US President Bill Clinton talks with his brother, Roger Clinton, as US actor Jim Belushi stands by, during a political fundraiser at the “House of Blues” club in Los Angeles. (Getty)
Former President Bill Clinton‘s half-brother, Roger Clinton, who was given a presidential pardon on a 1980s cocaine conviction and earned the Secret Service code name “Headache,” was arrested Sunday night in California on a charge of driving under the influence, police say.
The 59-year-old, was taken into custody in Redondo Beach, CBS Los Angeles reports.
Roger Clinton’s arrest, which is not his DUI charge, comes just days before his sister-in-law, Hillary Clinton, makes her bid for the California Democratic presidential primary against Bernie Sanders.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Roger Clinton Was Arrested After Refusing a Blood Test & Remains in Custody on $15,000 Bail, Cops Say
Roger Clinton was arrested on Sunday on a DUI charge. (Redondo Beach Police)
Roger Clinton was arrested by police in Redondo Beach, California, at about 8 p.m. Sunday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s online records. He was charged with misdemeanor DUI.
He was booked at about 10 p.m. and remains in custody on $15,000 bail. He has not yet appeared in court.
Police said a “concerned motorist” called to report a possible DUI driver heading south on Pacific Coast Highway in an erratic manner, Redondo Beach Police said in a press release. The caller followed the car and gave police updates. Officers eventually caught up with Clinton’s car near the intersection of Torrance Boulevard and South Prospect Avenue, where he was stopped, according to police.
According to TMZ, Roger Clinton refused a blood alcohol test.
2. Bill Clinton Gave Him a Pardon for a 1985 Cocaine Conviction On His Last Day in Office
Roger Clinton in a mugshot from his 2001 DUI arrest.
Roger Clinton has been arrested twice in the past, according to CBS News.
He was sentenced to more than a year in prison in 1985 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute a gram of cocaine. He was pardoned by President Clinton in 2001 on his last day in office.
Only a month after his pardon, Roger Clinton was arrested for driving under the influence in Hermosa Beach, California, according to CBS. He later pleaded guilty to a reckless driving charge and was put on probation.
His attorney at the time, Mark Geragos, told ABC News the younger Clinton was targeted by police because of his brother.
“They obviously knew who he was. I believe he was targeted. I have no doubt that that’s what happened,” Geragos said.
“We don’t target people because of who they are. Clinton was pulled over because of his driving,” Officer Paul Wolcott, a Hermosa Beach police spokesman, told ABC News at the time. He said Clinton was stopped after his SUV was seen weaving down the street after he left a night club.
Clinton was also charged with disorderly conduct because he challenged a bouncer at the club to a fight, according to ABC News.
He was also fined $1,350 after pleading down in that case. “It’s basically the equivalent of two traffic tickets,” Geragos told the New York Times in August 2001, after the plea deal was finalized.
“He was treated no differently,” Hermosa Beach City Prosecutor Kenneth Meersand told the Times.
3. He Is a Singer & Actor & Is Bill Clinton’s Only Sibling
Roger Clinton, singer and brother of President Bill Clinton. (Getty)
Roger Clinton, a singer and actor, is the only sibling of President Bill Clinton. He is the son of Bill’s stepfather, Roger Clinton Sr., and Bill Clinton’s mother, Virginia. He is 10 years younger than his brother.
He performed at “Farm Aid” in 1993. You can see a video of his performance below:
He has had small roles in several movies and TV shows, including Fred Claus, Timon & Pumbaa, The Rugrats Movie, and The Nanny, according to his IMDB page.
He also appeared on Letterman in the 1990s:
About being related to a president, Roger Clinton told the New York Times, “I don’t have a choice of being first brother. It’s not like I’ve been given the option of doing it and I could turn it down. There are times when it’s hard.”
4. He Has 2 Children From 2 Different Relationships
President Bill Clinton holds his one-year-old nephew Tyler, son of the president’s brother Roger Clinton, center, before boarding Air Force One on April 9, 1995 at Los Angeles International Airport. (Getty)
Roger Clinton has two children.
His daughter, Macy, is 24. She was born during a brief relationship with Martha Spivey. In 2010, Macy Clinton, then 18, told Inside Edition that she was living on food stamps in Tennessee.
“It’s hard because I’m a Clinton too but I have to be on food stamps and I have to sacrifice everything just to make it day by day,” she said in a story that ran just before Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. She said her father promised her a $20,000 trust fund, but said she didn’t see any of that money.
Her mother, Spivey, told Inside Edition that Roger Clinton owed $30,000 in back child support at the time of the interview. “It makes me really mad. It makes me hurt. She’s your child,” Spivey said.
In recent years, Bill Clinton has helped pay her cosmetology school tuition, according to the New York Times.
He also has a son, Tyler, who is 22, with his ex-wife, Molly D’Ann Martin. Tyler Clinton graduated from Loyola Marymount University in May. His uncle gave the commencement speech.
5. His Lawyer Has Said He Has No Money & Lives in a House Owned by Bill Clinton
Roger Clinton. (Getty)
Roger Clinton, who lives in Torrance, California, with his dog, Copper, has no money, his lawyer told the New York Times last year. The $857,000 ranch-style house where he currently lives is owned by his half-brother, President Clinton, according to the Times.
He owed more than $100,000 in back taxes at the time the house was bought for him, according to the Times. It is not clear if he has paid up since then.
