# Sorry to dredge this up ... but did Clinton staffers REALLY vandalize the W.H.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 19, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022 "2004-02-19T16:00:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/1 "2004-02-19T16:00:54Z")
I was just reading an article that mentioned, in passing, that departing Clinton staffers vandalized the white house as a practical joke on the incoming Bush administration–most famously, by removing all the “W” keys from computer keyboards. Is this true? Or not? I have heard reports both ways since the move-in in 2001, but haven’t seen anything conclusive anywhere (esp. here or on Snopes). ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/2 "2004-02-19T16:08:31Z")
[Untrue](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A45242-2001May18¬Found=true) at least not to the extent reported. There was some pranking done, just like there was some pranking done when Bush I and his staff left, but nothing approaching the Visigoth-like plundering and pillaging initially reported. The major difference between the “vandalism” left for Clinton and the “vandalism” left for Bush is that no one in the Clinton White House whined to the press about it. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/3 "2004-02-19T16:13:06Z")
According to [this](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A45242-2001May18¬Found=true) Washington Post reporter the accusations were unfounded. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/4 "2004-02-19T16:25:44Z")
This is one of the Big Lies refuted in Al Franken’s latest book. An absolute must read. (But please keep in mind that he has only space for a tiny percentage of the Big Lies and he is also quite naive and misses completely some Really Huge Lies.) ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/5 "2004-02-19T16:26:27Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > The major difference between the “vandalism” left for Clinton and the “vandalism” left for Bush is that no one in the Clinton White House whined to the press about it. :rolleyes: Two and a half years before I finally had to use that rolleyes smiley. > [@](#): > > Many news organizations, including The Washington Post, reported on the alleged vandalism shortly after President Bush took office in January. The Post and other outlets soon raised doubts about the claims, and also reported on **Bush’s statement that the allegations were false**. Bolding mine. Whine, whine, whine eh? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/6 "2004-02-19T16:41:03Z")
Also from the WP: > [@](#): > > Former Clinton confidants have acknowledged a string of pranks --including removing the “W” key from computers and posting official-looking gag signs outside offices. Former West Wing officials said they agreed that these pranks, which they attributed primarily to aides to former vice president Al Gore, were in questionable taste. \ Bush, himself, said, “There might have been a prank or two; maybe somebody put a cartoon on the wall, but that’s okay. It’s time now to move forward.” ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/7 "2004-02-19T17:03:30Z")
[Yes, the GAO found that Clinton staffers did vandalize the White House before turning it over to the Bush team.](http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200206/13/eng20020613_97755.shtml) Accusations were made against the first Bush, but never proven. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/8 "2004-02-19T17:25:48Z")
Why don’t you read your own cite, **Shodan**? The GAO says there was some minor damage (eg. the missing W’s) as well as some pranks like hiding pictures of W photoshopped to look like a chimp. The rest was ordinary wear and tear and the damage was no more signifiacnt than what the outgoing GHWB staffers did to Clinton. What you linked to says nothing different than what everyone else has said. A few minor (and traditional) pranks were wildly inflated into “rampant vandalism” by humorless Bush staffers and the right wing media. ---
**Author:** ![Renob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@Renob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renob)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/9 "2004-02-19T17:37:21Z")
While all the reports basically say that there was only minor vandalism, I know someone who worked on the transition and at the time she said there was widespread, serious vandalism. I’m not sure if she was merely repeating what she’d heard or saw it herself, but that’s what I heard at the time from someone who had access to the White House. Take it for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/10 "2004-02-19T17:49:58Z")
I think I’ll take the official reports over a unsourced third-hand ancedote on the internet. Nothing personal. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/11 "2004-02-19T17:53:20Z")
