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Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House
FBI special agent Gary Aldrich thought he had a plum assignment. As one of only two FBI agents posted at the White House, he performed the background checks on White House appointees – a peaceful yet dignified way to close an eventful career spent nabbing mobsters, drug dealers, and white-collar criminals.
Aldrich had little interest in politics. But he was concerned with the honor of the presidency and with national security. So what he witnessed in the first months of the Clinton administration left him deeply troubled.
Then alarmed. Then angered. And finally, halfway through Clinton's term, so thoroughly outraged that he felt compelled in conscience to leave the FBI.
Unlimited Access is Aldrich's electrifying expose of a presidential administration with a great deal to hide - and willing to put America at risk to keep it hidden. Aldrich describes how a comprehensive security system that had been perfected through six presidencies was systematically dismantled by the Clintons so they could bring their friends into the White House – friends that previous administrations would have barred because of serious ethical or legal problems, some prosecutable.
Unlimited Access also sheds new light on such White House scandals as "Nannygate," "Travelgate" and the mysterious case of Vince Foster – whose true motive for committing suicide was revealed to Aldrich, in a secured vault, by White House security director Craig Livingstone.
Throughout Unlimited Access, Aldrich relies on eyewitness testimony: his own, and that of other White House insiders. He concludes with a mock FBI "background report" on the President and First Lady themselves – a report that will surely come as deeply disturbing to every loyal, law-abiding American.
222 pages, Hardcover
First published January 28, 1996
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332 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
perhaps-i-will-read-hard-to-say
May 8, 2017My curiosity is piqued by Thomas Frank's mention in What's the Matter with Kansas:
"The book's most spectacular claim - that President Clinton was sneaking out of the White House for nightly trysts in the Washington Marriott - was discredited soon after publication, but this has not dimmed Aldrich's popularity among the backlash rank and file.
The source of Aldrich's continuing appeal to the angry man on the street, I believe, is his hair-trigger irritability with the everyday world. Unlimited Access is essentially a long list of minor protocol infractions observed by its impossibly straight-arrow author while he worked in the Clinton White House. Aldrich ticks off the bad manners he notices among the Democrats in the White House cafeteria, taking umbrage at the guy he once saw eating yogurt prior to weighing it on the cafeteria scale. He clucks primly at George Stephanopoulos's messy office and boils at the memory of the Clinton staffers who didn't return his phone calls. He suspects that people are hiding something when they're happy to meet him; he suspects that people are hiding something when they're unhappy to meet him. Aldrich even passes on a complaint from a fellow officer that Hillary Clinton looked at him wrong."
March 3, 2013
This book gave a great insight to the Clinton White House. Not always complimentary!
This included an altercation between the President and first lady just before the inauguration.
When Hilary found out Gore was to have the office space and she was not going to get the office normally given to the Vice President, she attacked Bill Clinton in such furry that the Secret Service Agents had to forcibly restrain her. After that she would not let them come within 10 feet of her at any function!
Gary Aldrich also gives insight to a possible cover up of murder, suppression of evidence and intrigue from within, and much, much more.
Of course all this couldn't possibly be true about a President and his lovely wife.......or could it!?
This included an altercation between the President and first lady just before the inauguration.
When Hilary found out Gore was to have the office space and she was not going to get the office normally given to the Vice President, she attacked Bill Clinton in such furry that the Secret Service Agents had to forcibly restrain her. After that she would not let them come within 10 feet of her at any function!
Gary Aldrich also gives insight to a possible cover up of murder, suppression of evidence and intrigue from within, and much, much more.
Of course all this couldn't possibly be true about a President and his lovely wife.......or could it!?
