# Bill Clinton really should have been impeached **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 14, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583 "2018-01-14T03:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/1 "2018-01-14T03:52:59Z")
Not for Monica, for this: > **[President Bill Clinton Lost Nuclear Codes While in Office, New Book Claims](https://abcnews.go.com/WN/president-bill-clinton-lost-nuclear-codes-office-book/story?id=11930878)** > > According to a new book by the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Hugh Shelton, President Bill Clinton lost the so-called "biscuit," the card carrying the nuclear codes, for months during his presidency. He lost the nuclear codes, lied about it, and so for months didn’t have quick access to the nuclear arsenal. Sounds unbelievable, but the source is about as reliable as they get: Hugh Shelton. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/2 "2018-01-14T03:57:20Z")
I don’t believe that. If they were gonna update the old one was of no use anyway. I say bullshit! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/3 "2018-01-14T04:03:45Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Not for Monica, for this: > > [President Bill Clinton Lost Nuclear Codes While in Office, New Book Claims - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/WN/president-bill-clinton-lost-nuclear-codes-office-book/story?id=11930878) > > He lost the nuclear codes, lied about it, and so for months didn’t have quick access to the nuclear arsenal. > > Sounds unbelievable, but the source is about as reliable as they get: Hugh Shelton. Dated Oct 20, 2010. Getting desperate for material? I got news for you. Bill served his two terms and can’t serve again and Hilary lost her bid. You should be worried about the clusterfuck in the White House. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/4 "2018-01-14T04:07:29Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Not for Monica, for this: > > [President Bill Clinton Lost Nuclear Codes While in Office, New Book Claims - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/WN/president-bill-clinton-lost-nuclear-codes-office-book/story?id=11930878) > > He lost the nuclear codes, lied about it, and so for months didn’t have quick access to the nuclear arsenal. > > Sounds unbelievable, but the source is about as reliable as they get: Hugh Shelton. Uh…, I thought Bill Clinton was impeached… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/5 "2018-01-14T04:15:40Z")
The article at least says nothing about him lying for months. It claims he didn’t have the code for months. Yet, another version claims simply that he didn’t have it the morning of the Lewinsky issue and admitted it, saying that it was a regular check, meaning he couldn’t have lied about it. The article admits the truth is murky. I find it more likely that this is an attempt to make another (Democratic) president look less competent so that Trump looks better. There’s even the claim by the most recent soldier this being never told before, when it was. And, since this is classified stuff that had to be cleared, surely he’d know the truth. Saying we should impeach over that is even more irresponsible. It’s not as if anyone else can give the codes. It just means that the President wouldn’t have been able to give them if something happened between losing it and getting a new one. And this was during a time where such was unlikely to be necessary. Is it something that shouldn’t happen? Definitely. Does it reflect badly on the character and ability of the President, meaning he can’t fulfill his duties? No. Is it breaking his oath to uphold the Constitution and thus its laws? No. It’s a mistake anyone could make. And, if the earlier version is to be believed, it could be because of the stress of the Lewinsky thing anyways. Do you really want to make this political, when we can pull out that travesty? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/6 "2018-01-14T04:35:46Z")
Sorry, that link doesn’t tell that part of the story. This one does: > **[Bill Clinton once lost the nuclear codes for months, and a 'comedy of errors'...](https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-clinton-lost-president-nuclear-codes-and-nobody-found-out-2018-1)** > > The codes needed to launch a nuclear strike are never far from the president's side — at least they're not supposed to be. > [@](#): > > However, around 2000, according to Shelton, a member of the department within the Pentagon that is responsible for all pieces of the nuclear process was dispatched to the White House to physically look at the codes and ensure they were correct — a procedure required to happen every 30 days. (The set of codes was to be replaced entirely every four months.) > > That official was told by a presidential aide that President Bill Clinton did have the codes, but was in an important meeting and could not be disturbed. > > The aide assured the official that Clinton took the codes seriously and had them close by. The official was dismayed, but he accepted the excuse and left. > > When the next inspection took place the following month, that official was on vacation, according to Shelton, and another official was dispatched to the White House. The new official was met with the same excuse — the president is very busy, but takes the codes very seriously and has them on hand. > > “This comedy of errors went on, without President Clinton’s knowledge I’m sure, until it was finally time to collect the current set and replace them with the new edition,” Shelton writes. > > “At this point we learned that the aide had no idea where the old ones were, because they had been missing for months,” he added. “The President never did have them, but he assumed, I’m sure, that the aide had them like he was supposed to.” Clinton lost the codes and then avoided the military aide as long as he could, insisting he had the codes when he didn’t. Shelton interprets this as somehow not in Clinton’s knowledge, but come on. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/7 "2018-01-14T04:38:32Z")
