Pursuant to Section 595(c) of Title 28, the Office of
Independent Counsel (OIC) hereby submits substantial and credible
information that President Clinton obstructed justice during the
Jones v. Clinton sexual harassment lawsuit by lying under oath
and concealing evidence of his relationship with a young White
House intern and federal employee, Monica Lewinsky. After a
federal criminal investigation of the President's actions began
in January 1998, the President lied under oath to the grand jury
and obstructed justice during the grand jury investigation.
There also is substantial and credible information that the
President's actions with respect to Monica Lewinsky constitute an
abuse of authority inconsistent with the President's
constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws.
There is substantial and credible information supporting the
following eleven possible grounds for impeachment:
1. President Clinton lied under oath in his civil case when
he denied a sexual affair, a sexual relationship, or sexual
relations with Monica Lewinsky.
2. President Clinton lied under oath to the grand jury
about his sexual relationship with Ms. Lewinsky.
3. In his civil deposition, to support his false statement
about the sexual relationship, President Clinton also lied under
oath about being alone with Ms. Lewinsky and about the many gifts
exchanged between Ms. Lewinsky and him.
4. President Clinton lied under oath in his civil
deposition about his discussions with Ms. Lewinsky concerning her
involvement in the Jones case.
5. During the Jones case, the President obstructed justice
and had an understanding with Ms. Lewinsky to jointly conceal the
truth about their relationship by concealing gifts subpoenaed by
Ms. Jones's attorneys.
6. During the Jones case, the President obstructed justice
and had an understanding with Ms. Lewinsky to jointly conceal the
truth of their relationship from the judicial process by a scheme
that included the following means: (i) Both the President and
Ms. Lewinsky understood that they would lie under oath in the
Jones case about their sexual relationship; (ii) the President
suggested to Ms. Lewinsky that she prepare an affidavit that, for
the President's purposes, would memorialize her testimony under
oath and could be used to prevent questioning of both of them
about their relationship; (iii) Ms. Lewinsky signed and filed the
false affidavit; (iv) the President used Ms. Lewinsky's false
affidavit at his deposition in an attempt to head off questions
about Ms. Lewinsky; and (v) when that failed, the President lied
under oath at his civil deposition about the relationship with
Ms. Lewinsky.
7. President Clinton endeavored to obstruct justice by
helping Ms. Lewinsky obtain a job in New York at a time when she
would have been a witness harmful to him were she to tell the
truth in the Jones case.
8. President Clinton lied under oath in his civil
deposition about his discussions with Vernon Jordan concerning
Ms. Lewinsky's involvement in the Jones case.
9. The President improperly tampered with a potential
witness by attempting to corruptly influence the testimony of his
personal secretary, Betty Currie, in the days after his civil
deposition.
10. President Clinton endeavored to obstruct justice during
the grand jury investigation by refusing to testify for seven
months and lying to senior White House aides with knowledge that
they would relay the President's false statements to the grand
jury -- and did thereby deceive, obstruct, and impede the grand
jury.
11. President Clinton abused his constitutional authority
by (i) lying to the public and the Congress in January 1998 about
his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky; (ii) promising at that time
to cooperate fully with the grand jury investigation; (iii) later
refusing six invitations to testify voluntarily to the grand
jury; (iv) invoking Executive Privilege; (v) lying to the grand
jury in August 1998; and (vi) lying again to the public and
Congress on August 17, 1998 -- all as part of an effort to
hinder, impede, and deflect possible inquiry by the Congress of
the United States.
The first two possible grounds for impeachment concern the
President's lying under oath about the nature of his relationship
with Ms. Lewinsky. The details associated with those grounds
are, by their nature, explicit. The President's testimony
unfortunately has rendered the details essential with respect to
those two grounds, as will be explained in those grounds.
I. There is substantial and credible information that President
Clinton lied under oath as a defendant in Jones v. Clinton
regarding his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
(1) He denied that he had a "sexual relationship" with Monica Lewinsky.
