The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House

by Barbara Olson

Olson turns her razor sharp vision on the Clintons' shocking excesses in their final days of office: the outrageous pardons to political cronies and friends, the looting of the White House, the executive orders that were sheer abuses of presidential power, the presidential library that is becoming a massive boondoogle of vanity more appropriate for a Third World dictator, and much more.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, Biography, American History, Crime, Presidents

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Atchisson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible book. The pardons, the vandalism, the pilfering. It really was more like Animal House than the White House. Months after I read this, the author was killed in the 9/11 attacks. She was on one of the ill-fated planes and still had the presence of mind to call the authorities to alert them. I always wonder about the many books she'd have written by now. This, though, is a fitting testament to her skill and passion.

[Marcie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a well-researched, well-documented, well-written, even treatment of the Evil Regime, perfect for an agenda-less Joe Schmoe like myself -- this ain't it, though. I was intrigued frankly by the fact the author perished on the hijacked plane that went into the Pentagon.

But, boy, did it bring back the swell memories. How could I have forgotten the Arkansas state troopers whose job it was to round up women for the Big Guy? Or the fact that we had as our Commander in Chief a draft-dodger who didn't inhale or quite grasp the meaning of "is"? Classics! Or Paula Jones or the Flowers chick or the weird "non" impeachment? And Roger! How could I have forgotten "Headache" (Secret Service code name for the POTUS' brother). So, it all came rushing back to me...and I got depressed.

I had not forgotten Travelgate and Whitewater and Monica, though. Wow, it was a busy 8 years for the Clintons!

Anyway, the real title of the tome should be Pardongate or Pardons for Sale or Pardon my Pun. Here's one: Mr. and Mrs. Kaye (who got Monica her intern slot) gifted the Clintons in their final days with a travel cigar humidor (valued at $9K). I'm laughing so hard I can't contain myself -- not.

So, Olson spent a chunk of her short life (how depressing), unraveling the HUNDREDS of pardons (and their obvious political connections) that the Clintons sold in their final days. How did they find the time between all the gifting and looting of the White House? They had a lot of debt to pay off and future New York votes to buy.

These people are classless and shameless. Please, God, let McCain win in November so we American People can avoid further humiliating scandals.

Bottom line: It's not possible to write of the Clintons and be even-handed. Hillary arouses such fear and hatred in me as I can clearly see the twisted evil in her. Just by the sheer will of her personality alone she stares down accusers until they flinch, she makes wrong-doing seem okay. She fails to see the fuss and forces her perception down everyone else's throat, AS HER STRATEGY to deal with all their wrong-doings.

Some day I will proudly cast my vote for the first female POTUS, but is it too much to ask for a little more Maggie Thatcher, Golda Meir, hell, Ann Richards? Give me SOMETHING I can believe in.

I am most upset by my own acceptance of corruption, greed, and force as "politics as usual." Politics is such a cesspool today that we all roll our eyes and ACCEPT IT. It's all so depressing. Quick, give me a book to read so I can escape from this reality.

[Dani]

Written by a victim of the 9/11 Pentagon crash. Finished just before she died. Her family had it published anyway.

[Jerry Landry · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Olson brings up some interesting points about the end of the Clinton presidency, her arguments are diminished by partisan vitriol, as she constantly sought a place to put another jab in. Also, in some places, I wish she would have provided better citations as to where quotes or statements presented as facts came from. Had Olson presented the same information in a more scholarly fashion and less sensationalistic, I think it would have served her arguments much better.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book regarding President Clintons pardons, especially in light of the Scooter Libby pardon. Scooter really didn't seem to do anything. Clinton pardon murders, crooks and terrorist.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just how bad they really were.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This political potboiler is a timely book to skim as the 2016 presidential campaign moves into high gear. For those with short memories, Olson's expose reminds us that Bill Clinton was criticized for much more than marital infidelity. Olson's book centers mostly on the scores of pardons that Clinton issued in the final days of his presidency, many of them without any Justice Department review. Particularly odious was the pardon given to commodities broker Marc Rich, charged with breaking trade embargos. Rich, husband of a Clinton fundraiser, never served time but instead skipped the country, yet won a reprieve, allegedly with the help of a $4oo,000 fix (sorry, "consulting fee") paid to Hugh Rodham, Hillary's brother, plus hefty donations funneled through his wife to the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton Library. Hillary, running for the Senate at the time, claimed she knew nothing about it.
Olson also recounts the many furniture and clothing gifts the Clintons received from foreign dignitaries. Some of them were loaded onto trucks bound for their future home in New York, but after questions were raised about legal ownership, the Clintons later agreed to send some of them back to the White House. Also touched on were the mammoth book deals they negotiated -- a record $10 million publisher's advance for Bill and $8 million for Hillary.
The material makes for fascinating reading, but Olson overdoes it by employing shrill repetition. If she had simply recounted the facts in a matter-of-fact way, her indictment would have been more effective. Instead, she resorts to branding Bill Clinton a "low life" and Hillary an enabler.
Most of the material is a rehash of scandals that other reporters unearthed. But she does manage to build a strong case against the Clintons by quoting many Democratic figures who late in the game grew disgusted with their president and First Lady as details of the pardons surfaced. Interestingly, Hillary is now using the same tactic against Donald Trump, stringing together sound bites from other Republicans repudiating the presumptive nominee.
One question left unanswered is why the Bush administration didn't raise a fuss about the pardons. Perhaps it was simply because a presidential pardon cannot be undone. Or perhaps Bush, looking ahead 8 years, wanted to make sure his own authority to pardon would remain absolute.
Sadly, we won't have Olson weighing in on Hillary's bid to succeed Bill as president. Olson died in 9/11 when the hijacked jet she was riding crashed in Pennsylvania.

