New Yorkers protest US strikes on Iran
NewsFeed New York City residents converged on Times Square on Saturday hours after US President Donald Trump ordered a wave of deadly strikes on Iran. Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the strikes “a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression”. Published On 1 Mar 20261 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
US strikes on Iran lead to renewed demands for war powers legislation
Democratic lawmakers have largely condemned the strikes on Iran, emphasizing the lack of congressional approval. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 3 mins info Published On 1 Mar 20261 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Lawmakers from the Democratic Party have condemned the US attacks on Iran as a “dangerous” and “unnecessary” escalation, and called on the Senate to immediately vote on legislation that would block the president’s ability to take further military action without congressional approval. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees and the primary author of the war powers resolution, called President Donald Trump’s order to attack Iran a “colossal mistake”. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “The Senate should immediately return to session and vote on my War Powers Resolution to block the use of US forces in hostilities against Iran,” Kaine said in a statement on Saturday. “Every single Senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action.” House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed Kaine, saying that House Democrats are committed to forcing a floor vote on a measure to restrict Trump’s war powers regarding Iran. “Donald Trump failed to seek Congressional authorisation prior to striking Iran. Instead, the President’s decision to abandon diplomacy and launch a massive military attack has left American troops vulnerable to Iran’s retaliatory actions,” he said in a statement. “The Trump administration must explain itself to the American people and Congress immediately.” The push for a legislative check on Trump’s executive power has gained significant bipartisan momentum in the Senate, of which the Republican Party maintains a slim majority. Advertisement Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded on Saturday that Congress be briefed immediately about the Iran attacks, including an all-senators classified session and public testimony, criticising the administration for not providing details on the threat’s scope and immediacy. “The administration has not provided Congress and the American people with critical details about the scope and immediacy of the threat,” he said in a statement. Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, described the strikes in a statement posted on X as “a deeply consequential decision that risks pulling the United States into another broad conflict in the Middle East”. He questioned the urgency and intelligence behind the attack, warning of repeating “mistakes of the past”, like the Iraq war. “The American people have seen this playbook before – claims of urgency, misrepresented intelligence, and military action that pulls the United States into regime change and prolonged, costly nation-building,” he said. Not just Democrats While the push to curb executive military authority is largely driven by the Democratic caucus, a growing contingent of Republican lawmakers has signalled a rare break from the White House to join the effort. Republican representative Thomas Massie, one of the most outspoken critics, described the strikes as “acts of war unauthorised by Congress”. “I am opposed to this War. This is not America First,” he wrote on X. In the Senate, Republican Senator Rand Paul, who also co-sponsored the war powers resolution, said his opposition to the war is based on constitutional principles. “My oath of office is to the Constitution, so with studied care, I must oppose another Presidential war,” he said on X. Adblock test (Why?)
Netanyahu’s war? Analysts say Trump’s Iran strikes benefit Israel, not US
President Donald Trump stood in front of regional leaders during a visit to the Middle East in May and declared a new era of US foreign policy in the region, one that is not guided by trying to reshape it or change its governing systems. “In the end, the so-called nation-builders wrecked far more nations than they built, and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves,” the US president said in rebuke of his hawkish predecessors. