Linda Medlar
Encyclopedia
Linda Medlar-Jones was a principal figure in a high profile political sex scandal that triggered an exhaustive 2 ½ year, multi-million dollar investigation by the U.S. Office of the Independent Counsel during the first term of U.S. President Bill Clinton
. The principal target of the investigation was her former lover, Housing and Urban Development secretary Henry Gabriel Cisneros of San Antonio, Texas
.
The illicit relationship between Medlar and Cisneros, who were both married at the time, began in 1987 while he was Mayor of San Antonio, and she was a volunteer Mayoral campaign staffer. Medlar, who according to court documents had a long history of mental illness, secretly recorded many of her telephone conversations with Cisneros. These recordings she later sold to Rupert Murdock’s Fox Network television program Inside Edition
for the sum $15,000. In 1994, Medlar entered a lawsuit for $250,000 against Cisneros, accusing him of fraud, breach of contract, and failure to support her. This lawsuit was settled the following year for $49,000.
Court records reveal that Medlar had received a total of $250,000 from Cisneros between 1988 and 1992, prior to his cabinet appointment. These payments continued after Cisneros' Senate confirmation, court documents indicating that she received a total of $79,500 in 1993 alone.
The television broadcast of transcripts of the taped conversations, as well as a televised Inside Edition interview in which Medlar charged Secretary Cisneros with lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, prompted U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno
to call for an independent investigation. As a result of the investigation, a Washington, D.C.
grand jury handed down a 21 count indictment on December 11, 1997. In the 66 page indictment entitled the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. HENRY G. CISNEROS, LINDA D. MEDLAR, SYLVIA ARCE-GARCIA, and JOHN D. ROSALES, Independent Counsel David Barrett brought charges against HUD Secretary Cisneros, his former mistress Medlar, and two of Cisneros’ former employees. Medlar had previously been granted immunity in exchange for her testimony against Cisneros. This was in turn revoked due to false and misleading statements on her part during the criminal investigation.
Medlar was sentenced to prison. Secretary Cisneros pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and served no jail time.
, in a scheme designed to provide her daughter with a homehttp://lubbockonline.com/stories/032698/009-3666.shtml. She was sentenced to four years in prison, and did not appeal the sentence, saying, "I guess there's a sense of relief that this is over with. I take full responsibility for it, but at the time I didn't know it was a crime."http://lubbockonline.com/stories/032698/009-3666.shtml
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. The principal target of the investigation was her former lover, Housing and Urban Development secretary Henry Gabriel Cisneros of San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
.
The illicit relationship between Medlar and Cisneros, who were both married at the time, began in 1987 while he was Mayor of San Antonio, and she was a volunteer Mayoral campaign staffer. Medlar, who according to court documents had a long history of mental illness, secretly recorded many of her telephone conversations with Cisneros. These recordings she later sold to Rupert Murdock’s Fox Network television program Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
for the sum $15,000. In 1994, Medlar entered a lawsuit for $250,000 against Cisneros, accusing him of fraud, breach of contract, and failure to support her. This lawsuit was settled the following year for $49,000.
Court records reveal that Medlar had received a total of $250,000 from Cisneros between 1988 and 1992, prior to his cabinet appointment. These payments continued after Cisneros' Senate confirmation, court documents indicating that she received a total of $79,500 in 1993 alone.
The television broadcast of transcripts of the taped conversations, as well as a televised Inside Edition interview in which Medlar charged Secretary Cisneros with lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, prompted U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno
Janet Reno
Janet Wood Reno is a former Attorney General of the United States . She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1993, and confirmed on March 11...
to call for an independent investigation. As a result of the investigation, a Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
grand jury handed down a 21 count indictment on December 11, 1997. In the 66 page indictment entitled the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. HENRY G. CISNEROS, LINDA D. MEDLAR, SYLVIA ARCE-GARCIA, and JOHN D. ROSALES, Independent Counsel David Barrett brought charges against HUD Secretary Cisneros, his former mistress Medlar, and two of Cisneros’ former employees. Medlar had previously been granted immunity in exchange for her testimony against Cisneros. This was in turn revoked due to false and misleading statements on her part during the criminal investigation.
Medlar was sentenced to prison. Secretary Cisneros pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and served no jail time.
Second run-in with the law
Ten years later, Medlar was convicted of bank fraudBank fraud
Bank fraud is the use of fraudulent means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently representing to be a bank or financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offense...
, in a scheme designed to provide her daughter with a homehttp://lubbockonline.com/stories/032698/009-3666.shtml. She was sentenced to four years in prison, and did not appeal the sentence, saying, "I guess there's a sense of relief that this is over with. I take full responsibility for it, but at the time I didn't know it was a crime."http://lubbockonline.com/stories/032698/009-3666.shtml
External links
- "What a Tangled Web We Weave", American Politics Journal
- "Cisneros Probe: An Indictment Many Years in the Making", Washington Post.com
- "Henry and Linda", The Washington Post Magazine
- Collection of articles from the Washington Post about the Cisneros investigation
- "THE RECKONING-Building Flawed American Dreams", NY Times.com