[Kevin Kirkhoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Stroke of a pen, law of the land"
- Bill Clinton

This was the attitude of the Clintons during their final days in office. They had absolute control over monuments, land grabs, and pardons.

Barbara Olson does a masterful job detailing the things done by the Clintons (usually Bill) in the last few days of his administration. What impressed me the most is the level of detail that is presented on each topic. This was something that I had not been presented with from the standard media outlets.

Olson explains the pardon process and why this president's pardons were so unusual. He bypassed or ignored the Justice Department. He submitted numerous pardons the morning of the inaguration guaranteeing they wouldn't be looked into with any great detail, if at all.

He pardoned drug smugglers. It's hard to be tough on the drug world when we release their kingpins back onto the streets.

Olson went into great depth on who Marc Rich was, what his businesses were, why he was in trouble, and why it was such a travesty to pardon him. You just don't pardon people who haven't even had a trial yet.

There was an enormous amount of land that was commandeered by the Federal Government without anyone getting a say on it.

The Clinton family gets in on the party also. Roger Clinton and Hugh Rodham take up a couple of chapters.

Finally, we see quotes from a lot of Clinton apologists and Democratic big-wigs displaying their disappointment and outright anger at the President for getting around the system. It was obvious that since Bill was no longer president, they didn't need to stick up for him anymore.

There was also much analysis done on the op-ed piece that Bill wrote expaining the pardons. This was truly a spinmeister work of art. As one columnist put it, "Four excuses, eight lies."

I enjoyed reading this book. Not because it bashed the Clintons, yet again. But it explained in great detail why people inside the Beltway were so appalled and upset at what was done by the Clintons during their final days in power. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in one of the few things the President of the United States has absolute authority over with no veto possible.

[Kenneth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Isn’t it Ironic? She waited all of her life to get on that plane….Susan Olson tells a story here that needed telling, but she loses points through how she tells the story. The whiny commentary runs thick like syrup in some places in this book. If they were to reboot batman again, here is the cat woman. Did she used to work with Hillary Clinton? Wow she really hated this woman. The catty remarks keep coming as she punctuates the story with her sly puns. Her editor left the building because the result here is less than a professional job. Olson attacks everything liberal- Ergonomic design rules in the workplace- check, Al Gore-check, any liberal thought from the 20th century –check.
She was finishing up this book as the Florida recount was going on, and she excuses that fiasco (stolen presidential election) while milling over Bill Clinton’s marital infidelities. She takes swipes at Al Gore (whom I suppose is on her enemies list too), and even defends high levels of arsenic in public water supplies! (on page 89).
This book is well researched, and you will remember many of these incidents. The chapters on the presidential pardons were well developed. but Ms. Olson would have done much better to tone it down a bit. This is one of those cases where a professional journalist, (without an axe to grind) will revisit this subject in a few years, and will do a much better job in presenting an argument against the Clintons’ behavior at the end of Bill’s final term.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill was a pain and got away with murder. We all know that just before a president is done with office, they start doing some interesting things, but Bill was the worst! I can't believe that people didn't seem to bat an eye after all the crap he got away with. Oh what it wouldn't be like to be untouchable.

