The term has a nega ...
asserting that former U.S. President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
and wife, former U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
, have secretly had their political opponents murdered, totaling as many as 50 or more.
Many parts of it have been advanced by
Newsmax
Newsmax (Newsmax Media, Inc. or Newsmax.com, previously styled NewsMax) is an American right-wing to far-right cable news and digital media company founded by Christopher Ruddy on September 16, 1998. Newsmax Media divisions include its cable ...
publisher
Christopher Ruddy, congresswoman
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Marjorie Taylor Greene (born May 27, 1974), also known by her initials MTG, is an American politician, businesswoman, and far-right conspiracy theorist
Sources describing Greene as "far-right" include:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* who has served as th ...
, and others. Such baseless allegations have been circulated since at least 1994, when a film called ''
The Clinton Chronicles'', produced by
Larry Nichols
Larry Raymond Nichols (July 29, 1950 – September 27, 2020) was an American political commentator known for his accusations against Bill Clinton. He was one of the creators of the 1994 film '' The Clinton Chronicles.''
Early life
Nichols g ...
and promoted by
Rev. Jerry Falwell, accused Bill Clinton of multiple crimes including murder.
This conspiracy theory has been discredited in the
Congressional Record
The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...
,
the ''
Lakeland Ledger'', the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'',
Snopes and others, who point 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.
History
The Congressional Record (1994) condemns the list. It cited an article in ''
U.S. News & World Report'' (August 8, 1994) by Greg Ferguson and David Bowermaster: "Whatever it is, Bill Clinton Likely Did It." According to them, the original list was compiled by lawyer and activist
Linda Thompson. Her list was called "The Clinton Body Count: Coincidence or the Kiss of Death?" They wrote that "Thompson admits she has '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."
Alleged victims
C. Victor Raiser II
C. Victor Raiser II was National Finance Co-chairman for Bill Clinton. He died in a
plane crash along with his son and three others on July 30, 1992, during a fishing trip. Conspiracy theorists believe the crash to have been deliberately caused, however the
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
ruled it as an
accident, stating:
he probable cause of the accident wasthe pilot's delayed decision in reversing course and his failure to maintain airspeed during the maneuver. Factors related to the accident were: mountainous terrain and a low ceiling.
Mary Mahoney
Mary Mahoney was a former
White House intern who, in the early summer of 1997, was gunned down during an attempted robbery inside the
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
in the
Georgetown suburb of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
where Mahoney was working behind the counter. The robber entered the store and shot Mahoney after she attempted to take his gun. He then shot two Starbucks employees and fled. However, conspiracy theorists believe Mahoney was killed on the orders of the Clintons.
Vince Foster
Deputy White House counsel
Vince Foster
Vincent Walker Foster Jr. (January 15, 1945 – July 20, 1993) was an American attorney who served as deputy White House counsel during the first six months of the Clinton administration.
Foster had been a partner at Rose Law Firm in Littl ...
was found
dead in
Fort Marcy Park in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, outside Washington, D.C., on July 20, 1993. An
autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
determined that he was shot in the mouth, and no other wounds were found on his body. His death was ruled a
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
by five official investigations, but he remains a subject of
conspiracy theories that he was actually murdered by the Clintons for knowing too much.
Seth Rich

The unsolved 2016 murder of
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
staff member Seth Rich prompted conspiracy theorists to speculate that Hillary Clinton arranged his death; the debunked theory was based on a Fox News report, later retracted, that Rich had been responsible for
Wikileaks' release of DNC emails during the
2016 United States presidential campaign. Various elements of this theory have been promoted by
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army inte ...
and prominent right-wing figures like
Alex Jones,
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...
, and
Sean Hannity.
Jeffrey Epstein
Convicted sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein, being held on federal charges of
child sex trafficking, was
found dead in his cell at the high-security
Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan on August 10, 2019. An official autopsy later declared the cause of death as a
suicide by hanging. His death led to
conspiracy theories being relayed on social media, particularly relating to Bill Clinton and President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. Hours after Epstein's death, Trump retweeted claims that Epstein's death was related to Clinton, including the hashtag #ClintonBodyCount.
Lynne Patton
Lynne Martine Patton (born 1973) is an American event planner and former Trump administration political appointee.
