The following is an excerpt from former CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson's recently released book, The Smear: How Shady Political Operatives and Fake News Control What You See, What You Think, and How You Vote:

THE BIRTH OF FAKE NEWS: THE CLINTONS AND THE NEW YORK TIMES

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If you ask people to identify a coming of age for the modern-day smear, it's amazing how many political insiders—both Democrats and Republicans—consider it to be the Clinton era. It's impossible for any outsiders to know exactly how the Clintons became adept at engineering smears to deflect from their controversies 

One of the earliest smear campaigns perpetrated by the Clintons began even before Bill announced he was running for president, when Hillary was busy devising a preemptive strike against women rumored to be involved with her husband. According to journalist Carl Bernstein in his biography A Woman in Charge, Hillary reportedly sought to get sworn statements from women Bill was rumored to have slept with. It was said that she wanted to convince the women to swear they had no relationship with him. She was correct to anticipate trouble.