It began in May 1993, when seven employees of the White House Travel Office were fired. This action was unusual because although its employees served at the pleasure of the President and could be dismissed without cause, in practice, such employees had remained in their posts for many years. Heavy media attention forced the White House to reinstate most of the employees in other jobs and remove the Clinton associates from the travel role. Go To Site

A Justice Department official who looked into the matter told a congressional hearing last month that the firings were "ill-advised and erroneous." Go To Site

Hillary Rodham Clinton is not getting much support these days from those close to her, especially on Travelgate, the abrupt, harsh dismissal of seven career government employees from the White House Travel Office in May 1993. The dismissals were followed by FBI and IRS investigations designed to smear the employees' reputations and cover up the real purpose of the purge: getting them out so the Clintons could get their people in. Go To Site

Firings were recommended by Harry Thomason

Democrat, Character, Scandal, Greed, Lie, Justice, Jobs

In May 1993, President Clinton ordered the dismissal of seven employees of the White House travel office after reports of financial mismanagement. All had been hired by previous administrations. The action backfired when an FBI investigation found fault with presidential aides for acting without sufficient evidence. It was later learned that the firings were recommended by Clinton friend Harry Thomason, who wanted the White House travel contract for his airplane charter business.

David Watkins said he abruptly fired employees of the travel office under pressure from the first lady

Democrat, Character, Scandal, Greed, Lie, Justice, Jobs

In the memo, written in the fall of 1993, former White House aide David Watkins said he abruptly fired employees of the travel office that May under pressure from the first lady and he admitted that he later misled investigators about the role she played in the incident. The statements appear to differ sharply from the account of events that Hillary Clinton and White House aides provided to the FBI, the General Accounting Office and the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility.... Watkins left the White House in May 1994 after it was learned that he had used a White House helicopter to go to a golf outing in rural Maryland.

Former Travel Office Chief Acquitted

Democrat, Scandal, Oops, Justice

Billy R. Dale, a White House official fired for allegedly mismanaging staff and press travel arrangements, was acquitted Thursday by a federal court jury of charges that he embezzled $68,000. Culminating a 13-day trial, jurors decided in less than two hours that federal prosecutors had failed to prove charges that Dale stole funds paid to his office by reporters and photographers who traveled with the President.