The GAO report basically says it was a mixed bag. They clearly cite the missing 'w’s from keyboards and the rerouting of phone messages as intentional pranks, the other allegations – like intentionally broken chairs and desks and excessive amounts of trash – are basically open questions. To quote one small part of the report: “Seven EOP (Executive Office of the President) and one former Clinton administration employee [all of whom had been around in 1993 and 2001] made comparisons [of the two transitions]. Six EOP staff said that the condition was worse in 2001 than previous transitions, while one EOP employee and one former Clinton administration employee said the office space was worse in 1993 than 2001.” According to GAO, the GSA spent nearly $10,000 to replace keyboards, fix locks, and replace small items – cell phone, TV remotes, etc. Some forms of damage were found in about 100 of 1,074 rooms in the Old Executive Office Building and 8 of 137 rooms in the White House. Here’s the report (hope its not a temporary file) [http://www.gao.gov:8765/cs.html?url=http%3A//www.gao.gov/new.items/d02360.pdf&qt=white+house+theft&col=&n=1](http://www.gao.gov:8765/cs.html?url=http%3A//www.gao.gov/new.items/d02360.pdf&qt=white+house+theft&col=&n=1) ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/12 "2004-02-19T17:56:58Z")
**lieu** --\* somebody\* certainly whined, otherwise there would never have been any articles. Given that the GAO concluded no real problems, it’s hard to believe that a reporter roaming by themselves through the White House would have written the story on their own (as there was little to see). We don’t know whether it was a case of a low-level staffer grumping to a reporter about one or two minor things and it getting out of hand as a reporter tried to make a big story, or whether it was a calculated political maneuver by the Bush team (planned from the beginning to have Bush eventually deny the story to keep his image clean after the damage was done to Democrats’ reputation). Personally, I think it was probably somewhere in between. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/13 "2004-02-19T18:13:37Z")
I thought that the ‘W’ thing was quite fun and I wish it had been true. The other reports, apparently not true, were more disturbing. Had I been a computer manufacturer, I would have tried to garner some free publicity by sending a bag full of ‘W’ keys to the White House. ---
**Author:** ![porkchop\_d\_clown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@porkchop\_d\_clown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkchop_d_clown)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/14 "2004-02-19T18:29:30Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > **lieu** --\* somebody\* certainly whined, otherwise there would never have been any articles. Given that the GAO concluded no real problems… > Personally, I think it was probably somewhere in between. ten grand in damage is no real problem? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/15 "2004-02-19T18:29:50Z")
Let’s suppose for the sake of argument that Clinton staffers _did_ break a lot of stuff on purpose, shit in drawers, staple dead cats to the walls, etc… So what? Does anybody but the most right-wing extremists really think it has anything to do with Bill Clinton? Do they think he ordered the vandalism to be done? And if they don’t think that, then where’s the story? Why should anybody care? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/16 "2004-02-19T18:30:01Z")
Again, go read Franken’s book. Cover to cover. As to the “vandalism” matter, it was completely made up by a Bush campaign flack and fed to reporters who were known to publish pro-Bush stories without doing any fact checking. ---
**Author:** ![porkchop\_d\_clown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@porkchop\_d\_clown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkchop_d_clown)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/17 "2004-02-19T18:50:16Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Again, go read Franken’s book. Cover to cover. Given the low quality of [Franken’s own fact checking](http://www.frankenlies.com/), why should I believe him? ---
**Author:** ![porkchop\_d\_clown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@porkchop\_d\_clown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkchop_d_clown)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/18 "2004-02-19T18:52:16Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Again, go read Franken’s book. By the way, Franken Lies directly addresses the vandalism claim [here](http://www.frankenlies.com/tone.htm). ---
**Author:** ![porkchop\_d\_clown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@porkchop\_d\_clown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkchop_d_clown)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/19 "2004-02-19T18:56:50Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Let’s suppose for the sake of argument that Clinton staffers _did_ break a lot of stuff on purpose, shit in drawers, staple dead cats to the walls, etc… > > So what? Does anybody but the most right-wing extremists really think it has anything to do with Bill Clinton? Do they think he ordered the vandalism to be done? > > And if they don’t think that, then where’s the story? Why should anybody care? So, let’s say your kids did ten grand of damage to your apartment before you moved out. What would happen next? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022/20 "2004-02-19T19:12:44Z")
From **Shodan’s** link: > [@](#): > > …found at least 19,000 dollars in damage … Which is I guess “minor” in comparison to the GDP. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-to-dredge-this-up-but-did-clinton-staffers-really-vandalize-the-w-h/230022.md?page=2)