There was a lull in the White House sex scandal at the weekend as polls showed the affair does not seem to have damaged President Clinton's standing in the eyes of the American people.
Mr Clinton was at the Camp David presidential retreat. A grand jury investigation was suspended for the weekend.
Mr Clinton left on Friday with his daughter, Chelsea, for the Maryland vacation compound, while the first lady, Mrs Hillary Clinton, embarked on Saturday on a three-day visit to Switzerland, voicing confidence that the scandal would not topple her husband.
The former White House intern at the centre of the scandal, Ms Monica Lewinsky, planned to leave for California next week, her lawyer said. "I'm going to take Monica home this coming week to see her dad," her lawyer, Mr William Ginsburg, told CNN. "Every young lady in times of stress wants to see her dad."
Mr Ginsburg also said Ms Lewinsky (24) "has no intentions of going public in any way whatsoever - (no) news conference, interview or any other way in the immediate future."
The scandal erupted 10 days ago with media reports that the independent counsel, Mr Kenneth Starr, was investigating allegations that Mr Clinton had a lengthy affair with Ms Lewinsky and urged her to deny it under oath.
The White House has been buoyed by new polls suggesting not only that people care more about Mr Clinton's job performance than his private life but also that Mr Starr is incurring rising dislike.
A nationwide survey conducted by the Washington Post and published yesterday, put his approval rating at 67 per cent, while in a poll by the Chicago Tribune, it reached 72 per cent. Newsweek magazine's survey had Mr Clinton's approval rating at 70 per cent and a Time magazine/CNN poll at 68 per cent.
The Washington Post surveyed 1,390 adults from Wednesday through Saturday and found that a majority - 59 per cent - believed Mr Clinton's political enemies were "conspiring" to bring down his presidency by pressing for an investigation into allegations that Mr Clinton may have lied under oath about having a sexual relationship with Ms Lewinsky.
But 56 per cent also agreed that "Clinton has only himself to blame" for the controversy and six in 10 suspect his presidency will be remembered mostly for allegations about his personal life and not for the accomplishments of his administration.