The Final Days: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House

Overview

Barbara Olson presents a pointed, investigative account of what she characterizes as the chaotic final months of the Clinton presidency. Drawing on interviews with former administration aides, prosecutors, and other insiders, the book contends that the White House engaged in a pattern of last-minute, politically motivated maneuvers that amounted to abuses of executive power. Olson frames the narrative around a thesis that the administration, beset by scandal and the threat of legal exposure, resorted to desperate tactics as President Clinton neared the end of his second term.
Olson combines journalistic description with polemical argument, offering a chronological reconstruction of events as she sees them and attempting to connect disparate episodes into a larger picture of institutional malpractice. The result is a briskly paced book that moves between detailed anecdotes and broader allegations, always returning to the central claim that the administration's closing actions deserved intense public scrutiny.

Key Episodes and Allegations

A central focus is the pardons controversy, especially the contentious pardon of financier Marc Rich. Olson portrays the decision as emblematic of a broader pattern: decisions influenced by personal ties, political calculations, and attempts to shield allies from legal jeopardy. She describes the internal dynamics that led to a flurry of executive actions in the administration's final days and argues these moves were intended to circumvent accountability mechanisms and reward political friends.
The book also revisits the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the impeachment crisis, treating these events not only as personal scandals but as catalysts for what Olson sees as obstructive behavior by White House staff. She alleges efforts to manage, spin, and, at times, suppress damaging information, and she claims that the pressure of potential legal exposure shaped many administrative decisions. Throughout, Olson relies on named and unnamed sources to reconstruct conversations, memos, and meetings, aiming to show how individual choices aggregated into a pattern of institutional deterioration.

Tone and Impact

Olson's tone is sharply critical and unapologetically partisan; the narrative reads as both investigative reporting and polemic. Her prose emphasizes drama and urgency, with frequent appeals to legal and ethical norms to underscore the gravity of the alleged misconduct. The book is written for readers inclined to view the Clinton years skeptically, and it seeks to translate behind-the-scenes anecdotes into arguments for further investigation and reform.
Reception was sharply divided. Supporters praised the book for compiling testimony and for pressing questions about accountability at the highest levels. Critics challenged Olson's reliance on anonymous sources and disputed some of her interpretations, arguing that the work often presents allegations as more conclusive than the available evidence warrants. Regardless of scholarly consensus, the book played a role in shaping public debate at the time by consolidating a set of criticisms about the administration's final actions and by keeping the controversies in the headlines during a politically charged period.

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