January 30, 2008
Alright, I have to write a personal review of this book. The book is written by an FBI agend inside the White House whose post started with the George Bush, Sr. administration and ended with the Clinton administration. The book offers stark contrasts between the two administrations, and the downright unorganized administration of Bill Clinton and, yes, Hillary. Being a staunch conservative I loved the insight and gave it 5 stars. Of course, many will read this and claim it as just propaganda,however,the author is very deliberate in telling his readers that this is just the truth from what he saw with his owne eyes. If you feel like 'gettin fired up,' for reasons of loving the Clintons or really not agreeing with them (to put it nicely) then give it a read.
June 1, 2017
WOW! And Americans re-elected them. That doesn't say much for our intelligence. Can you imagine how much more horrendous the stories would be if he stayed on for the next term? Can you imagine the tales he would tell if he were in the White House today? I wish that everyone that had any interest in voting for Hillary would read this book, but then again, they have to already know that she is completely unpatriotic, she is just power hungry. I'm sure the American citizens that will vote for Hillary are made from the same mold as her. That's so sad, but now I'm getting away from the book and into politics. Sorry.
August 20, 2009
A 30-year veteran of the FBI who spent his last 5 assigned to White House security as an agent responsible background checks during Clinton administration writes his impressions and experiences. He does not have a political ax to grind, nor does political opportunism seem to be his motive. He gives a matter-of-fact analysis of nuts and bolts issues surrounding the functioning of the White House.
The book is relevant today as it gives a picture of what goes on in the White House behind the scenes, and how things work there.
The book is relevant today as it gives a picture of what goes on in the White House behind the scenes, and how things work there.
July 17, 2011
If the voters had read this book, Clinton never would have been re-elected. I am sick, disgusted by the curruption that was in the Clinton White House. This was just about his first 3 years in office. Actually, if FBI checks were done on Bill and Hillary before he took office, they would not have been allowed clearance..even to work as the cleaning staff!!!!
May 5, 2009
This book by Democrat FBI agent is interesting whatever your politics, because of the insight into the inner-workings of security operations at the White House.
The FBI agent describes the struggles he faced completing required background checks on most members of the Clinton staff. Such checks are required before anyone can be granted access to varying levels of secured documents. Unfortunately, with the majority of the staff unwilling to cooperate, the entire White House ended up operating with the same de-facto security clearance---Unlimited Access. That is, because most had no security clearance at all, all members of the White House staff could arguably gain access to all documents. Thus, there was no security and no clearance.
Chelsea Clinton once told Aldrich, "My mom calls you guys pigs," and that seemed to set the tone for the rest of the staff. Aldrich faced a host of other security problems, along with a culture that had no respect for him and no appreciation for the work his agency did.
Based on the few criminal records he does secure, Aldrich surmises that the White House he worked in was staffed largely by one-time criminals. In other words, (my words--not his) by gentle, peace-loving hippies whose hobbies included anti-draft, anti-Nuke, and anti-America rallies/riots, staging a coup at Yale and having all grading scales permanently thrown out, setting things on fire, blowing up research labs, drinking too much, getting stoned, streaking, rioting, looting, using political connections to dodge the draft and the DA, and covering up Communist sympathies in order to someday for office. (But again, this is my digression. Aldrich is too professional to editorialize---he leaves it to the reader to connect the dots.)
Many of the most revealing stories in the book involve Hillary Clinton and her staff. The most news-worthy of these is the mystery surrounding a computer the FBI tried to obtain after the death of Vincent Foster. The FBI--while conducting a possible homicide investigation--was denied access to Foster's office for nearly 24 hours. When they finally obtained his computer, the hard drive had been erased in a manner computer experts said could only have been done deliberately. Of course, nothing ever came of that....
The FBI agent describes the struggles he faced completing required background checks on most members of the Clinton staff. Such checks are required before anyone can be granted access to varying levels of secured documents. Unfortunately, with the majority of the staff unwilling to cooperate, the entire White House ended up operating with the same de-facto security clearance---Unlimited Access. That is, because most had no security clearance at all, all members of the White House staff could arguably gain access to all documents. Thus, there was no security and no clearance.
