COMPLETE STATIC READING EDITION

Health and family rumors

The concussion, the pneumonia, the fake records, and two paternity stories

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The concussion and “diplomatic illness”

She was hospitalised. The faking charge came before the clot was found.

In December 2012, days before scheduled Benghazi testimony, the State Department said Clinton, ill with a stomach virus, had fainted and suffered a concussion. John Bolton suggested on Fox News she was avoiding Congress, calling it “a diplomatic illness to beat the band”; the State Department hit back. [1][2]

On 30 December she was hospitalised in New York with a blood clot found in a follow-up exam and treated with blood thinners. She testified in January 2013. [2]

The sources

  1. Los Angeles Times: Clinton accused of faking illness to avoid Benghazi testimony, 19 Dec 2012 ↗

    Records the accusation (including John Bolton’s “diplomatic illness” remark) and State’s response.

  2. Los Angeles Times: Hillary Clinton hospitalized with blood clot after concussion, 30 Dec 2012 ↗

    Contemporaneous report with the State Department’s medical statement.

The 9/11 stumble

Real pneumonia, disclosed only after the video.

On 11 September 2016 Clinton left the memorial early and was filmed buckling as she was helped into a van. Her doctor, Lisa Bardack, then said Clinton had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier and had become overheated and dehydrated. [1]

Through 2016, sites claimed she had seizures, citing a head-shake in a June video; the AP reporter who was there said it was an exaggerated joke. [2]

The sources

  1. CBS News: Hillary Clinton diagnosed with pneumonia ahead of 9/11 ceremony, doctor says, 11 Sep 2016 ↗

    Her physician’s statement: diagnosed on the Friday, overheated and dehydrated at the ceremony.

  2. CNN: Hillary Clinton health conspiracy theories explained, 22 Aug 2016 ↗

    Walks through the seizure, Parkinson’s and body-double claims of 2016.

The “leaked” medical records

Forged, with the wrong job title on the letterhead.

In August 2016 documents dated February 2014 and claiming to be from Clinton’s doctor said she had seizures and dementia. Dr. Bardack called them “false.” FactCheck.org noted her title was wrong on the letterhead. [1]

The sources

  1. FactCheck.org: Fake Clinton medical records, Aug 2016 ↗

    Shows the circulated “records” were forged; her physician called them fake.

Danney Williams

A DNA test answered this in 1999.

A 1992 tabloid story said Bill Clinton fathered a son, Danney Williams, with an Arkansas woman. In January 1999 a DNA comparison paid for by the Star tabloid disproved it. The claim resurfaced in 2016. [1]

The sources

  1. Washington Post: The “love child” story turns into an orphan, 11 Jan 1999 ↗

    Contemporaneous report that a tabloid’s DNA comparison found no match.

Chelsea and Webb Hubbell

An internet rumor she answered herself.

A long-running rumor says Chelsea Clinton’s father is Webster Hubbell, a former law partner of Hillary Clinton. Asked at a 2015 book signing, she said: “I am so proud to be my parents’ daughter.” No evidence supports the rumor. [1]

The sources

  1. CBS Los Angeles: Chelsea Clinton, asked about paternity rumors: “I am so proud to be my parents’ daughter” ↗

    Her own answer to the Hubbell rumor.

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