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The White House travel office controversy, sometimes referred to as Travelgate,〔("Untangling Whitewater" ), ''The Washington Post'' special report, 2000. Retrieved June 5, 2007.〕〔A Google News Archive search conducted July 24, 2011, for the years 1993–2010 found about 10,000 hits for "White House" "travel office" and about 6,000 hits for "Travelgate".〕 was the first major ethics controversy of the Clinton administration. It began in May 1993, when seven employees of the White House Travel Office were fired. This action was unusual because although theoretically staff employees serve at the pleasure of the President and could be dismissed without cause, in practice, such employees usually remain in their posts for many years. The White House stated the firings were done because financial improprieties in the Travel Office operation during previous administrations had been revealed by an FBI investigation. Critics contended the firings were done to allow friends of President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to take over the travel business and that the involvement of the FBI was unwarranted. 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. Further investigations by the FBI and the Department of Justice, the White House itself, the General Accounting Office, the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, and the Whitewater Independent Counsel all took place over the subsequent years. Travel Office Director Billy Dale was charged with embezzlement but found not guilty in 1995. In 1998, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr exonerated Bill Clinton of any involvement in the matter. Hillary Clinton gradually came under scrutiny for allegedly having played a central role in the firings and making false statements about her role in it. In 2000, Independent Counsel Robert Ray issued his final report on Travelgate. He sought no charges against her, saying that she had made factually false statements but there was insufficient evidence her statements were either knowingly false or that she understood that her statements led to the firings. ==The White House Travel Office== The White House Travel Office, known officially as either the White House Travel and Telegraph Office〔("White House – Travel Office Operations" ) GAO Report GAO/GGD-94-132, Government Accountability Office. May 2, 1994.〕 or the White House Telegraph and Travel Office,〔 dates back to the Andrew Jackson administration and serves to handle travel arrangements for the White House press corps, with costs billed to the participating news organizations.〔Toni Locy, ("For White House Travel Office, a Two-Year Trip of Trouble" ), ''The Washington Post'', February 27, 1995. Retrieved June 17, 2007.〕 By the time of the start of the Clinton administration, it was quartered in the Old Executive Office Building, and had seven employees with a yearly budget of $7 million.〔 Staffers serve at the pleasure of the president;〔("Amid Partisan Sniping, Committee OK's Travelgate Report" ), CNN.com, September 18, 1996. Retrieved June 16, 2007.〕〔Online News Hour, ("FBI Files" ), PBS, June 6, 1996. Retrieved June 16, 2007.〕 however, in practice, the staffers were career employees who in some cases had worked in the Travel Office since the 1960s and 1970s, through both Democratic and Republican administrations.〔Robert Ray, ("Final Report of the Independent Counsel ... of Matters Related to the White House Travel office" – Introduction ), United States Government Printing Office, October 18, 2000.〕 Travel Office Director Billy Ray Dale had held that position since 1982,〔 serving through most of the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations, and had started in the Travel Office in 1961.〔 To handle the frequent last-minute arrangements of presidential travel and the specialized requirements of the press, Dale did not conduct competitive bidding for travel services,〔 but relied upon a charter company called Airline of the Americas.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「White House travel office controversy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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