Chelsea Clinton once told Aldrich, "My mom calls you guys pigs," and that seemed to set the tone for the rest of the staff. Aldrich faced a host of other security problems, along with a culture that had no respect for him and no appreciation for the work his agency did.
Based on the few criminal records he does secure, Aldrich surmises that the White House he worked in was staffed largely by one-time criminals. In other words, (my words--not his) by gentle, peace-loving hippies whose hobbies included anti-draft, anti-Nuke, and anti-America rallies/riots, staging a coup at Yale and having all grading scales permanently thrown out, setting things on fire, blowing up research labs, drinking too much, getting stoned, streaking, rioting, looting, using political connections to dodge the draft and the DA, and covering up Communist sympathies in order to someday for office. (But again, this is my digression. Aldrich is too professional to editorialize---he leaves it to the reader to connect the dots.)
Many of the most revealing stories in the book involve Hillary Clinton and her staff. The most news-worthy of these is the mystery surrounding a computer the FBI tried to obtain after the death of Vincent Foster. The FBI--while conducting a possible homicide investigation--was denied access to Foster's office for nearly 24 hours. When they finally obtained his computer, the hard drive had been erased in a manner computer experts said could only have been done deliberately. Of course, nothing ever came of that....
February 3, 2020
The first observation you're likely to make when reading this is that Gary Aldrich is a straitlaced guy. I mean *very* tightly wound, with no tolerance for anyone who has long hair or fails to dress in what he considers an appropriate manner. Gary Aldrich makes Joe Friday look like a laid back, easy-going guy. This book was written in the mid 1990s and even for that time period his views on things like drug use and homosexuality aren't just outdated, they're downright archaic.
But here's the thing about this book: even making allowances for Aldrich's conformist, this is the way we've always done things attitude, there is enough damning material left over to make one realize what a bullet we dodged when first Obama and then Trump defeated Hillary.
It's important to note that this was written during the Clinton administration. This was not a campaign hit piece written during Hillary's campaign. Although Hillary does come off as the main antagonist here. Much more than Bill.
The book is essentially a tell all about how the incoming Clinton administration was akin to the barbarians at the gate. Stephanopolis, Meyers, Kennedy, and many anonymous staffers come off very poorly. They believed, according to Aldrich, that being a friend of the Clintons was the only thing that mattered. They were partly correct, as the Clintons were a paranoid bunch who believed that everyone who wasn't personally hired by them was out to get them. The debacle with the Travel Office illustrates this mind set very well.
And it is also what gives this book credibility, despite the author's obvious bias. Many of the things he discusses have been verified by other sources, some of them dating back to the time they were happening.Travelgate was in the news. Hillary's disdain for the Secret Service was well-known. As noted in the book, she herself wrote about it in her Washington Post column. Also in the news at the time was the issue about staffers, some high up in the administration failing to have required FBI background checks conducted.
Even though this book is now twenty four years old, it is still a worthwhile read, and as long as the Clintons are involved in current politics, it will continue to be relevant.
But here's the thing about this book: even making allowances for Aldrich's conformist, this is the way we've always done things attitude, there is enough damning material left over to make one realize what a bullet we dodged when first Obama and then Trump defeated Hillary.
It's important to note that this was written during the Clinton administration. This was not a campaign hit piece written during Hillary's campaign. Although Hillary does come off as the main antagonist here. Much more than Bill.
The book is essentially a tell all about how the incoming Clinton administration was akin to the barbarians at the gate. Stephanopolis, Meyers, Kennedy, and many anonymous staffers come off very poorly. They believed, according to Aldrich, that being a friend of the Clintons was the only thing that mattered. They were partly correct, as the Clintons were a paranoid bunch who believed that everyone who wasn't personally hired by them was out to get them. The debacle with the Travel Office illustrates this mind set very well.
