Physical Evidence
Physical evidence conclusively establishes that the President and Ms Lewinsky had a sexual relationship. After reaching an immunity and co-operation agreement with the Office of the Independent Counsel on July 28th, 1998, Ms Lewinsky turned over a navy blue dress that she said she had worn during a sexual encounter with the President on February 28th, 1997. According to Ms Lewinsky, she noticed stains on the garment the next time she took it from her closet. From their location, she surmised that the stains were the President's semen.
Initial tests revealed that the stains are in fact semen. Based on that result, the OIC asked the President for a blood sample.
After requesting and being given assurances that the OIC had an evidentiary basis for making the request, the President agreed. In the White House Map Room on August 3rd, 1998, the White House physician drew a vial of blood from the President in the presence of an FBI agent and an OIC attorney. By conducting the two standard DNA comparison tests, the FBI laboratory concluded that the President was the source of the DNA obtained from the dress.
According to the more sensitive RFLP test, the genetic markers on the semen, which match the President's DNA, are characteristic of one out of 7.87 trillion Caucasians.
In addition to the dress, Ms Lewinsky provided what she said were answering machine tapes containing brief messages from the President, as well as several gifts that the President had given her.
Secrecy and Mutual Understanding
Both Ms Lewinsky and the President testified that they took steps to maintain the secrecy of the relationship. According to Ms Lewinsky, the President from the outset stressed the importance of keeping the relationship secret. In her handwritten statement to this office, Ms Lewinsky wrote that "the President told Ms L to deny a relationship, if ever asked about it. He also said something to the effect that if the two people who are involved say it didn't happen - it didn't happen."
According to Ms Lewinsky, the President sometimes asked if she had told anyone about their sexual relationship or about the gifts they had exchanged; she (falsely) assured him that she had not. She told him that "I would always deny it, I would always protect him," and he responded approvingly. The two of them had, in her words, "a mutual understanding" that they would "keep this private, so that meant deny it and . . . take whatever appropriate steps needed to be taken." When she and the President both were subpoenaed to testify in the Jones case, Ms Lewinsky anticipated that "as we had on every other occasion and every other instance of this relationship, we would deny it".
In his grand jury testimony, the President confirmed his efforts to keep their liaisons secret. He said he did not want the facts of their relationship to be disclosed "in any context", and added: "I certainly didn't want this to come out, if I could help it. And I was concerned about that. I was embarrassed about it. I knew it was wrong." Asked if he wanted to avoid having the facts come out through Ms Lewinsky's testimony in Jones, he said: "Well, I did not want her to have to testify and go through that. And, of course, I didn't want her to do that, of course not."
Cover Stories
For her visits to see the President, according to Ms Lewinsky, "There was always some sort of a cover." When visiting the President while she worked at the White House, she generally planned to tell anyone who asked (including Secret Service officers and agents) that she was delivering papers to the President. Ms Lewinsky explained that this artifice may have originated when "I got there kind of saying, `Oh, gee, here are your letters', wink, wink, wink, and him saying, `Okay, that's good'." To back up her stories, she generally carried a folder on these visits. (In truth, according to Ms Lewinsky, her job never required her to deliver papers to the President.)
On a few occasions during her White House employment, Ms Lewinsky and the President arranged to bump into each other in the hallway; he then would invite her to accompany him to the Oval Office. Later, after she left the White House and started working at the Pentagon, Ms Lewinsky relied on Ms Currie to arrange times when she could see the President. The cover story for those visits was that Ms Lewinsky was coming to see Ms Currie, not the President.
While the President did not expressly instruct her to lie, according to Ms Lewinsky, he did suggest misleading cover stories. And, when she assured him that she planned to lie about the relationship, he responded approvingly. On the frequent occasions when Ms Lewinsky promised that she would "always deny" the relationship and "always protect him", for example, the President responded, in her recollection, " `That's good', or - something affirmative . . . Not - `Don't deny it'." Once she was named as a possible witness in the Jones case, according to Ms Lewinsky, the President reminded her of the cover stories. After telling her that she was a potential witness, the President suggested that, if she were subpoenaed, she could file an affidavit to avoid being deposed. He also told her she could say that, when working at the White House, she had sometimes delivered letters to him, and, after leaving her White House job, she had sometimes returned to visit Ms Currie. (The President's own testimony in the Jones case mirrors the recommendations he made to Ms Lewinsky for her testimony. In his deposition, the President testified that he saw Ms Lewinsky "on two or three occasions" during the November 1995 government furlough, "one or two other times when she brought some documents to me", and "sometime before Christmas" when Ms Lewinsky "came by to see Betty".)
