Malcolm Rivera
During Bill Clinton's presidency, two officials were indicted. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy was charged (and later acquitted) of accepting improper gifts from lobbyists and businesses. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros was convicted (and later pardoned) of making false statements to law enforcement about hush money payments to his former mistress. On the other hand, Barack Obama's administration saw no indictments. However, it is worth noting that Hillary Clinton, who served as Secretary of State under Obama, faced scrutiny for her use of a private email server, leading to an FBI investigation. Despite criticism and political polarization, Clinton avoided indictment, with Obama denying any influence on the investigation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Clinton's officials indicted | 2 |
| Clinton's officials indicted | Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros |
| Number of Obama's officials indicted | 0 |
| Clinton's email scandal | Use of a private email server |
| Obama's influence on Clinton's FBI investigation | Obama supported Clinton throughout the investigation |
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What You'll Learn
Clinton: 2 officials indicted
During Bill Clinton's presidency, two of his officials were indicted. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy was charged (and later acquitted) of allegedly accepting improper gifts from businesses and lobbyists. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros was convicted (and later pardoned) of making false statements to law enforcement about hush money payments to his former mistress.
In addition, there have been calls for the indictment of Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, due to its hiring of British citizen Christopher Steele to conduct opposition research on Trump. However, this theory has been criticised as lacking merit, as it is not unlawful for a campaign to pay a foreign national to provide services at the market rate.
Furthermore, there has been scrutiny of Clinton's handling of classified information as Secretary of State under President Obama, particularly her use of a private email server. While this was investigated by the FBI, it did not result in an indictment, with Clinton receiving support from Obama and other Democratic Party leaders throughout the process.
It is worth noting that the number of indictments under Clinton's administration is significantly lower than that of recent Republican presidents, such as Trump, Reagan, and Nixon.
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Obama: None indicted
A Facebook post claimed that there were 317 criminal indictments under three recent Republican presidents (Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, and Richard Nixon) and only three under three recent Democratic presidents (Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter). However, this claim has been deemed an overstatement, as there were roughly 142 people indicted under the three Republican presidents, and only two under the Democrats.
Barack Obama, who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017, had no officials in his political campaign indicted. This is in contrast to his predecessor, Clinton, who had two officials indicted. They were Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, who was charged (and later acquitted) of accepting improper gifts from businesses and lobbyists, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros, who was convicted (and later pardoned) of making false statements to law enforcement regarding hush money payments to his former mistress.
While there were no indictments in Obama's political campaign, there were several controversies during his presidency. One such controversy involved the private email server used by Hillary Clinton, who served as Secretary of State under Obama from 2009 to 2013. Clinton's use of a private email server to send and receive classified information sparked an FBI investigation. Despite evidence of political influence, Obama denied exerting any pressure on the FBI's investigation, stating that there was "no political influence in any investigation conducted by the Justice Department or the FBI."
Another controversy during Obama's presidency was the sharing of intelligence with the filmmakers of "Zero Dark Thirty," a 2012 film about the CIA's hunt for Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Critics, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, argued that sharing intelligence with filmmakers and journalists was inappropriate and could compromise national security.
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Clinton's email scandal
During her tenure as the United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton caused controversy by using a private email server for official public communications instead of official State Department email accounts. This incident, known as the Clinton email scandal, was a major point of discussion during the 2016 presidential election, in which Clinton was the Democratic nominee.
Clinton's use of a private email system and server was criticised for violating federal law, specifically regarding the unauthorised removal and retention of classified documents or materials, as well as State Department protocols and recordkeeping regulations. However, Clinton asserted that her use complied with federal laws and State Department regulations, and that previous secretaries of state had also maintained personal email accounts.
The FBI conducted an investigation into Clinton's email practices, concluding that while she had been extremely careless, no charges should be filed as she did not act with criminal intent. This decision was announced by FBI director James Comey, who stated that Clinton and her aides' handling of classified information was "extremely careless" but did not warrant prosecution. The State Department's investigation found that Clinton's server did not contain any emails that were clearly marked as classified, although 100 emails were retrospectively deemed confidential, with 65 labelled "Secret" and 22 "Top Secret".
The scandal received widespread media coverage, with critics accusing Comey of violating Department of Justice guidelines and prejudicing the public against Clinton. The timing of the announcement, just 11 days before the election, was also contentious. Clinton's email system came under scrutiny again in 2025, with officials in the Biden administration being criticised for their handling of classified information.
