Conspiracy Watch: Bill and Hill’s Thrill Kill

From the January/February 2008 issue.

Illustration: Peter Hoey

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


THE CONSPIRACY: Over the years, Bill and Hillary Clinton have knocked off dozens of people who have stood in their way. The trail of mayhem was uncovered in 1993, when a right-wing group called the American Justice Federation compiled “Coincidence or the Kiss of Death?” It listed 21 Clinton colleagues and acquaintances who had died “mysteriously” in what appeared to be run-of-the-mill heart attacks, suicides, and plane crashes. The “Clinton Body Count” became an Internet phenomenon, but died off after they left the White House. When Hillary announced her presidential bid last January, an expanded version of the body count started making the rounds. Could this be why Barack Obama requested protection from the Secret Service months before candidates usually do?

THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS: There’s speculation that rival political operatives have revived the list. It’s also received a nod from conservative commentators such as Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter, who quipped, “If you attack the Clintons publicly, make sure all your friends know that you are not planning suicide.”

MEANWHILE, BACK ON EARTH: As we went to press, Coulter had not yet offed herself.

Kookiness Rating: tin foil hattin foil hattin foil hattin foil hattin foil hat (1=maybe they’re on to something, 5=break out the tinfoil hat!)

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate