Like other brothers of powerful politicians who became magnets for negative publicity-Billy Carter and Donald Nixon come to mind-the political klieg lights have not been kind to Roger Clinton. In New York, celebrating his brother’s primary victory, Clinton reportedly shoved a nightclub guitarist for telling Gennifer Flowers jokes. Clinton denies the brawl, but says he told the guy: “Listen, you fat s.o.b., you’re talking about my brother. Keep your mouth shut or I’ll shut it for you.” Clinton is the latest in a long line of siblings who seem to relish their blacksheep status. Where Bill mapped out a political future, taking one golden step after another, Roger dropped out of college, did drugs and odd jobs and dreamed of being a rhythm-and-blues star.
Yet different as they are, Roger offers a window into Bill Clinton’s early life in Arkansas. Ten years older, Bill Clinton was always Roger’s protector. The most vivid scenes from their childhood involve the abuse they suffered at the hands of Roger Clinton Sr. “Our father would come in and be so drunk he would lose total control … He’d take his belt off-that was the signal-hit my mother, jerk me around,” Roger Clinton recalled in a recent radio interview. Several times, the boys and their mother-literally kicked out of the house-would walk to a motel a mile away to spend the night. When Bill was in high school and big enough to make good on his threats, he told Roger Sr.: “If you want to hit them, you’ll have to go through me.” Several years later, when the senior Clinton was dying of cancer, Bill Clinton drove hundreds of miles home from college to make peace with the man who had made his childhood so hellish. But Roger Clinton, only 11 at the time, says he felt “neither sorrow nor pity. He had caused us such pain. I have no pleasant memories … just memories of pain, violence, confusion.”
After his father’s death, Roger Clinton says he “spun out.” He missed the protective influence of his brother, who was off at college and later became absorbed in politics. At the same time Roger thinks that “perhaps unconsciously” he was trying to escape Bill’s shadow. His drug use became serious. “I was very sick,” he says. “I did a large amount over the previous two years” before he was arrested.
Roger Clinton has worked to get his life back on track. He is now a production assistant in Hollywood on two popular sitcoms, “Evening Shade” and “Designing Women,” produced by Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, former Arkansans and supporters of his brother. His band, called “Politics,” plays warm-up for both shows. He sings a soulful “America the Beautiful” and his music is getting serious attention. Otherwise, he’s a “gofer,” fetching coffee and driving around the bigwigs. “He treats this humble job as if he were guarding gold at Fort Knox,” says Bloodworth-Thomason. “He wants. to prove himself.” Never married, Roger Clinton guards the identity of his latest woman friend. Asked about a recent newspaper account that he had entertained women at the Little Rock governor’s mansion when his brother was away, Clinton says his liaisons were restricted to the guest house. “Of course I would have friends over,” he says. “I’m a guy. I’m human. I’m a heterosexual. And I’m single.”
After all the bashing Bill Clinton has taken in the press, the tables may now be turning a bit in the Clinton family. Roger finds himself taking on the role of his brother’s defender. “I’ve always wanted to be like him. I’ve always revered him,” he says with obvious emotion. “Heck, I don’t know whether my brother will be a good president, but he’s a great brother.” For Bill Clinton, struggling to prove himself with the voters, his oft-troubled younger brother may turn out to be a surprise character witness.
title: “His Brother S Keeper” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-21” author: “Bonita Terrill”
Why did Clinton want the FBI out of the loop? Some close to the ex-president see it as a final chapter in his epic feud with Director Louis Freeh, whom Clinton loathes for his dogged pursuit of administration scandals. Clinton, some officials said, apparently feared that the FBI might try to embarrass him by scuttling his plans to pardon Roger.
But Clinton may have had other motives. Some FBI officials suspect the president had been tipped off to several highly sensitive inquiries in which his half brother’s name figured prominently. Roger Clinton was never charged, but the FBI inquiries included allegations that he sought to peddle influence with his brother’s administration. Roger Clinton’s publicist said he wouldn’t comment. (A Clinton spokeswoman said he was unaware of the FBI inquiries.)
The first probe began four years ago when agents interviewed Birmingham, Ala., businessman John Katopodis. The head of a group promoting a new regional airport, Katopodis, a well-connected Republican, wanted to bring a top federal official to attend a conference on the project. He was approached by Larry Wallace, an Arkansas lawyer who made an unusual offer.
According to FBI reports obtained by NEWSWEEK, Wallace allegedly assured Katopodis he could help secure Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater. But he also wanted something: a job for Roger Clinton. “President Clinton told him [Wallace]… he was concerned about his ‘baby’ brother Roger,” states one FBI interview with Katopodis. Wallace, who did not respond to repeated calls, proposed that Roger receive a $35,000-a-month contract with a private foundation Katopodis helped run. Katopodis balked. “That’s a pretty big consulting fee for someone who plays in a rock band,” Katopodis told NEWSWEEK. He says he later got calls from Roger Clinton himself, pressing for the contract. The FBI wanted him to wear a wire in a meeting with Roger Clinton. But Katopodis said he “wasn’t comfortable with the whole thing.” With that, the case died. (The FBI declined to comment.)
Then, last year, agents looked into allegations that the president’s half brother sought payments for help in arranging pardons. The inquiry was dropped after Justice lawyers spotted a legal problem. Since Roger Clinton wasn’t a federal official, it was not a crime to seek money to deliver action by the government. Roger Clinton may only have been pursuing that most common of Washington trades: lobbyist.