And it is also what gives this book credibility, despite the author's obvious bias. Many of the things he discusses have been verified by other sources, some of them dating back to the time they were happening.Travelgate was in the news. Hillary's disdain for the Secret Service was well-known. As noted in the book, she herself wrote about it in her Washington Post column. Also in the news at the time was the issue about staffers, some high up in the administration failing to have required FBI background checks conducted.
Even though this book is now twenty four years old, it is still a worthwhile read, and as long as the Clintons are involved in current politics, it will continue to be relevant.
October 30, 2020
Very interesting insiders view of the Clinton WH. I do wonder with these types of books how much creative license is taken. I would presume in the case of this FBI agent there is more than anyone will know. The obvious bias towards the Clintons and staff would lead one to beleive this agent possibly allowed his bias to impact his personal and professional perspective. What I also found very interesting reading a book from the late 90s in 2020 is how much has changed regarding what is acceptable by society now as normal vs back then. This agents clock must have stopped sometime in the 60s as everything about the author reminds me of how the establishment and more specifically the FBI would view the world.
February 14, 2019
After reading this book, and seeing how so much of the information Aldrich revealed during his time in the White House aligns with so many other books that have come out since this was first published. Many of the experiences he spoke of is very similar to books written by retired Secret Service agents and other White House staff that were there during the Clinton years.
I really feel America dodged a bullet when Hillary was defeated in the Presidential election in 2016. She was her own brand of madness and crazy when she was given power as was later shown in her time as SOS under Obama. The Clintons are truly poison, and a good example of putting the wrong people in the White House.
I really feel America dodged a bullet when Hillary was defeated in the Presidential election in 2016. She was her own brand of madness and crazy when she was given power as was later shown in her time as SOS under Obama. The Clintons are truly poison, and a good example of putting the wrong people in the White House.
June 30, 2013
A stunning indictment into the dysfunction and disgusting un-americanism of the Clinton regime. The chapter when Aldrich goes back to his days as a rookie FBI agent undercover in an Anti-American Vietnam protest, then takes us across the Atlantic to where Bill Clinton was marching on the US Embassy in London chanting "Ho-Ho-Ho Chi Mihn, the Viet Cong are gonna win!" is stunningly well done. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a rather more accurate account of Clinton's life than his memoirs, "My Lie."
February 17, 2018
What I thought would be an inside look into the FBI at the White House quickly turned into realizing this book has little substance. The writing in this book is mere rambling and venting of experiences he had in the White House. Whether you do or don’t like the Clinton’s, the writing style in this book is enough for me to not recommend it to anyone else.
March 24, 2020
An older book but one I wish Hillary Clinton fans would read. There’s been such chatter about her for years not being this nice person she puts on a facade about and actually being a witch on wheels. I think most politicians on either side of the aisle have their moments but she really has a reputation of being particularly nasty. Enjoyed this peek behind the scenes.
June 10, 2020
Wanted to rate it higher. Really enjoyed the "inside" aspect of it. However, lots of anonymous sources. Their claims have to be taken with a grain of salt. However they usually remain quiet (they being staff) so I'm torn
March 21, 2017
A much better insight into the Clinton Whitehouse.
February 10, 2023
It might be 2.5 stars. Nothing earth shattering here and I thought poorly written. First let me say that I don't like either side in politics. I think all are pretty shady. Mainly the book is a contrast between the Bush people and the Clinton people. Nothing earth shattering because we all knew Clinton ran his campaign as "we are not the white shirt, stiff collar people" Bill smoked pot and avoided the war (a no win war, I would have too) and he promised all his friends a job at the White House. So is it a surprise that people wore jeans to work, smoked pot in their office, had sex on their desk, or that Hillary didn't want anyone to talk to her as she walked the halls (she's a witch), or that Bill slipped out in the middle of the night and went to a hotel via back entrance.
The Clinton's are sordid and sleazy. But everyone loved Billy.
The Clinton's are sordid and sleazy. But everyone loved Billy.
