Robert W. Palmer facts for kids
Robert W. Palmer was a land appraiser who worked for a company called Madison Guaranty. He admitted to being part of a plan that wasn't right, which was connected to something called the Whitewater investigation. Later, President Bill Clinton gave him a pardon, which means he was officially forgiven for his actions.
As a land appraiser, Robert Palmer's job was to estimate the value of land and buildings. He admitted that he worked with Jim McDougal and others at Madison Guaranty, a savings and loan company. They were involved in a plan to make the value of properties seem much higher than they actually were. This was done to get bigger loans. The land in question was part of the Whitewater property, which Bill Clinton and Jim McDougal had bought together in 1978.
Investigators also learned that Palmer made inflated estimates for loans given to Governor Jim Guy Tucker of Arkansas. These false land values made Madison Guaranty's financial records look better than they really were. It was said that Palmer did most of the appraisals for Madison, and many of them were inflated. For example, one appraisal was for a $1.05 million loan to Governor Tucker and a partner to buy a water and sewer system for a property called Castle Grande. Later, experts found that the system was worth only about half of that loan amount. When the loan couldn't be paid back, it caused a big financial problem for Madison Guaranty.
David Hale, who was a banker in Arkansas, told investigators that an appraisal by Palmer helped him with his own money problems. This appraisal was for a loan of $825,000 from Madison for a restaurant called Etta's Place and two other lots. Hale said this loan helped him give an improper loan to Susan McDougal. He claimed he made this $300,000 loan because of pressure from Governor Clinton and Jim McDougal, but Mr. Clinton denied this.
Jim McDougal ran Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan starting in 1982. The company faced problems and failed in the late 1980s. Because it was a federally insured savings and loan, taxpayers ended up paying for the company's financial losses, which were about $68 million.
Robert Palmer admitted to his part in the plan on December 6, 1994.
Presidential Pardon
On January 20, 2001, which was the very last day of his time as president, Bill Clinton gave a pardon to Robert Palmer. This was one of 140 pardons that President Clinton issued on that day. A federal prosecutor named Mary Jo White was asked to look into these pardons. Later, she was replaced by James Comey, who would later become the director of the FBI. After looking into it, James Comey found that President Clinton had not done anything wrong regarding the pardons.