(2) He denied that he had a "sexual affair" with Monica
Lewinsky.
(3) He denied that he had "sexual relations" with Monica
Lewinsky.
(4) He denied that he engaged in or caused contact with the
genitalia of "any person" with an intent to arouse or
gratify (oral sex performed on him by Ms. Lewinsky).
(5) He denied that he made contact with Monica Lewinsky's
breasts or genitalia with an intent to arouse or
gratify.
On May 6, 1994, former Arkansas state employee Paula Corbin
Jones filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against President
Clinton claiming that he had sexually harassed her on May 8,
1991, by requesting her to perform oral sex on him in a suite at
the Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock. Throughout the pretrial
discovery process in Jones v. Clinton, United States District
Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled, over the President's objections,
that Ms. Jones's lawyers could seek various categories of
information, including information about women who had worked as
government employees under Governor or President Clinton and
allegedly had sexual activity with him. Judge Wright's rulings
followed the prevailing law in sexual harassment cases: The
defendant's sexual relationships with others in the workplace,
including consensual relationships, are a standard subject of
inquiry during the discovery process. Judge Wright recognized
the commonplace nature of her discovery rulings and stated that
she was following a "meticulous standard of materiality" in
allowing such questioning.
At a hearing on January 12, 1998, Judge Wright required
Ms. Jones to list potential trial witnesses. Ms. Jones's list
included several "Jane Does."(1) Ms. Jones's attorneys said they
intended to call a Jane Doe named Monica Lewinsky as a witness to
support Ms. Jones's claims. Under Ms. Jones's legal theory,
women who had sexual relationships with the President received
job benefits because of the sexual relationship, but women who
resisted the President's sexual advances were denied such
benefits.(2)
On January 17, 1998, Ms. Jones's lawyers deposed President
Clinton under oath with Judge Wright present and presiding over
the deposition. Federal law requires a witness testifying under
oath to provide truthful answers. The intentional failure to
provide truthful answers is a crime punishable by imprisonment
and fine.(3) At the outset of his deposition, the President took
an oath administered by Judge Wright: "Do you swear or affirm
. . . that the testimony you are about to give in the matter
before the court is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth, so help you God?" The President replied: "I do."(4)
At the beginning of their questioning, Ms. Jones's attorneys
asked the President: "And your testimony is subject to the
penalty of perjury; do you understand that, sir?" The President
responded, "I do."(5)
Based on the witness list received in December 1997 (which
included Ms. Lewinsky) and the January 12, 1998, hearing, the
President and his attorneys were aware that Ms. Jones's attorneys
likely would question the President at his deposition about
Ms. Lewinsky and the other "Jane Does." In fact, the attorneys
for Ms. Jones did ask numerous questions about "Jane Does,"
including Ms. Lewinsky.
There is substantial and credible information that President
Clinton lied under oath in answering those questions.
A. Evidence that President Clinton Lied Under Oath During the
Civil Case
1. President Clinton's Statements Under Oath About Monica
Lewinsky
During pretrial discovery, Paula Jones's attorneys served
the President with written interrogatories.(6) One stated in
relevant part:
Please state the name, address, and telephone number of
each and every [federal employee] with whom you had
sexual relations when you [were] . . . President of the
United States.(7)
The interrogatory did not define the term "sexual relations."
Judge Wright ordered the President to answer the interrogatory,
and on December 23, 1997, under penalty of perjury, President
Clinton answered "None."(8)
At the January 17, 1998, deposition of the President,
Ms. Jones's attorneys asked the President specific questions
about possible sexual activity with Monica Lewinsky. The
attorneys used various terms in their questions, including
"sexual affair," "sexual relationship," and "sexual relations."