In his grand jury testimony, the President acknowledged that he and Ms Lewinsky "might have talked about what to do in a non-legal context" to hide their relationship, and that he "might well have said" that Ms Lewinsky should tell people that she was bringing letters to him or coming to visit Ms Currie. But he also stated that "I never asked Ms Lewinsky to lie".
Steps to Avoid Being Seen or Heard
After their first two sexual encounters during the November 1995 government shutdown, according to Ms Lewinsky, her encounters with the President generally occurred on weekends, when fewer people were in the West Wing. Ms Lewinsky testified: "He had told me . . . that he was usually around on the weekends and that it was okay to come see him on the weekends. So he would call and we would arrange either to bump into each other in the hall or that I would bring papers to the office." From some of the President's comments, Ms Lewinsky gathered that she should try to avoid being seen by several White House employees, including Nancy Hernreich, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Oval Office Operations, and Stephen Goodin, the President's personal aide. Out of concern about being seen, the sexual encounters most often occurred in the windowless hallway outside the study.
According to Ms Lewinsky, the President was concerned that the two of them might be spotted through a White House window. When they were in the study together in the evenings, he sometimes turned out the light. Once, when she spotted a gardener outside the study window, they left the room.
Ms Lewinsky testified that, on December 28th, 1997, "when I was getting my Christmas kiss" in the doorway to the study, the President was "looking out the window with his eyes wide open while he was kissing me and then I got mad because it wasn't very romantic". He responded: "Well, I was just looking to see to make sure no one was out there."
Fear of discovery constrained their sexual encounters in several respects, according to Ms Lewinsky. The President ordinarily kept the door between the private hallway and the Oval Office several inches ajar during their encounters, both so that he could hear if anyone approached and so that anyone who did approach would be less likely to suspect impropriety. During their sexual encounters, Ms Lewinsky testified, "We were both aware of the volume and sometimes . . . I bit my hand - so that I wouldn't make any noise."
On one occasion, according to Ms Lewinsky, the President put his hand over her mouth during a sexual encounter to keep her quiet. Concerned that they might be interrupted abruptly, according to Ms Lewinsky, the two of them never fully undressed.
While noting that "the door to the hallway was always somewhat open", the President testified that he did try to keep the intimate relationship secret: "I did what people do when they do the wrong thing. I tried to do it where nobody else was looking at it."
On Wednesday, January 21, 1998, the Washington Post published a story entitled "Clinton Accused of Urging Aide to Lie; Starr Probes Whether President Told Woman to Deny Alleged Affair to Jones's Lawyers." The White House learned the essentials of the story on the night of January 20, 1998. President Clinton placed a number of phone calls that night and the following morning. From 12:08 a.m. to 12:39 a.m., he spoke with his personal attorney, Robert Bennett. Mr Bennett would be quoted in the Post article as saying "The President adamantly denies he ever had a relationship with Ms Lewinsky and she has confirmed the truth of that." He added: "This story seems ridiculous and I frankly smell a rat." Immediately after his call to Mr Bennett, President Clinton called Deputy White House Counsel Bruce Lindsey; they spoke for about half an hour, until 1:10 a.m. At 1:16 a.m., the President called Ms Currie at home and spoke to her for 20 minutes. Ms Currie testified that the President was concerned that her name was mentioned in the Post article. Soon after this call, the President called Mr Lindsey. A few hours later, at approximately 6:30 a.m., the President called Mr Jordan in New York City to tell him, according to Mr Jordan, that the story was untrue. From 7:14 a.m. to 7:22 a.m., the President spoke again with Mr Lindsey.
Responding to the story that day, the White House issued a statement, personally approved by the President, declaring that he 'was "outraged by these allegations" and that "he has never had an improper relationship with this woman." White House spokesperson Mike McCurry said that the statement was prepared by the Counsel's office, and I "reviewed it with the President to make sure that it reflected what he wanted me to say . . He looked at it, and he said fine . . . It was prepared in consultation between the lawyers and the President. The Counsel's Office gave it to me. I wanted to, of course, verify that that's exactly what the President wanted me to say."
Denials to Aides
According to Mr Lindsey, the remainder of the morning was spent in a series of meetings about the Lewinsky matter, including preparing the President for anticipated Lewinsky-related questions in three previously scheduled media interviews. At these meetings, President Clinton denied the allegations to several of his top aides.