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Obama influenced Clinton's FBI investigation
During her tenure as the United States Secretary of State in the Obama administration, Hillary Clinton drew criticism for using a private email server for official communications instead of official State Department email accounts. This led to an FBI investigation, which concluded that Clinton's server did not contain any clearly marked classified information. However, federal agencies retroactively determined that some emails should have been deemed classified.
While President Obama denied exerting pressure on the FBI's investigation, evidence suggests that his administration was aware of Clinton's email server usage and attempted to shield her from scrutiny. Emails obtained by the Republican National Committee revealed that top Obama officials were in contact with Clinton's campaign in early 2015 regarding the potential fallout from the revelations. Additionally, Obama's use of a pseudonym in email communications with Clinton indicated his awareness of the private server.
The Democratic Party establishment, including Obama, defended Clinton throughout the controversy and delayed FOIA requests until after the election. Despite the FBI investigation, Clinton received the Democratic nomination, which no candidate had achieved while under FBI investigation. Obama's praise and support for Clinton during the primaries were seen as influencing factors.
The FBI's handling of the investigation faced criticism, with Director James Comey's decision to reopen the case close to the election drawing accusations of prejudicing the public against Clinton. Comey himself acknowledged that his decision may have been unconsciously influenced by the expectation of Clinton's victory. The investigation's political polarization and the immunity granted to Clinton's staff also contributed to the lack of indictment.
In summary, while Obama denied any political influence on the FBI's investigation, evidence suggests that his administration was involved in managing the fallout of the email server controversy and that their support for Clinton may have impacted the investigation's outcome.
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Trump-Russia probe indictments
During Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, the FBI, a special counsel investigation, and several US congressional committees discovered multiple suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials. These links were part of investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 US elections. As a result, Trump and some of his campaign members, business partners, administration nominees, and family members were scrutinized to determine whether they had improper dealings with Russian officials. Several people connected to the Trump campaign made false statements about these links and obstructed investigations. These investigations resulted in many criminal charges and indictments.
- Michael Flynn, a former campaign adviser and briefly Trump's national security adviser, was indicted on November 30, 2017, on one count of lying to the FBI about his discussions with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Flynn discussed US sanctions against Russia for election meddling with Kislyak.
- Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2017 on twelve criminal charges, including conspiracy, money laundering, and failure to disclose his offshore bank accounts. Manafort faced a total of 25 charges, pleading guilty to two of them, and was found guilty of eight others.
- Rick Gates, a top deputy to Manafort and a former lobbyist for Ukrainian officials, was indicted on October 30, 2017, on various counts, including financial fraud related to hiding money earned through lobbying in Ukraine.
- George Papadopoulos, a former campaign adviser to Trump, was sentenced to 14 days in prison after pleading guilty to lying to FBI agents about his contacts with Russians, who claimed to have "dirt" on Trump's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
- Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and other charges, admitting to making payments to influence the 2016 election.
- Roger Stone, a longtime Trump adviser and campaign official, was convicted of obstructing a congressional inquiry, lying to investigators, and attempting to block the testimony of a witness. Stone was dispatched by Trump to obtain information from WikiLeaks about hacked Democratic emails to damage Clinton's 2016 campaign.
- Igor Danchenko, an analyst who contributed research to the "Steele dossier" detailing alleged ties between Trump and Russia, was charged with five counts of making false statements to the FBI about his work.
- Michael Sussmann, a law firm partner, was indicted for allegedly lying to the FBI about a possible secret electronic channel between Trump's company and a Russian bank.
- Konstantin Kilimnik, a Manafort aide in Ukraine with alleged ties to Russian intelligence, was charged with witness tampering regarding their past lobbying for Ukraine.
- Richard Pinedo, who was not involved with the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty in a case related to aiding and abetting identity fraud and money laundering for Russian conspirators.
- Samuel Patten, an American business partner of a Russian national accused of having ties to Russian intelligence, pleaded guilty to unregistered lobbying for a pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine.
In total, there were approximately 58 or 81 charges against Trump associates, with only about half a dozen directly tied to Trump himself.
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Frequently asked questions
Two officials were indicted in Clinton's political campaign. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy was charged (and later acquitted) over allegations that he accepted improper gifts from businesses and lobbyists. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros was convicted (and later pardoned) of making false statements to law enforcement about hush money payments to his former mistress.
No, there were no indictments in Obama's political campaign.
No, there were no investigations into Obama's political campaign. However, there were investigations into Obama's administration.
Yes, there was an FBI investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State under Obama. The investigation found four emails containing classified information out of a random sample of 40. However, Clinton was not indicted.
Yes, there were several notable people who were indicted, including Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, and Rick Gates.