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Less than a year later, Trump ordered an all-out assault on Iran with the stated goal of bringing “freedom” to the country, borrowing language from the playbook of interventionist neoconservatives, like former President George W Bush, whom he spent his political career criticising. Analysts say the war with Iran does not fit with Trump’s stated political ideology, policy goals or campaign promises. Instead, several Iran experts told Al Jazeera that Trump is waging a war, together with Israel, that only benefits Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “This is, once again, a war of choice launched by the US with [a] push from Israel,” said Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington, DC. “This is another Israeli war that the US is launching. Israel has pushed the US to attack Iran for two decades, and they finally got it.” Mortazavi highlighted Trump’s criticism of his predecessors, who had waged regime-change wars in the region. “It is ironic, because this is a president who called himself the ‘president of peace‘,” she told Al Jazeera. History of warnings of the Iranian ‘threat’ Netanyahu, who promoted the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, has been warning for more than two decades that Iran is on the cusp of acquiring nuclear weapons. Advertisement Iran denies seeking a nuclear bomb, and even Trump administration officials have acknowledged that Washington has no evidence that Tehran is weaponising its uranium enrichment programme. After the US bombed Iran’s main enrichment facilities in the 12-day war in June last year – an attack that Trump says “obliterated” the country’s nuclear programme – Netanyahu pivoted to a new supposed Iranian threat: Tehran’s ballistic missiles. “Iran can blackmail any American city,” Netanyahu told pro-Israel podcaster Ben Shapiro in October. “People don’t believe it. Iran is developing intercontinental missiles with a range of 8,000km [5,000 miles], add another 3,000 [1,800 miles], and they can get to the East Coast of the US.” Trump repeated that claim, which Tehran has vehemently denied and has not been backed by any public evidence or testing, in his State of the Union address earlier this week. “They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America,” he said of the Iranians. Trump has been building the case for a wider war with Iran since the June conflict, repeatedly threatening to bomb the country again. But the US president’s own National Security Strategy last year called for de-prioritising the Middle East in Washington’s foreign policy and focusing on the Western Hemisphere. Meanwhile, the US public, wary of global conflict after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has also been largely opposed to new strikes against Iran, public opinion polls show. Only 21 percent of respondents in a recent University of Maryland survey said they favoured a war with Iran. The first day of the war saw Iran fire missiles against bases and cities that host US troops and assets across the Middle East in retaliation for the joint US-Israeli strikes, plunging the region into chaos. Trump acknowledged that US troops may suffer casualties in the conflict. “That often happens in war,” he said on Saturday. “But we’re doing this not for now. We’re doing this for the future. And it is a noble mission.” ‘Ignoring the vast majority of Americans’ The Trump administration had appeared to step back from the brink of conflict earlier this month by engaging in diplomacy with Tehran. US and Iranian negotiators held three rounds of talks over the past week, with Tehran stressing that it is willing to agree to rigorous inspections of its nuclear programme. Omani mediators and Iranian officials had described the last round of negotiations, which took place on Thursday, as positive, saying that it yielded significant progress. Advertisement The June 2025 war, initiated by Israel without provocation, also came in the middle of US-Iran talks. “Netanyahu’s agenda has always been to prevent a diplomatic solution, and he feared Trump was actually serious about getting a deal, so the start of this war in the middle of negotiations is a success for him, just like it was last June,” Jamal Abdi, the president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), told Al Jazeera. “Trump’s embrace of regime change rhetoric is a further victory for Netanyahu, and loss for the American people, as it suggests the US may be committed to a long and unpredictable military boondoggle.” While announcing the strikes on Saturday, Trump said his aim is to prevent Iran from “threatening America and our core national security interests”. But US critics, including some proponents of Trump’s “America first” movement, have argued that Iran – more than 10,000km (6,000 miles) away – does not pose a threat to the US. Earlier this month, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that “if it were not for Iran, there wouldn’t be Hezbollah; we wouldn’t have the problem on the border with Lebanon”. Carlson said, “What problem on the border with Lebanon? I’m an American. I’m not having any problems on the border with Lebanon right now. I live in Maine.” On Saturday, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib stressed that the US public does not want war with Iran. “Trump is acting on the violent fantasies of the American political elite and the Israeli apartheid government, ignoring the vast majority of Americans who say loud
Texas Democrats prepare to decide party’s future after divisive, epic Senate primary
Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico face off in the state’s first blockbuster Democratic primary in decades. The race will likely conclude Tuesday, with the outside chance of a runoff.