The President met with Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, along with his two deputies, John Podesta and Sylvia Matthews. According to Mr Bowles, the President told them "I want you to know I did not have sexual relationships with this woman, Monica Lewinsky. I did not ask anybody to lie. And when the facts come out, you'll understand." The President made a similar denial that morning to Harold Ickes, his former Deputy Chief of Staff. The President also discussed the matter with Ms Currie for a second time. According to Ms Currie, the President called her into the Oval Office and gave a "sort of a recapitulation of what we had talked about on Sunday - you know, `I was never alone with her' - that sort of thing." The President spoke with the same tone and demeanour that he used during his previous session with her. Ms Currie testified that the President may have mentioned that she might be asked about Ms Lewinsky. Later that day, the President summoned Sidney Blumenthal to the Oval Office. They spoke for about 30 minutes. The President said to Mr Blumenthal "I haven't done anything wrong." Mr Blumenthal testified that the President told him "Monica Lewinsky came on to me and made a sexual demand on me." The President said that he "rebuffed her." The President also told Mr Blumenthal that Ms Lewinsky had "threatened him. She said that she would tell people they'd had an affair, that she was known as the stalker among her peers, and that she hated it and if she had an affair or said she had an affair then she wouldn't be the stalker any more." Mr Blumenthal then asked the President whether he and Ms Lewinsky were alone when she threatened him. The President responded "Well, I was within eyesight or earshot of someone." According to Mr Blumenthal, the President complained "I feel like a character in a novel. I feel like somebody who is surrounded by an oppressive force that is creating a lie about me and I can't get the truth out. I feel like the character in the novel Darkness at Noon."
Soon thereafter, in the course of a meeting about the progress of the President's State of the Union address, the President made a second denial of the allegations to Mr Podesta. Mr Podesta testified: (He) said to me that he had never had sex with her, and that - and that he never asked - you know, he repeated the denial, but he was extremely explicit in saying he never had sex with her . . . Well, I think he said - he said that - there was some spate of, you know, what sex acts were counted, and he said that he had never had sex with her in any way whatsoever - that they had not had oral sex.
The President was asked during his grand jury appearance whether he recalled denying a sexual relationship with Ms Lewinsky to his senior aides and advisers, including Mr Bowles, Mr Podesta, Mr Blumenthal, Mr Ickes, and Mr Jordan. The President did not recall specific details but did remember the following: I met with certain people, and to a few of them I said I didn't have sex with Monica Lewinsky, or I didn't have an affair with her or something like that. I had a very careful thing I said, and I tried not to say anything else . . . I remember that I issued a number of denials to people that I thought needed to hear them, but I tried to be careful and to be accurate.
Qualified his answer
And I believe, sir, that - you'll have to ask them what they thought. But I was using those terms in the normal way people use them.
The President testified that he had said "things that were true about this relationship. That I used - in the language I used, I said, there's nothing going on between us. That was true. I said I did not have sex withher as I defined it. That was true." The President qualified this answer, however: "I said things that were true. They may have been misleading, and if they were I have to take responsibility for it, and I'm sorry."
Initial Denials to the American Public
On the afternoon of January 21, the President made his first of a series of previously scheduled media appearances. In an interview on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, the following colloquy took place: Q: Mr President . . . many Americans woke up to the news today that the Whitewater independent counsel is investigating an allegation that you . . . encouraged a young woman to lie to lawyers in the Paula Jones civil suit. Is there any truth to that allegation?
WJC: No, sir, there's not. It's just not true.
Q: Is there any truth to the allegation of an affair between you and the young woman?
WJC: No. That's not true either. . . . The charges are not true. And I haven't asked anybody to lie.
That evening, the President appeared on the PBS programme, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. He was asked again whether the allegation of an affair with a White House intern was true. The President replied "That is not true. That is not true. I did not ask anyone to tell anything other than the truth. There is no improper relationship. And I intend to co-operate with this inquiry. But that is not true." When asked to define what he meant by the term "improper relationship", the President answered, "Well, I think you know what it means. It means that there is not a sexual relationship, an improper sexual relationship, or any other kind of improper relationship." The following morning, on January 22, 1998, the President again denied he had done anything improper. Speaking at a televised White House photo opportunity with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, the President stated: "The allegations are false, and I would never ask anybody to do anything other than tell the truth. That is false."
The President also gave an interview to Roll Call that day. He stated: "The relationship was not improper, and I think that's important enough to say . . . But let me answer - it is not an improper relationship and I know what the word means . . . The relationship was not sexual. And I know what you mean, and the answer is no."
