Imagine if a Republican administration was caught with the confidential FBI background files of hundreds of past Democratic officeholders stashed in a White House safe. Those were the headlines 28 years ago this week, when the Clinton White House was forced to admit they possessed 338 reports on past Reagan and Bush administration officials (the number was later revised upward to 900).
Despite the obvious appearance of political dirt-digging operation, journalists were content to chalk it up to the “general incompetence” of Clinton’s youthful staff, and instead blasted Republicans for making “ugly” charges in an election year.
The first inkling of “Filegate” came June 5, 1996 when it was disclosed the Clinton White House had sought confidential information on Billy Dale, the former head of the White House travel office, who had been fired seven…