Mamdani’s response to Trump’s Iran strike sparks conservative backlash: ‘Rooting for the ayatollah’
New York City’s socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing blowback from conservatives on social media over his post condemning the U.S. attack on Iran that led to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On Saturday, as a joint strike on Iran by the United States and Israel was developing, Mamdani blasted the Trump administration’s decision in a post on X that has been viewed roughly 20 million times. “Today’s military strikes on Iran — carried out by the United States and Israel — mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression,” Mamdani wrote. “Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war. Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change.” OMAR, SQUAD LASH OUT AT TRUMP IN RESPONSE TO IRAN STRIKE: ‘ILLEGAL REGIME CHANGE WAR’ Mamdani said Americans prefer “relief from the affordability crisis” before speaking directly to Iranians in New York City. “You are part of the fabric of this city — you are our neighbors, small business owners, students, artists, workers, and community leaders,” Mamdani said. “You will be safe here.” The post was quickly slammed by conservatives on social media making the case that Mamdani’s response appeared sympathetic to Iran’s brutal regime and pointing to his lack of public reaction to the Iranian protesters killed in recent years. “Comrade Mayor is rooting for the Ayatollah,” GOP Sen. Ted Cruz posted on X. “They can chant together.” OBAMA OFFICIAL WHO BACKED IRAN DEAL SPARKS ONLINE OUTRAGE WITH REACTION TO TRUMP’S STRIKE: ‘SIT THIS ONE OUT’ “Do u say anything pro American ?” Fox News host Brian Kilmeade posted on X. “do u know any Iranians – ? they hate @fr_Khamenei they celebrate his death, you should be celebrating his death ! hes killed thousands of American’s and just killed 30k Iranians, did u even say a word about that? You are an embarrassment !! Please quit.” “I don’t feel safe in New York listening to someone like you, Mamdani, who sympathizes with the regime that killed more than 30,000 unarmed Iranians in less than 24 hours,” Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad posted on X. “We Iranians do not allow you to lecture us about war while you had nothing to say when the Islamic Republic shot schoolgirls and blinded more than 10,000 innocent people in the streets. You were busy celebrating the hijab while women of my beloved country Iran were jailed and raped by Islamic Security forces for removing it. “And NOW you find your voice to defend the regime? No. I will not let you claim the moral high ground. The people of Iran want to be free. Where were you when they needed solidarity?” “How is it that you can’t differentiate between good and evil?” Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted on X. “Why is this so hard for you?” “It takes a particular kind of audacity, or ignorance, for a city mayor to appoint himself the conscience of American foreign policy while his constituents step over garbage on their way to work,” GOP Rep. Nancy Mace posted on X. “History will not remember his bravery. It will not remember him at all.” “Iranian New Yorkers are thrilled today and see right through you,” Republican New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino posted on X. “When Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, UAE, Bahrain all support today’s operation eliminating world’s #1 sponsor of terror, but New York City’s Mayor @ZohranMamdani is shilling for Iran,” Republican New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov posted on X. Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment. Shortly after Mamdani’s post, it was announced by President Trump and Israeli officials that the military operation resulted in Khamenei’s death. Israeli leaders confirmed Khamenei’s compound and offices were reduced to rubble early Saturday after a targeted strike in downtown Tehran. “Khamenei was the contemporary Middle East’s longest-serving autocrat. He did not get to be that way by being a gambler. Khamenei was an ideologue, but one who ruthlessly pursued the preservation and protection of his ideology, often taking two steps forward and one step back,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD’s Iran program, told Fox News Digital.
