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Deputy White House counselVince Foster was found dead inFort Marcy Park off theGeorge Washington Parkway inVirginia, outsideWashington, D.C., on July 20, 1993. His death was ruled asuicide by five official investigations.
Park Police discovered Foster dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in Fort Marcy Park (off the George Washington Parkway in Virginia) on July 20, 1993. He was found holding a Colt .38 Special in his right hand, his thumb hooked through the trigger guard.
An autopsy and subsequent investigation later concluded Foster had died by shooting himself once in the mouth with the gun found at the scene.[1]
Subsequent investigations found that Foster was distraught over accusations and criticisms related to theWhite House travel office controversy. Foster had confided to friends and colleagues that he was considering resignation, but feared that he could not handle the "personal humiliation" of returning to Arkansas in defeat. Foster admitted to his sister that he was depressed shortly before his death, and he sought treatment for depression one day before committing suicide.[2]
Although police found no evidence of foul play, several tabloids and newsletters speculated that Foster's death may have been a homicide, possibly involving the Clintons themselves.[3] Subsequent investigations by special prosecutorRobert Fiske and the Senate Banking Committee concluded that there was no evidence of a homicide. A final investigation, led by special prosecutorKenneth Starr, also concluded that there was no evidence to support the claim that Foster was murdered. Starr's report addressed several additional questions about physical and forensic evidence that had previously fueled speculation about the case. The report established that Foster owned the handgun used in the suicide, and confirmed that the body had not been moved from its position prior to its discovery by police. The report concluded "In sum, based on all of the available evidence, which is considerable, the OIC [Office of Independent Counsel] agrees with the conclusion reached by every official entity that has examined the issue: Mr. Foster committed suicide by gunshot in Fort Marcy Park on July 20, 1993."[4]
The suicide has nevertheless continued to fuel speculation: then-presidential candidateDonald Trump made news in 2016 when he remarked in an interview with theWashington Post that Foster's death was "very fishy", and added "I will say there are people who continue to bring it up because they think it was absolutely a murder. I don't do that because I don't think it's fair."[5][4]
I made mistakes from ignorance, inexperience and overworkI did not knowingly violate any law or standard of conduct
No one in The White House, to my knowledge, violated any law or standard of conduct, includingany action in the travel office. There was no intent to benefit any individual or specific group
TheFBI lied in their report to theAG
The press is covering up the illegal benefits they received from the travel staff
TheGOP has lied and misrepresented its knowledge and role and covered up a prior investigation
TheUshers Office plotted to have excessive costs incurred, taking advantage of Kaki and HRC
The public will never believe the innocence of the Clintons and their loyal staff
TheWSJ editors lie without consequence
I was not meant for the job or the spotlight of public life in Washington. Here ruining people is considered sport.
A draft of a resignation letter was found torn into 27 pieces in a briefcase after his death.[7] Associate White House counsel, Steve Neuwirth, discovered the torn pieces of the note in Foster's briefcase on July 26.[8] After receiving the note from Neuwirth,White House CounselBernard Nussbaum handled the note various times before giving it to Park Police Lieutenant Joseph Megby the following evening.[9]
TheUnited States Department of Justice revealed the note's contents at a joint press conference with the Park Police on August 10.[9][10] The DoJ stated that a smudged palm print was on the note, but no fingerprints; they confirmed the handwriting as Foster's.[10]
Independent CounselRobert Ray's report regarding theWhitewater controversy stated theFBI Laboratory performed a 1995 fingerprint examination of the note and identified Nussbaum's palm print on it.[9][11] Three handwriting experts stated that the note was a forgery, with Oxford University manuscript expert Reginald Alton stating that the forgery was done by a "moderate forger, not necessarily a pro, somebody who could forge a check."[12] However, the final report stated that three separate handwriting analyses of the note by theCapitol Police and the FBI determined that the handwriting on the note was Foster's.[9]
On May 2, 1999,The Washington Post published new details on the pursuit of a Foster conspiracy in an article byDavid Brock, a key figure in theTroopergate andWhitewater scandals whose disillusionment with the political corruption motivating what would come to be known as theArkansas Project ended his commitment to the Conservative movement and facilitated public dissemination of insider details on what he described as G.O.P. machinations. The article explains how Brock was "summoned" to a meeting withRex Armistead inMiami, Florida at an airport hotel. Brock claims that Armistead laid out for him an elaborate "Vince Foster murder scenario" – a scenario that he found implausible.[13]
In 1997, crime reporterDan Moldea was approached byRegnery Publishing House, a conservative group whose leadership was impressed by Moldea's published works, to publish a book on the Foster case.[14]
In researching Foster's death, Moldea found that documents relating to the Whitewater corporation were removed from Foster's office on July 22 and sent to the Clintons’ personal attorney,[15] and that the most oft-used conspiracy scenario could be traced back to Park Police Major Robert Hines, who shared the idea withReed Irvine (Accuracy in Media) and Christopher Ruddy (New York Post). Moldea concludes, and Maj. Hines publicly maintains, that Hines incorrectly told Irvine and Ruddy "... that there is no exit wound in Foster's head ... I don't think there was anything nefarious here; he was being approached by reporters and he wanted something to say." Still, the "missing exit wound" claim continued to surface.[14]
Moldea's research sought, among other things, to discover the origins of this line of investigation into the Clintons' credibility. In an interview forSalon.com, he suggests that "Foster had some blond hair and carpet fibers on his suit jacket, and he hadsemen in his underwear. So, theJerry Falwells and the right-wing crowd get a hold of this information, and…they start making movies alleging that the Clintons were involved in this murder."[14]
In 1994, Falwell subsidized the creation of a film calledThe Clinton Chronicles that featured Ruddy's claims that the gun that killed Foster was placed in his hand after the fact, and that Foster's body was laid out to give the appearance of suicide, among others.[14] Funding for the film was provided byCitizens for Honest Government, an organization to which Falwell gave $200,000 in 1994 and 1995.[16]
Citizens for Honest Government covertly paid individuals who had provided information to media outlets such as theWall Street Journal editorial page and theAmerican Spectator magazine;"[16] and in 1995, made discretionary payments to two Arkansas state troopers who had spoken out in support of the idea of a conspiracy surrounding Foster's death. The two troopers, Roger Perry and Larry Patterson, had also previously given testimony supportingPaula Jones's claims of sexual misconduct and misuse of government resources againstBill Clinton (seeTroopergate).[16]
...One investigator said he had watched Mr. Nussbaum inspect the briefcase earlier without finding the note....
…A fingerprint analysis of Foster's note by the FBI also reveals…that the palm print found on the note had been left by Bernard Nussbaum….