I’m sure you have a vitally critical reason for bringing this up now. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/8 "2018-01-14T04:43:37Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > Uh…, I thought Bill Clinton was impeached… He was. People don’t know what impeached really means. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/9 "2018-01-14T04:49:21Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I’m sure you have a vitally critical reason for bringing this up now. Because the story broke today. And it’s interesting. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/10 "2018-01-14T04:51:23Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Because the story broke today. And it’s interesting. As I noted in post 3, the story you linked to is dated Oct 22, 2010. “interesting”, my ass. If it was merely “interesting”, you wouldn’t be making a big deal over why he wasn’t impeached. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/11 "2018-01-14T04:58:10Z")
25 years of chasing after the Clintons, who are long gone from office and are no longer active villains in the Republican narrative and you people still can’t let it go. :smack: I honestly believe that if Jesus Christ appeared and told you people that the Clintons had not done any of the crap you claim they had, you wouldn’t believe him. And frankly, if you believe he should have been impeached for anything he did, then I’m waiting for you to admit that Trump should be impeached right now for doing a great deal worse than that. But you won’t, will you. For strictly partisan reasons that discredit your position. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/12 "2018-01-14T05:06:37Z")
Hmmm… Seems to have popped up on 8 January on a bunch of conservative sites. You’re behind with you official talking points, Adaher. BTW, this story broke in 2010 in the NY Post. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/13 "2018-01-14T05:55:56Z")
God, dude, it’s really not interesting and you need to move on. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/14 "2018-01-14T06:23:52Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > 25 years of chasing after the Clintons, who are long gone from office and are no longer active villains in the Republican narrative and you people still can’t let it go. You’ll note that the article adaher linked to also claims that Jimmy Carter lost the nuclear codes. The agenda’s pretty obvious. Credibility? The story is based on somebody claiming it happened years after Clinton had left office. And the two people who have gone public with the story can’t agree on what year it supposedly happened in. But apparently nobody thought this massive national security crisis that the President should have been impeached over was worth mentioning at the time it happened. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/15 "2018-01-14T06:49:23Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I honestly believe that if Jesus Christ appeared and told you people that the Clintons had not done any of the crap you claim they had, you wouldn’t believe him. Well, since when have they believed anything he said? ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/16 "2018-01-14T06:57:50Z")
_shrug_ It’s looking increasingly bad for the Republican party as a whole, so the various attempts at deflection are getting more and more desperate. It’s not just Trump, and the party’s willingness to put up with him. There’s also the gerrymandering that’s being looked at, and other matters. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/17 "2018-01-14T07:09:18Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Not for Monica, for this: > > [President Bill Clinton Lost Nuclear Codes While in Office, New Book Claims - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/WN/president-bill-clinton-lost-nuclear-codes-office-book/story?id=11930878) > > He lost the nuclear codes, lied about it, and so for months didn’t have quick access to the nuclear arsenal. > > Sounds unbelievable, but the source is about as reliable as they get: Hugh Shelton. he’s been out of the office for 18 years. _Let. It. Go._ I do not want to still be hearing “but… but… but her EMAILS!” in the year 2030. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/18 "2018-01-14T07:36:31Z")
Good grief! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/19 "2018-01-14T07:42:27Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Because the story broke today. And it’s interesting. We can just pray that Trump has lost the codes. Because Clinton could be trusted not to use them unless absolutely necessary, Trump not so much. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583/20 "2018-01-14T08:00:50Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Sounds unbelievable, but the source is about as reliable as they get: Hugh Shelton. > [@adaher](#): > > Shelton interprets this as somehow not in Clinton’s knowledge, but come on. So i guess Shelton’s reliable when his story conforms with your partisan politics, but somewhat less reliable when he doesn’t tell the story that you want to hear? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-really-should-have-been-impeached/806583.md?page=2)