Iran vows ‘decisive’ self-defense at UN after Trump kills supreme leader in Operation Epic Fury
Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Amir-Saeid Iravani condemned U.S. strikes against Iran that targeted the country’s military leadership and killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, calling the attack a double standard and promising the country would defend itself at a U.N. Security Council meeting Saturday. Iravani accused the U.S. of undermining its claims of pursuing international stability while attacking a sovereign country for its “domestic” activities. “Neither the charter nor international law recognize internal matters of a state as justification for the use of force by other states. The rule of law would be replaced by the rule of force,” Iravani said. BIPARTISAN REVOLT TARGETS TRUMP’S WAR POWERS AFTER MASSIVE IRAN STRIKES “Iran will continue to exercise its right of self-defense decisively and without hesitation until the aggression ceases in full and unequivocal terms.” On Saturday morning, President Donald Trump ordered the execution of Operation Epic Fury, citing Tehran’s continued efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. “It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I’ll say it again. They can never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said in remarks about the attack Saturday. TRUMP OVERSEES US STRIKES ON IRAN FROM MAR-A-LAGO, SPEAKS WITH NETANYAHU: WH Trump said the strikes were meant to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime” and that they had come after Iran had refused to abandon plans to develop nuclear capabilities. Iravani called the attack a continuation of longstanding U.S. aggression against Iran. “Mr. president, this morning the United States regime, jointly and in coordination with the Israeli regime, initiated an unprovoked and premeditated aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran for the second time in recent months,” Irvani said, referring to strikes the U.S. carried out against its nuclear enrichment sites last year. OBAMA OFFICIAL WHO BACKED IRAN DEAL SPARKS ONLINE OUTRAGE WITH REACTION TO TRUMP’S STRIKE: ‘SIT THIS ONE OUT’ “The president of the United States and the prime minister of the Israeli regime have openly claimed responsibility for this act of aggression and have explicitly articulated regime change as their objective, an unmistakable admission of their intent to violate Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz pushed back on Iravani’s characterizations. “For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted, quote, ‘Death to America’ at every turn. At every opening, it has sought to eradicate the state of Israel. It has waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder,” Waltz said. Iravani did not address the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran on its nuclear development plans.
Concerns rise over DHS shutdown in shadow of Iran strikes: ‘Now would be a good time’ to end it
The partial government shutdown has Department of Homeland Security employees missing their paychecks even as the U.S. has engaged Iran with airstrikes that have brought the nation to the brink of war. On Saturday, the U.S. and Israel commenced targeting Iranian positions, including the palace of dictator Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, who was later declared dead by Jerusalem officials. The strikes have prompted concerns of retaliation, possibly inside U.S. borders. “I am in direct coordination with our federal intelligence and law enforcement partners as we continue to closely monitor and thwart any potential threats to the homeland,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. DHS SHUTDOWN LOOMS OVER MAR-A-LAGO SHOOTING AS UNPAID SECRET SERVICE AGENTS NEUTRALIZE ARMED SUSPECT As Friday rolled into Saturday, Transportation Safety Administration officers began effectively working pro bono, and the agency called them “true models of selflessness and sacrifice.” “Right now, the men and women of TSA are showing up to work without a paycheck due to the reckless DHS shutdown despite the fact that Democrat members of Congress are still getting paid,” the agency said in a statement, calling out Democrats’ “political theater making life harder for these officers and their families.” Lawmakers took notice of the disparity on Saturday as eyes turned to the security of America’s homeland amid Iran’s pledge to strike back. “Given developments in the Middle East and the ongoing threat posed by Iran and its terrorist proxies, Democrats in the House and Senate must cease the politics and must immediately fund the Department of Homeland Security,” said Rep. Daniel Meuser, R-Pa. The Blue Mountain congressman, whose district is home to the agency’s latest immigration center purchase in Shartlesville, added that blocking DHS funding is “irresponsible and dangerous” amid the rising global tension. “Democrats in Congress must join Republicans, act responsibly and stop blocking efforts to fund DHS,” Meuser said. Meuser added that protecting Americans is a fundamental federal responsibility and that the U.S. cannot afford national security-related delays. DHS SHUTDOWN TRIGGERS TSA ‘EMERGENCY MEASURES’ AS LAWMAKER WARNS AIRPORTS COULD FEEL ECONOMIC PAIN His Keystone compatriot, Sen. David McCormick, echoed that sentiment Saturday. “Now would be a good time for Democrats to drop their opposition to DHS funding and pass the bill to support our homeland security,” McCormick said. “Continuing to play political games with our national security given the unfolding situation in the Middle East is dangerous.” While many Democrats voiced concern or opposition to the Trump administration’s strikes, McCormick’s counterpart, Sen. John Fetterman, ridiculed critics on X, retweeting an alert that Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei had been killed and writing, “Let’s see who grieves for that garbage.” The top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, however, criticized the operation. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi told NOTUS News Saturday that Trump’s attack lacks “a clear strategy,” adding the U.S. is “vulnerable to ensuing terrorism attacks today because of Trump’s reckless, inflammatory actions.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I am deeply concerned about the administration’s attention to possible threats and its ability to protect Americans,” he added. Just prior to the strikes, Senate and House Democratic leaders released a joint statement addressing the DHS shutdown’s current conditions. “We have received the White House’s counteroffer and are reviewing it closely. Democrats remain committed to keep fighting for real reforms to rein in ICE and stop the violence,” said New York Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for additional comment.
