President Clinton will today give a grand jury his version of a relationship with Ms Monica Lewinsky, which is widely expected to include an admission of some kind of sex. But he is said to be seeking a formula which would exclude perjury when he denied under oath last January having "sexual relations" with her.
The President may also address the American people after his confidential testimony to explain why he gave a different version under oath last January. He is also being urged to apologise to the country and his family for the pain he has caused in refusing to tell the full truth over the past seven months.
While a number of "advisers" to the President are cited as the sources for the media reports that he will admit to sex with Ms Lewinsky or "an improper relationship", it was also emphasised that Mr Clinton could still change his mind.
The President's personal lawyer, Mr David Kendall, who will be with him when he testifies in the White House, issued a brief statement yesterday saying that there had been "an enormous amount of groundless speculation but the truth is the truth, period. And that is how the President will testify."
The President and Mrs Hillary Clinton attended church as usual yesterday and he waved to onlookers as he got into his limousine. Mrs Clinton wore dark glasses but appeared relaxed.
Bob Woodward, the Washing- ton Post reporter who helped bring down President Nixon over Watergate, reported yesterday in the paper that Mr Clinton in changing his story "must confront a painful obstacle: how to explain his behaviour to his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea."
A person who has spoken to the President and his legal team told Mr Woodward: "He has not prepared the family. He has got a lot of work to do with the family."
But other observers were sceptical that Mrs Clinton has been left in the dark as she has been also one of his legal advisers on how to deal with the investigation by the independent counsel, Mr Kenneth Starr.
Associated Press reported that "a long-time confidant" says the President already has disclosed the relationship with Ms Lewinsky to Mrs Clinton. Advisers who have talked to the Clintons in recent days "said the atmosphere is somewhat tense when the two are together, but the first lady has shown no obvious sign of anger".
The President's testimony will begin at 1 p.m. Irish time in the Map Room of the White House - where President Roosevelt used to follow the movements of second World War armies. The testimony will be relayed by closed-circuit TV to the grand jury in the federal courthouse about a mile away. White House military technicians will "scramble" the transmission to ensure that it is not broken into by unauthorised persons.
The testimony could last four hours or longer, depending on the questioning by Mr Starr's legal team. Mr Starr might not be content with a simple retraction by Mr Clinton of his denial of sexual relations with Ms Lewinsky, if indeed the President does this.
Mr Starr will be even more interested to see if the President obstructed justice or tried to get Ms Lewinsky to commit perjury about their relationship when she testified last January to lawyers for Ms Paula Jones. The President will be closely questioned about presents he gave Ms Lewinsky.
Mr Starr will send a report to Congress if he finds evidence that the President committed impeachable offences, such as perjury. If the President is impeached by the House of Representatives, he would then be tried by the Senate and, if found guilty, would have to resign. But political observers doubt if this stage will ever be reached. The President will more likely finish out his second term, with diminished authority.
Media excitement is reaching fever pitch as the countdown goes on for the President's testimony. The White House will be ringed with TV cameras and reporters today hoping to catch a glimpse of the President's personal lawyers arriving and leaving.
TV talk shows are "All Monica, All the Time", speculating on what the President will do and whether he will address the American people. And political experts are being grilled on whether public support for Mr Clinton will survive an admission by him that he has not told the truth.