[Dionne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barbara Olson is a gifted writer but her tragic death on 9/11 cut her writing career short. This book is a reminder of just how corrupt the Clintons were, and that even the Democrats acknowledged as much after Clinton's pardons. Olson's conclusion is that before we elect Hillary president, we ought not to forget the past. Truer words have never been spoken.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book after Olsen's tragic death on 9/11 (she was an occupent on one of the hijacked planes). This is a good follow-up to Hell to Pay. If you really want to know all of the scandal, stealing, winking, and what-not that went on then, read this book!

[Steve Coscia · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading this book, I had the sense it wasn't quite finished by the author. It didn't flow as well as Hell To Pay. Knowing that Barbara Olsen was killed on Sept 11, 2001, I wondered whether she had planned another edit.

[Kevin Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara Olson was a victim of 9/11. The plane she was on was driven into the Pentagon. This book was to be released after 9/11. The family decided to release the book, and I'm glad they did. Great book by a great author. RIP.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find the Clinton-corruption genre so entertaining...thanks Dad!

[Salsadancer · Rating 4 out of 5]

re: Clinton administration, pardons

[John Mapes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it back in 2002. Made more sense in 2016.

[David White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book on the real life for the Clintons. This is a must read for anybody that’s interested in politics

[Jason Roland · Rating 4 out of 5]

It reminds you how crazy those final days really were.

[Dick Pilskog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely a good book. Wish my liberal friends could read this. It is all categorized and cross checked and I believe every word. GOOD BOOK. I want to read this by liberals. Enough.

[Terry R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Final Days – The Last Desperate Abuses of power by the Clinton White House – by Barbara Olson – Completed 09/18/2025
To my wife, J.E.M.; children, B.J.M.; A.N.C.; T.L.L. and their spouses.
This book is nothing but an exposé of the corruption of Bill and Hillary Clinton during their time in the White House. Every chapter details the crimes they committed, the abuse of power, and the lies they told the American people. They are truly the worst pieces of shit that ever became president. Thank God she was not elected as president, also.
“Clinton had an almost congenital inability to tell the unvarnished truth,” said Howard Kurtz, The Washington Post. While the quote originated with Hillary Clinton, similar sentiments regarding truthfulness were also applied to her husband, President Bill Clinton, particularly during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the subsequent impeachment proceedings. His own admission of an affair after initially denying it led to further public discussions about his relationship with the truth. Over time, the phrase has been evoked in discussions about both Clintons. Bill was simply labeled as “an exceptionally good liar”.
In his apology to the country, Bill stated he “I tried to walk a fine line between acting lawfully and testifying falsely, but I now realize that I did not fully accomplish this goal and that certain of my responses to questions about Ms. Lewinsky were false”. Bill was finely caught with his pants down. Ha, Ha
The last few chapters detail the power that the President has to grant clemency and pardons for criminals. Over the years, many Presidents have granted them. On Clinton's last day in office, he granted 140 pardons alone. His total was about 450 for his years in office. There is a specific procedure to process the paperwork through the DOJ, but Clinton completely bypassed that procedure.
"Quid pro quo" allegations have been made against both Bill and Hillary Clinton, primarily involving donations to the Clinton Foundation or political contributions in exchange for official government acts. Sleeping in the Lincoln Bedroom at the white house will cost you about 10k for the night. A contribution to the Clinton Foundation might get you a flight on Air Force One. I am amazed Clinton was never charged with his financial crimes under the Quid pro quo theory. Here is another Latin legal principle, “res Ipas loquitor” which means ‘the thing speaks for itself”.
The Clintons are unscrupulous grifters and swindlers. It has taken years for us to see them as what they are.
Love Dad, T.R.M.

[Heather Phelps · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly, after writing this book and before it was published Barbara Olson was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. While reading this book I found myself uncovering new details about the pardons and the money that changed hands during the last days of Clinton’s presidency. In addition to these details I found this book shedding new light on Hillary and her involvement in these events and her manipulation of the press and the American people to maintain her image and preserve her own career. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Clinton presidency and also anyone who is a supporter of Hillary Clinton. My favorite quote in this book was, “… The unusual became the usual, and the irregular became the regular, during the final days of the Clinton administration.”

[Robert A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t trust any politicians but especially don’t like the Clintons. The stories didn’t surprise me but after a while I get tired of all the “Look what else they did….” Too bad they had the press in their pocket.

[Maryellen Cyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Clinton send off, not a Valentine. Sadly the author was killed on one of the planes on 9/11.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a hard to read because it turns your stomach. Crooked Bill and Hillary indeed. The Mark Rich recap is very interesting.

[Bill Millar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating reading about the final days of possibly the most corrupt administration in history.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating wrapup of the pathological abuse of power by the Clinton"co-presidency".

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book!

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, the Clintons are scumbags.