At each of these interviews, the President pledged he would co-operate fully with the investigation. On NPR, the President stated "I have told people that I would co-operate in the investigation, and I expect to co-operate with it. I don't know any more about it, really, than you do. But I will co-operate . . . I'm doing my best to co-operate with the investigation." To Mr Lehrer, he said: "We are doing the best to co-operate here, but we don't know much yet . . . I think it's important that we co-operate, I will co-operate, but I want to focus on the work at hand."
In his photo opportunity with Mr Arafat, the President stated: "The American people have a right to get answers. We are working very hard to comply, get all the requests for information up here. And we will give you asmany answers as we can, as soon as we can, at the appropriate time, consistent with our obligation to also co-operate with the investigations. And that's not a dodge; that's really what I've - I've talked with our people. I want to do that. I'd like for you to have more rather than less, sooner rather than later. So we will work through it as quickly as we can and get all those questions out there to you." (1137)
Finally, in his Roll Call interview, the President vowed: "I'm going to co-operate with this investigation . . . And I'll co-operate."
"We Just Have To Win"
Amidst the flurry of press activity on January 21, 1998, the President's former political consultant, Dick Morris, read the Washington Post story and called the President. According to Mr Morris, he told the President "You poor son of a bitch. I've just read what's going on." The President responded, Mr Morris recalled, "Oh, God. This is just awful . . . I didn't do what they said I did, but I did do something. I mean, with this girl, I didn't do what they said, but I did . . . do something . . . And I may have done enough so that I don't know if I can prove my innocence . . . There may be gifts. I gave her gifts . . . and there may be messages on her phone answering machine."
Mr Morris assured the President "there's a great capacity for forgiveness in this country and you should consider tapping into it." The President said "But what about the legal thing? You know, the legal thing? You know, Starr and perjury and all . . . You know, ever since the election, I've tried to shut myself down. I've tried to shut my body down, sexually, I mean . . . But sometimes I slipped up and with this girl I just slipped up." Mr Morris suggested that he take a poll on the voters' willingness to forgive confessed adultery. The President agreed. Mr Morris telephoned the President later that evening with the poll results, which showed that the voters were "willing to forgive [the President] for adultery, but not for perjury or obstruction of justice." When Mr Morris explained that the poll results suggested that the President should not go public with a confession or explanation, he replied "Well, we just have to win, then."
The President had a follow-up conversation with Mr Morris during the evening of January 22, 1998, when Mr Morris was considering holding a press conference to "blast Monica Lewinsky `out of the water."' The President told Mr Morris to "be careful". According to Mr Morris, the President warned him not to "be too hard on [Ms Lewinsky] because there's some slight chance that she may not be co-operating with Starr and we don't want to alienate her by anything we're going to put out." Meanwhile, in California, the President's good friend and Hollywood producer, Harry Thomason, had seen the President's interview with Jim Lehrer on televison. Mr Thomason, who had occasionally advised the President on matters relating to the media, travelled to Washington, D.C., and met with him the next day. Mr Thomason told the President that "the press seemed to be saying that [the President's comments were] weak" and that he, Mr Thomason, "thought his response wasn't as strong as it could have been." Mr Thomason recommended that the President "should explain it so there's no doubt in anybody's mind that nothing happened." The President agreed: "You know, you're right. I should be more forceful than that."
In the ensuing days, the President, through his Cabinet, issued a number of firm denials. On January 23, 1998, the President started a Cabinet meeting by saying the allegations were untrue. Afterward, several Cabinet members appeared outside the White House. Madeline Albright, Secretary of State, said "I believe that the allegations are completely untrue." The others agreed. "I'll second that, definitely," Commerce Secretary William Daley said. Secretary of Education Richard Riley and Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala concurred.
The next day, Ann Lewis, White House Communications Director, publicly announced that "those of us who have wanted to go out and speak on behalf of the president" had been given the green light by the President's legal team. She reported that the President answered the allegations "directly" by denying any improper relationship. She believed that, in issuing his public denials, the President was not "splitting hairs, defining what is a sexual relationship, talking about `is' rather than was. You know, I always thought, perhaps I was naive, since I've come to Washington, when you said a sexual relationship, everybody knew what that meant." Ms Lewis expressly said that the term includes "oral sex."
"I'm going to say this again"
On Monday, January 26, 1998, in remarks in the Roosevelt Room in the White House, President Clinton gave his last public statement for several months on the Lewinsky matter. At an event promoting after-school health care, the President denied the allegations in the strongest terms: "I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time. Never. These allegations are false."