Jeb Bush commends former rival Trump’s Iran operation: ‘This is their time to take their country back’
FIRST ON FOX: A major public policy nonprofit co-led by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush praised President Donald Trump for ordering Saturday’s military strikes against Iran. United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI) — was formed in 2008 by Ambassador Mark Wallace, who held a United Nations-centered post in Bush’s brother’s administration, and former George H.W. Bush diplomat Dennis Ross — to combat threats posed by the Islamic Republic. The group has been on the front lines of highlighting Iran’s human rights abuses and attacks on Americans and advising policymakers and the business community about dangers posed by Tehran. ‘SQUAD’ ERUPTS IN FURY AS TRUMP TAKES BOLD ACTION AGAINST IRANIAN NUCLEAR THREAT The organization counsels existing and would-be commercial partners of Iran regarding the legal, financial and reputational risks of that kind of commerce. “UANI salutes the courage and professionalism of American and Israeli service members carrying out this historic mission against the Iranian regime,” Bush and Wallace told Fox News Digital Saturday. “We applaud President Trump for his courageous decision to launch this military operation. For 47 years, the Iranian regime has unleashed terror, violence and misery — against its own people and across the region — while threatening the United States, Israel and our allies.” Bush, who ran against Trump in a bruising 2016 primary, and Wallace noted that many presidents tried to bring Iran into the “peaceful community of nations” but were not able to finish the job. “This president engaged extensively and in good faith to achieve a diplomatic solution,” they said after Trump indicated as recently as last week he wanted to negotiate terms. “The regime chose escalation and continued its pursuit of nuclear weapons. The responsibility for this moment rests squarely with Ayatollah Khamenei.” Khamenei, 86, was declared dead by Israeli sources by late afternoon. Bush and Wallace added it was clear the joint American-Israeli operation was directed not at Iran, the country and citizenry, but at Khamenei’s “lethal capabilities.” The Iranian people, they said, have long suffered under repression and that Trump’s message since the strikes began is one that should be embraced by all Americans: “We aim to see Iran free, prosperous, and at peace. This is their time to take their great country back.” “The Butcher of Tehran is dead,” Bush and Wallace added in a separate public statement. ICE NABS IRANIAN NATIONAL WITH RAPE, SODOMY CONVICTIONS AFTER VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS MOVE TO CURB COOPERATION Bush added in a statement on X that “Operation Epic Fury marks a historic mission against the Iranian regime.” “We salute the courage and professionalism of American and Israeli service members and commend for his courageous decision,” he added. Bush’s relationship with Trump has appeared to warm since their bitter feuds of a decade ago. During the 2016 sweeps, Trump nicknamed the Republican Party scion “Low Energy Jeb,” while Bush quipped that the mogul would not be able to “insult your way to the presidency” after the eventual victor mocked an ad that former first lady Barbara Bush filmed for her son. While governor, Bush made improving public education a hallmark of his administration in Tallahassee. Bush implemented stricter proficiency standards in elementary education and signed what was dubbed the “A+ plan,” making Florida the first state to require clear letter grades on student performance. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He recently praised the Trump administration’s overtures toward universal school choice and federal block grants as a “transformational opportunity.” “The Trump administration has a chance to shift the power dynamic back to the states, where policymakers are uniquely equipped to understand and address the diverse needs of their students, schools, and communities,” he added in a column in Education Week.