She was designated in June 2017 by President Donald Trump to head Region II of the United States Department of Housing and Urban D ...
, a Trump appointee at
HUD
Hud or HUD may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Hud'' (1963 film), a 1963 film starring Paul Newman
* ''Hud'' (1986 film), a 1986 Norwegian film
* ''HUD'' (TV program), or ''Heads Up Daily'', a Canadian e-sports television program
Places
* Hud, Far ...
, said "Hillary'd!!" and used the hashtag #VinceFosterPartTwo in an Instagram post about Epstein's death. Political commentator
Dinesh D'Souza attempted to use the time he spent in a federal correctional center to lend authority to the conspiracy theory that the Clintons were responsible for Epstein's death.
Christopher Sign
Reporter Christopher Sign broke the news of a meeting on June 27, 2016, on the Phoenix Sky Harbor tarmac between former President Bill Clinton and then-Attorney General
Loretta Lynch. The timing of the meeting happened during the 2016 presidential election when then-candidate Hillary Clinton was under scrutiny for
how she handled certain emails during her tenure as U.S. Secretary of State. Sign was found dead in his Alabama home on June 12, 2021. His death is being investigated as a suicide. Several right-wing figures, including
Lauren Boebert,
Dan Bongino and
Charlie Kirk
Charles J. Kirk (born 1993) is an American conservative activist and radio talk show host. He founded Turning Point USA with Bill Montgomery in 2012, and has served as its executive director since. He is the CEO of Turning Point Action, Stude ...
, as well as the pro-Trump cable news channel
One America News Network
One America News Network (OANN), also known as One America News (OAN), is a far-right, pro-Trump cable news channel founded by Robert Herring Sr. and owned by Herring Networks, Inc., that launched on July 4, 2013. The network is headquartere ...
, suggested that Sign had been murdered by the Clintons.
Jovenel Moïse
Haitian president
The president of Haiti ( ht, Prezidan peyi Ayiti, french: Président d'Haïti), officially called the president of the Republic of Haiti (french: link=no, Président de la République d'Haïti, ht, link=no, Prezidan Repiblik Ayiti), is the head ...
Jovenel Moïse
Jovenel Moïse (; ; 26 June 1968 – 7 July 2021) was a Haitian entrepreneur and politician, who served as the 43rd President of Haiti from 2017 until his assassination in 2021. He was sworn in as president in February 2017 after winning the ...
was assassinated on July 7, 2021, when gunmen attacked his residence in Pèlerin 5, a district of
Pétion-Ville.
Martine Moïse, the
first lady of Haiti, was hospitalized for wounds sustained during the attack. Some right-wing conspiracy theorists have claimed that the Clintons were involved in Moïse's death, pointing to political controversies regarding aid given to
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
by the
Clinton Foundation
The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...
, such as "hurricane-proof" classroom trailers that were found to be structurally unsafe and laced with
formaldehyde
Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section F ...
. Followers of the
QAnon conspiracy theory, who claim that Donald Trump is secretly waging war against a
cabal of
child traffickers that includes the Clintons, heavily discussed the idea that they had a hand in the assassination. Discussion of the unfounded claim caused the term "Clintons" to become a top trend on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
.
Others
Other persons linked to the Clinton Body Count include:
*
Jim McDougal
James B. McDougal (August 25, 1940 – March 8, 1998) was a native of White County, Arkansas, and his wife, Susan McDougal (the former Susan Carol Henley), were financial partners with Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton in the real estate venture ...
, a financial partner of the Clintons in the real estate venture that led to the
Whitewater scandal
The Whitewater controversy, Whitewater scandal, Whitewatergate, or simply Whitewater, was an American political controversy during the 1990s. It began with an investigation into the real estate investments of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their ass ...
. McDougal died of a heart attack at the
Federal Correctional Facility in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, on March 8, 1998.
*
John F. Kennedy Jr.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John-John or JFK Jr., was an American lawyer, journalist, and magazine publisher. He was a son of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kenn ...
, who was, according to polls, the most popular Democrat in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. According to friends, Kennedy considered seeking the seat of retiring Sen.
