The Republican investigation into the Clintons Administration took 8 YEARS of Independent probes costing nearly $80 million April 1, 1999

Independent Counsel Ken Starr's office spent $6.2 million during the six months when wrapping up its case against President Bill Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky matter. With that additional spending, Starr's probe is about to become the most expensive independent counsel inquiry ever.

According to figures released by the General Accounting Office (GAO) Wednesday, Starr's spending increased more than 50 percent over the critical period of April to September, during which Lewinsky was deposed multiple times and Starr was finishing his referral to Congress.

The new expenditures push the cost of the independent counsel's 4 1/2-year inquiry of the president and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to $39.2 million. Starr was appointed to continue the investigation of the Clinton's Whitewater land deal. The probe was expanded in January 1998 to include the Lewinsky matter.

With that total, Starr is closing in on the record for spending by an independent counsel: The $47.4 million spent by Lawrence Walsh on the eight-year investigation of Reagan Administration officials involved in the Iran-contra affair.

Before Starr's appointment, a special counsel appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno had spent $6 million on a probe of Whitewater.

Besides Starr, five other independent counsels were currently conducting investigations. Four of those focus on the Clinton Administration. The combined costs of those four inquiries and the Starr probe now comes to $79.3 million.

The trial in the United States Senate began right after the seating of the 106th Congress, in which the Republican Party began with 55 senators. A two-thirds vote (67 senators) was required to remove Clinton from office. 50 senators voted to remove Clinton on the obstruction of justice charge and 45 voted to remove him on the perjury charge [ lied about letting Lewinski smoking his cigar ]; for which he later apologized, no member of his own Democratic Party voted guilty on either charge. Clinton, like Andrew Johnson a century earlier, was acquitted on all charges.

Clinton (D) - 8 years in office. 2 criminal indictments. one conviction. one prison sentence. that's right nearly 8 years of investigations. tens of millions spent and 30 years of claiming them the most corrupt ever and there was exactly one person convicted of a crime. Jim McDougal, was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in 1996 and sentenced to 3/1/2 years in prison

WILLIAM CLINTON 1993 Thru 2000 The Congressional Budget Office reported a budget surplus between the years 1998 and 2000,the last three years of Clinton's presidency.

The GOP's no-compromise pledge against President Obama Here’s John Boehner, the likely speaker if Republicans take the House, offering his plans for Obama’s agenda: “We're going to do everything — and I mean everything we can do — to kill it, stop it, slow it down, whatever we can.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell summed up his plan to National Journal: “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”

Obama (D) - 8 years in office. zero criminal indictments, zero convictions and zero prison sentences. so the next time somebody describes the Obama administration as "scandal free" they aren't speaking wishfully, they're simply telling the truth.

Richard Nixon — Republican. Ever heard of Watergate? The scandal that became so synonymous with scandal that “gate” is now affixed to anything remotely scandal like. Nixon had to resign and was only saved from prison by a pardon from his hand picked successor. 69 government officials were charged with crimes. This includes his Chief of Staff and multiple members of his cabinet — as high level as it gets. Of course, this was only after his original Vice President was convicted for an unrelated crime (tax evasion — but it was a settlement related to allegedly “accepting more than $100,000 in bribes”).

Nixon (R) - 6 yrs in office. 76 criminal indictments. 55 convictions. 15 prison sentences.

Ronald Reagan — Republican. Ever heard of Iran-Contra? Many high level indictments, including the Secretary of Defense, the Assistant Secretary of State, and two National Security Advisors. Presidents Reagan and Bush claimed they didn’t know anything, though people involved said they did. I only say indictments because Bush pardoned 6 of them before the trials were done. “The presidency of Ronald Reagan in the United States was marked by multiple scandals, resulting in the investigation, indictment, or conviction of over 138 administration officials, the largest number for any U.S. president.

Reagan (R) - 8 yrs in office. 26 criminal indictments. 16 convictions. 8 prison sentences.

George W. Bush — Republican. Too many scandals to name. More than a dozen members of the Bush administration pleaded guilty to federal crimes. Dozens more resigned under dishonorable circumstances, including his Attorney General, White House Counsel, and other senior members of the administration.

Bush, George W. (R) - 8 yrs in office. 16 criminal indictments. 16 convictions. 9 prison sentences