Obama official who backed Iran deal sparks online outrage with reaction to Trump’s strike: ‘Sit this one out’
Ben Rhodes, a leading figure within the Obama administration who pushed for the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, was blasted on social media Saturday after he criticized U.S. military strikes on Iran. In the immediate aftermath of the joint attack by the U.S. and Israel, Rhodes was posting criticism of the administration on social media, saying Trump and Netanyahu “seem to be totally unconcerned about the human beings — on all sides — who will suffer.” “Trump’s second term has been the worst case scenario,” Rhodes said in another X post. Rhodes was quickly ridiculed by many conservatives on social media who pointed to the Obama-era Iran deal as a catalyst for allowing the situation to escalate to this point and placing blame on the Obama administration for not taking the threat from Iran seriously. OMAR, SQUAD LASH OUT AT TRUMP IN RESPONSE TO IRAN STRIKE: ‘ILLEGAL REGIME CHANGE WAR’ “Yes we were much better off with a president who drew redlines and failed to enforce them,” American Enterprise Institute fellow and Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen posted on X. “Team Obama might want to sit this one out.” “Oh look the guy who literally created this mess in the first place has chimed in,” Republican digital operative Alec Sears posted on X. “You were part of the team who gave billions of dollars to the Iranian Regime – you helped fund this terror on human beings,” former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell posted on X. “Once again, President Trump is cleaning up your mess.” LONGTIME TRUMP CRITIC GEORGE CONWAY SUGGESTS US IS ‘TERRORIST STATE’ AFTER IRAN STRIKES “You had eight years to do something on this issue,” Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. “Instead, you became a foreign operative doing everything you could to preserve an Islamist regime. “You put these circumstances in place.” “The Obama crew weeps for the mullahs,” former Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh posted on X. “Ben Rhodes bears responsibility for how America got to this point,” Middle East geopolitical analyst and Red Ax Strategies President Matthew Brodsky posted on X. “He is a spineless agent of influence for the regime in Iran. It’s taken years to undo the damage of his foreign policy.” On Saturday afternoon, it was reported that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for more than three decades, was killed in the strike against Iran. Israeli leaders confirmed Khamenei’s compound and offices were reduced to rubble early Saturday after a targeted strike in downtown Tehran. “Khamenei was the contemporary Middle East’s longest-serving autocrat. He did not get to be that way by being a gambler. Khamenei was an ideologue, but one who ruthlessly pursued the preservation and protection of his ideology, often taking two steps forward and one step back,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD’s Iran program, told Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital’s Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.
Bill Clinton’s credibility threatened by decades of scandals amid grilling over Epstein ties
While former President Bill Clinton has vigorously denied many of them, allegations of sexual improprieties have punctuated his career and repeatedly made questions about his character the focus of national attention. His truthfulness is again back in the national spotlight after lawmakers on Friday questioned Clinton about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in 2019 while incarcerated on charges of sex trafficking minors. Clinton has not been implicated in any wrongdoing. Friday’s questioning, however, is just the most recent case of controversy that stretches back almost 30 years. DEMOCRATS SAY CLINTONS’ AGREEMENT TO TESTIFY UNDERCUTS SUBPOENA PUSH, WON’T BRING NEW EPSTEIN ANSWERS Juanita Broaddrick – 1998 Allegations against Clinton began in 1998 when Juanita Broaddrick accused Clinton of raping her when he was running for governor of Arkansas in 1978. In the years since, Broaddrick described attempts she believes the Clintons made to keep her from speaking about the incident. “I was at a fundraiser, but [Hillary Clinton] caught me before I left, and she came up very friendly and said, ‘Bill and I are so appreciative of everything you do.’ And then her voice changed,” Broaddrick recalled in an interview with Fox News in 2018. “It frightened me.” By the time Broaddrick’s allegations became public, the statute of limitations protected Clinton from prosecution for the accusation. Clinton has denied the claim. HOUSE REPUBLICANS DESCEND ON CLINTONS’ HOMETOWN FOR HIGH-STAKES EPSTEIN PROBE GRILLING Kathleen Willey – 1998 In an interview with Fox, Willey called herself a former friend of Clinton and said she supported him when he launched his presidential ambitions. “We raised an awful lot of money for him,” Willey recalled. Willey explained that her husband had fallen on hard financial times, prompting her to turn to the White House in 1993 in hopes of finding a job. Clinton was the president then. “He sat down on the sofa. I proceeded to tell him what was going on, and I told him, ‘I need a job.’ He took my coffee cup from me and the next thing I knew he had me backed into a corner, hands all over me, trying to kiss me,” Willey said, describing an altercation between the two that took place in a study just outside the Oval Office. Willey first went public with her allegation in a CBS interview with “60 Minutes” in 1998. Clinton has repeatedly denied the allegation. Gennifer Flowers – 1992 A former television reporter, Gennifer Flowers claimed she had a longstanding affair with Clinton from the late 1970’s through 1989. Years later, she said Clinton’s advances started when she and Clinton met during a reporting assignment. “He proceeded to come on to me for three months before I decided I wanted to have a relationship with him, which, at that point, was consensual. In today’s standards, it was definitely sexual harassment,” Flowers said in an appearance on “The Ingraham Angle” in 2018. The story spread to national media as Bill Clinton waged a presidential campaign, just weeks before the Iowa caucuses. Clinton, in an interview with “60 Minutes” in the fallout, didn’t confirm the allegations from Flowers but said he had “acknowledged causing pain” in his marriage. MONICA LEWINSKY SAYS BILL CLINTON ‘ESCAPED A LOT MORE THAN I DID’ AFTER WHITE HOUSE SCANDAL Troopergate – 1993 Shortly after President Bill Clinton assumed office, allegations first reported by The American Spectator magazine began to surface that Clinton had used state troopers as governor to arrange sexual encounters with women. Among them, Larry Patterson, Roger Perry and Danny Ferguson all claimed Clinton had ordered them to facilitate his encounters. Time magazine quoted the original American Spectator allegations, saying the troopers had said “their official duties included facilitating Clinton’s cheating on his wife.” “They were instructed by Clinton to drive him in state vehicles to rendezvous points and guard him during sexual encounters … and to help Clinton cover up his activities by lying to Hillary.” The allegations about the troopers also became a part of independent counsel Ken Starr’s later investigation of separate cases. Paula Jones Jones’ case, which eventually led to Clinton’s impeachment in 1998, began while Clinton was governor of Arkansas. “I was asked to work the governor’s quality management conference,” Jones recalled in an interview with Sean Hannity in 2016. “His security was hanging out with us, and later that day, he came over and said, ‘The governor would like to meet with you.’” Jones said she was escorted up to Clinton’s room at a hotel. “We did some small talk, and then he started kinda getting a little comfortable. He said he liked my curves, and then I’m like — I didn’t know what to do. It was him and me in the room,” Jones said. Jones described how the governor then exposed himself to her before she left the room. “’I’m not that kind of girl,’” Jones remembers telling Clinton. After Jones launched a sexual harassment lawsuit in 1991, Ken Starr, an independent counsel assigned to the case, began an investigation that would uncover not just the details about the Jones incident but also the Monica Lewinsky scandal that finally led to Clinton’s impeachment in the House of Representatives. Jones was awarded an $850,000 settlement as a result of her private suit. BILL CLINTON FACES HIGH-STAKES HOUSE GRILLING IN EPSTEIN PROBE AND MORE TOP HEADLINES Monica Lewinsky – 1998 The case that would eventually lead to Clinton’s impeachment first came to the public’s attention when the Drudge Report picked up a story, initially abandoned by Newsweek, that Clinton was having an affair with an intern at the White House. “She was a frequent visitor to a small study just off the Oval Office, where she claims to have indulged the president’s sexual preference. Reports of the relationship spread in White House quarters, and she was moved to a job at the Pentagon, where she worked until last month,” the reporting said. Clinton denied the allegations when answering questions under oath from Ken