Ambrose Evans-Pritchard's Articles on Clinton

Profile: Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
The Monica Lewinsky scandal/The impeachment crisis
Hillary Clinton
The death of Vince Foster
The Oklahoma bombing
Whitewater
Other issues of interest
ET letters
Starr lists all the president's lies [includes the full Starr report, the White House rebuttal and detailed Telegraph reporting and analysis]

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THIS page is designed to give readers easy access to ET's archive of material written by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, the Sunday Telegraph's ex-Washington correspondent, from 1994 - 97.

His articles on the Clinton administration have created enormous interest in Britain and the US and have been widely quoted on the Internet.

Last year, Mr Evans-Pritchard's notoriety with the White House reached a peak when he was accused of delving into the murky realms of conspiracy theorism. In a 331-page report, its legal office attacked journalists whose unflinching focus on scandal was wrecking President Clinton's reputation.

According to the report, "right-wing" think tanks and British newspapers fed "conspiracy theories and innuendo" to scandal-hungry UK journalists in America. The resulting articles were then picked up on by US mainstream press, and fed to the public as "real" stories.

Mr Evans-Pritchard was singled out as a trouble maker who was part of a well-organised "media food chain" of events. His response was swift. He responded to the "shameless propaganda", which accused him of working for a London "tabloid", with: Why is Clinton persecuting me? written on Jan 12 1997.

He wrote: "Once again, it seems that the White House is willing deliberately to propagate outright lies. . .

"They have been caught using the office of the presidency to run a smear campaign against journalists and political opponents, turning the White House into an adjunct of the Democratic National Committee.

"Even Richard Nixon, at the height of Watergate, was cautious not to venture so far out into these perilous waters."

But the White House was not the first to publicly question Mr Evans-Pritchard's journalistic credibility. In 1995, the Washington Post, in a front page article on the "Foster conspiracy theorists", attacked the Sunday Telegraph and its outspoken correspondent.

In response, he turned the tables on the US newspaper with the article: America's top newspaper has pointed the finger at our man in Washington. Now it's his turn, written on July 10.

Candid as ever, he wrote: "My straitjacket is buckled tight. The foam is wiped off my mouth. A bottle of sedatives sits at hand. I am cool, calm and ready to answer on behalf of all "conspiracy theorists". And I say to the powers of the Washington Post: 'J'accuse.'"

It is not just the political manoeuvrings of Bill Clinton that have been subjected to Mr Evans-Pritchard's steely gaze, however. He has also written on the alleged drug use of the president, America's partial birth abortion industry, which he describes as "essentially infanticide", and on the controversial issue of "child abuse witch-hunts". These are to name but a few.

On his departure from his position as Washington correspondent in April 1997, the White House breathed a collective sigh of relief. It was quoted as saying in George magazine: "That's another British invasion we're glad is over. The guy was nothing but a pain in the ass".

But with this statement barely hot off the press, Mr Evans-Pritchard took up the gauntlet with the article: Goodbye, good riddance on April 20 1997: "Critics tell me that I have invested too much emotion in my quarrel with the Clintons. To that I plead guilty. It comes from befriending so many of their victims.

"I am content to be blacklisted as the "mad scribbler" - as the Washington Post called me this week - for I am confident that one day historians are going to view Clinton as a the last great cad of the 20th century, or worse."

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard continues to comment on the Clinton saga, as our wealth of links will testify.

The London Telegraph, Dec. 22, 1998