Q&A on the News

Q: When Bill Clinton left the White House in 2001, there were reports that historical items were stolen or destroyed, including furniture and artwork. Was there any truth to this? If so, I am surprised it hasn’t been brought up with Hillary Clinton running for president.

—Pam Marshall, Duluth

A: There was between $13,000 and $14,000 worth of damage done to the White House "complex" during the transition from Clinton's presidency to George W. Bush in 2001.

The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, stated that ”damage, theft, vandalism and pranks did occur” during that time, in a report issued in June 2002, as reported by The New York Times.

The cost of the damages included $4,850 to replace computer keyboards that were missing or had damaged “W” keys.

Glue was smeared on desks, disparaging messages were left on voicemail recordings, a 12-inch presidential seal was stolen and graffiti was left on bathroom walls.

Cleaning offices and repairing items, including broken furniture, cost $9,324. That included replacing missing doorknobs, medallions and office signs – including the presidential seal – at a cost of $3,750 to $4,675, the Times reported.

Permanent White House staff “said they believed that what they observed during the transition, such as broken furniture and excessive trash left behind, was done intentionally,” the report states. The Times reported that the accounting office couldn’t determine “who was responsible for the damage and the pranks.”

Damage also has occurred during other presidential transitions, with the accounting office stating, ”We were unable to conclude whether the 2001 transition was worse than previous ones.”

Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).