February 18, 2023
Interesting. I'm sure some of it's true, but then again, I'm sure some of it isn't. What I found most fascinating, aside from all the crazy stuff, is how this book serves as something of a case study of what expectations for "decent" behaviour are across the generations: the author laments how Clinton admin staffers didn't wear suits, took a long time to unpack their offices, were untidy, spoke to the president casually rather than formally, didn't think a history of drug use was a big deal, were tardy at getting back to people because they were "too busy," and took soda refills from a business they should have known couldn't really afford to let them have free refills.
December 13, 2021
Informative but partisan: I think the author did a disservice to his very real concerns about security when he spent more time than was strictly necessary criticizing the decorations chosen for a Christmas tree, for example. Bad taste isn't a national security issue. Some of his other concerns were, but they got drowned out a little by what started sounding like an intention to find nothing redeeming about this particular White House And no president is *all* good or *all* bad.
August 23, 2024
Sobering, pretty objective account of how the Clintons sullied the White House and the office of the President. Details corruption, obfuscation, arrogance and crudeness of the Clintons and their "friends." The writing is clear, things are presented in context. Makes it clear that good character was never very high on the Clinton list of priorities.
October 28, 2020
This was one of my first reads in an effort to get to know our nation's leader on a much deeper level. Inside stories are always fun, discovering Hillary's anger issues, Bill sneaking out of the WH on a daily basis after dark, and an insider's view with the FBI. Would recommend!
July 14, 2021
We dodged a bullet by not having this family in the White House a 2nd time around! Very good listen to hear how corrupt the Clinton's really were! Thank F*cking God these A**Hats never made it again in the White House! Now to get Looney Joe & The Hoe out!
Read
October 11, 2025A little rambling/dry in places but eye opening learning how different departments work together. Strange to read 30 years later...some of the things that were clutch your pearls moments then are everywhere today.
May 17, 2017
Lots of inside info and observations from someone who was there, day in and day out, inside the walls of the Clinton White House. But, nothing here amounts to a "smoking gun"-level anything.
June 14, 2018
Extremely enlightening
October 13, 2021
Quite interesting and if even only a small portion of his story is true, the Clinton White House was a cluster from Day 1! Scary to think about the lack of security there.
December 3, 2021
Wonderful book, written beautifully about Clintons' behavior and attitudes.
After reading this book, I was kinda happy Hilary Clinton didn't win the presidency!
After reading this book, I was kinda happy Hilary Clinton didn't win the presidency!
September 16, 2021
Did not age well. Interesting to here some stories but rather homophobic
October 6, 2016
This book is older but with the upcoming election the subject remains very relevant. This is one of those books that should've been a magazine article rather than an entire book. The content was somewhat interesting but simply not enough to stand on its own. The book was very tabloidish at times. Point in such : President Clinton would sneak off to rendezvous with a woman at the Marriot near the White House. This is not surprising, but it is basically "heard it from someone who heard it from someone else". Read Unlimited Access for entertainment but do not expect a serious memoir.
November 21, 2010
12-years ago this would have been timely and inflammatory. Clearly I left this one sitting on my 'to read' shelf way too long because the Clinton White House is nearly 10 years gone and I just don't care anymore about reports that they were hillbillies gone wild. I'm no longer intrigued by the "Vince Foster cover-up", I no longer care they broke White House protocol in every way. I'm not saying he isn't telling the 'truth' as he sees/saw it, but this author has a clear political agenda that doesn't resonate with me and the menacing attitude with which he writes, makes the book stink of propaganda. (although the author swears throughout the story that he has no agenda.) Didn't love president Clinton, but even so, I didn't love this book.
February 5, 2009
The Clinton Administration made very poor choices on many levels when it came to the security of our country and our President. Their views seemed to cloud the fact that the Office of President is much bigger than individual preferences and ideas. It was sad to read about the treatment of the staff and how some of them disgraced their office. The flavor is simply an FBI man letting you know how it was. Not flowery and to the point. It's a shame he had to endure such nonsense and couldn't leave his profession on a higher note.
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