For decades, the Clinton family’s orbit of relatives, donors, and hangers-on has generated a steady stream of ethical questions that somehow always seemed to evaporate before facing real consequences. Newly released FBI records, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the government watchdog group Judicial Watch, reveal that Hillary Clinton’s late brother, Anthony “Tony” Rodham, was the subject of a criminal investigation into wire and mail fraud back in 1996, during the very heart of Bill Clinton’s reelection campaign.
Judicial Watch announced it had received 77 pages of heavily redacted FBI records tied to the investigation, records the bureau sat on for more than two decades despite a FOIA request first filed back in June 2019, just days after Rodham’s death. The watchdog group argued that with Rodham deceased, there was no longer any legitimate justification for the FBI to continue withholding records related to any pending investigation, since his death would have effectively closed the matter. The bureau nonetheless failed to respond, forcing Judicial Watch to file a formal lawsuit in December 2025 to finally pry the documents loose.