Daniel Moynihan
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York in the United States Senate from 1977 until 2001 and served as an ...
in the
2000 United States Senate election in New York
In the United States Senate election held in the State of New York on November 7, 2000, Hillary Rodham Clinton, then First Lady of the United States and the first First Lady to run for political office, defeated U.S. Representative Rick Lazio. T ...
but
died in a plane crash on July 16, 1999. Hillary Clinton was elected to Moynihan's vacated seat on November 7, 2000.
* Edward Eugene Willey, Jr., a Clinton fundraiser whose wife,
Kathleen Willey
Kathleen Willey (born June 2, 1946) is a former White House volunteer aide who, on March 15, 1998, alleged on the TV news program '' 60 Minutes'' that Bill Clinton had sexually assaulted her on November 29, 1993, during his first term as Preside ...
, alleged on the
CBS news magazine ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'' that Bill Clinton had sexually assaulted her on November 29, 1993. Kathleen also testified on the
Paula Jones
Paula Corbin Jones (born Paula Rosalee Corbin; September 17, 1966) is an American civil servant. A former Arkansas state employee, Jones sued United States President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment in 1994. In the initial lawsuit, Jones cite ...
sexual harassment suit against Clinton. Edward was found dead in the Virginia woods, and his death was ruled a suicide.
*
Ron Brown, who served as the
Secretary of Commerce
The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...
during the first term of President Bill Clinton. Prior to this he was chairman of the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
. Brown had been under investigation by an independent counsel for the
Commerce Department trade mission controversy and was a material witness, who had been noticed to testify, in
Judicial Watch
Judicial Watch (JW) is an American conservative activist group that files Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits to investigate claimed misconduct by government officials. Founded in 1994, JW has primarily targeted Democrats, in particula ...
's lawsuit against the Clinton Commerce Department. He and 34 others died in the
1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash
On April 3, 1996, a United States Air Force Boeing CT-43A (Flight IFO-21) crashed on approach to Dubrovnik, Croatia, while on an official trade mission. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-200 originally built as T-43A navigational trainer and later conv ...
.
* Jerry Parks, head of security for the Clinton headquarters during his presidential campaign in 1992, was killed on September 26, 1993, as he left a Mexican restaurant at the edge of
Little Rock, Arkansas
(The Little Rock, The "Little Rock")
, government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager
, leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_ ...
, by a man in another car that shot him ten times using a
9mm handgun. Parks’ son, Gary, asserted that his father collected a secret file of Clinton's "peccadilloes", and that his father was using the file to try to blackmail the Clinton campaign.
*
Jean-Luc Brunel
Jean-Luc Brunel (1946 – 19 February 2022) was a French model scout. He gained prominence by leading the international modelling agency Karin Models, and founded MC2 Model Management, with financing by Jeffrey Epstein. The subject of a ''60 Minu ...
, suspected of being involved in a global pedophile ring organised by Epstein, died by suicide in prison before going on trial, on February 19, 2022. Senator
Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
attempted to link Brunel's death to the Clintons by asking "Anyone know where Hillary was this weekend?".
*
Don Henry and Kevin Ives, two Arkansas teenagers killed and their bodies were placed on railroad track on August 23, 1987.
* Mark Middleton, an Arkansas business leader, mutual friend of Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein, and former finance director for
Clinton's presidential campaign and later special assistant to Clinton, was found dead hanging from a tree thirty miles from his home with a shotgun wound in his chest with no weapon in site. On May 7, 2022. Middleton's family filed an injunction to prevent police photos of the scene from being released to the public, citing concerns that the images could encourage conspiracy theories. Judge Alice Gray will decide whether the photographs can be released. The coroner's report ruled the death a suicide even though he was tied to a tree and no weapon was found near the body.
* Fabricated tweets stating "I have information that will lead to the arrest of Hillary Clinton." were supposedly sent by figures such as celebrity chef
Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Michael Bourdain (; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdai ...
, basketball player
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...
, Supreme Court Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President ...
, former Japanese prime minister
Shinzo Abe and
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
prior to their deaths.
References
{{Conspiracy theories
Death conspiracy theories
Bill Clinton controversies
Hillary Clinton controversies
Conspiracy theories promoted by Donald Trump
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