PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. "BILL" CLINTON - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 08/26 - HFSID 268389

PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. "BILL" CLINTON




The 42nd U.S. President pens this letter in response to a young lady with a school problem, instructing her to contact staff member Steve Smith for help, who was later convicted in “whitewater” and pardoned by the president when he left office




Autograph Letter Signed: "Bill" as Attorney General of Arkansas. One page. 7¼x10½. Little Rock. Date: August 26, 1977. In full: " Sherri- Please write or call Sam Button or Steve Smith in our office about your school problem - We'll try to help - I'd really like two pictures of Faubus & me - I'll send one to him for you -  Also will pay gladly for reproductions. -  Liked your poem & sketch very much." BILL CLINTON, born William Jefferson Blythe III in Hope, Arkansas in 1946, was Governor of Arkansas (1979-1981, 1983-1992) and the first Democrat reelected President since FDR. The only elected U.S. President to be impeached (Andrew Johnson was impeached, but he had not been elected to the office), on February 12, 1999, President Clinton was acquitted on both articles of impeachment brought against him: charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Clinton's popularity stood at 67% at the end of his trial, however. Obviously, many Americans were willing to overlook his personal failings in an era of peace and prosperity. His accomplishments in office included a waiting period for gun purchases (the Brady Law), the Family and Medical Leave Act, the North American Free Trade Agreement, welfare reform and balancing of the federal budget. Clinton had previously co-written (with Al Gore) Putting People First (1992), and he would publish his successful autobiography, My Life, in 2004. As of 2015, William “Bill” Clinton has appeared 52 times in the cover of TIME Magazine since 1992, sharing the cover with former U.S. President George W. Bush in the July 23rd edition.  SAM BUTTON and STEVE SMITH were members of his staff. Democrat ORVAL FAUBUS (1910-1994) was Governor of Arkansas from 1955-1967. He became known nation-wide for his stand against the integration of Little Rock schools in 1957 in defiance of U.S. Supreme Court rulings. Clinton was elected Governor of Arkansas on November 7, 1978, and after his January inauguration, he named Steve Smith a co-Chief of Staff and friend Jim McDougal as an economic development advisor. Clinton was Governor from 1979-1981 and 1983-1993. In 1980, Smith, Jim and Susan McDougal, Jim Guy Tucker and others bought the Bank of Kingston in Madison, Arkansas. Renamed Madison Bank & Trust, the Bank of Kingston lent the Whitewater Development Company over $50,000 in 1981. In 1995, now Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker and the McDougals were indicted for conduct related to Madison Guaranty and Capital Management Services. They were convicted in 1996 and Tucker resigned as Governor. Steve Smith was sentenced to one year probation, 100 hours of community service and was fined $1000. In 2000, Smith and others requested the U.S. District Court to appoint counsel to investigate alleged ethical wrongdoing by Kenneth Starr in his investigation of President Clinton. The request was denied. ON THE MORNING OF JANUARY 20, 2001, IN THE LAST HOURS OF HIS PRESIDENCY, BILL CLINTON PARDONED STEVE SMITH. Fine condition. With original envelope, 7½x4, addressed by Clinton to: "Sherri Stewart/Bx 210/Jasper, Ark 72641", postmarked Little Rock, Ark., August 28, 1977. Lightly creased. Water-stained on envelope at "rri" of "Sherri". Two items.