The terms "sexual affair" and "sexual relationship" were not
specially defined by Ms. Jones's attorneys. The term "sexual
relations" was defined:
For the purposes of this deposition, a person engages
in "sexual relations" when the person knowingly engages
in or causes . . . contact with the genitalia, anus,
groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person
with an intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire
of any person. . . . "Contact" means intentional
touching, either directly or through clothing.(9)
President Clinton answered a series of questions about
Ms. Lewinsky, including:
Q: Did you have an extramarital sexual affair with
Monica Lewinsky?
WJC: No.
Q: If she told someone that she had a sexual affair
with you beginning in November of 1995, would that
be a lie?
WJC: It's certainly not the truth. It would not be the
truth.
Q: I think I used the term "sexual affair." And so
the record is completely clear, have you ever had
sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky, as that
term is defined in Deposition Exhibit 1, as
modified by the Court?
Mr. Bennett:(10)
I object because I don't know that he can remember
--
Judge Wright:
Well, it's real short. He can -- I will permit
the question and you may show the witness
definition number one.
WJC: I have never had sexual relations with Monica
Lewinsky. I've never had an affair with her.(11)
President Clinton reiterated his denial under questioning by his
own attorney:
Q: In paragraph eight of [Ms. Lewinsky's] affidavit,
she says this, "I have never had a sexual
relationship with the President, he did not
propose that we have a sexual relationship, he did
not offer me employment or other benefits in
exchange for a sexual relationship, he did not
deny me employment or other benefits for rejecting
a sexual relationship." Is that a true and
accurate statement as far as you know it?
WJC: That is absolutely true.(12)
2. Monica Lewinsky's Testimony
Monica Lewinsky testified under oath before the grand jury
that, beginning in November 1995, when she was a 22-year-old
White House intern, she had a lengthy relationship with the
President that included substantial sexual activity. She
testified in detail about the times, dates, and nature of ten
sexual encounters that involved some form of genital contact. As
explained in the Narrative section of this Referral, White House
records corroborate Ms. Lewinsky's testimony in that the
President was in the Oval Office area during the encounters. The
records of White House entry and exit are incomplete for
employees, but they do show her presence in the White House on
eight of those occasions.(13)
The ten incidents are recounted here because they are
necessary to assess whether the President lied under oath, both
in his civil deposition, where he denied any sexual relationship
at all, and in his grand jury testimony, where he acknowledged an
"inappropriate intimate contact" but denied any sexual contact
with Ms. Lewinsky's breasts or genitalia. When reading the
following descriptions, the President's denials under oath should
be kept in mind.
Unfortunately, the nature of the President's denials
requires that the contrary evidence be set forth in detail. If
the President, in his grand jury appearance, had admitted the
sexual activity recounted by Ms. Lewinsky and conceded that he
had lied under oath in his civil deposition, these particular
descriptions would be superfluous. Indeed, we refrained from
questioning Ms. Lewinsky under oath about particular details
until after the President's August 17 testimony made that
questioning necessary. But in view of (i) the President's
denials, (ii) his continued contention that his civil deposition
testimony was legally accurate under the terms and definitions
employed, and (iii) his refusal to answer related questions, the
detail is critical. The detail provides credibility and
corroboration to Ms. Lewinsky's testimony. It also demonstrates
with clarity that the Pres ident lied under oath both in his
civil deposition and to the federal grand jury.(14) There is
substantial and credible information that the President's lies
about his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky were abundant and
calculating. >
(i) Wednesday, November 15, 1995
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she had her first sexual contact
with the President on the evening of Wednesday, November 15,
1995, while she was an intern at the White House. Two times that
evening, the President invited Ms. Lewinsky to meet him near the
Oval Office.(15) On the first occasion, the President took
Ms. Lewinsky back into the Oval Office study, and they kissed.(16)
On the second, she performed oral sex on the President in the
hallway outside the Oval Office study.(17) During this encounter,
the President directly touched and kissed Ms. Lewinsky's bare
breasts.(18) In addition, the President put his hand down
Ms. Lewinsky's pants and directly stimulated her genitalia (acts
clearly within the definition of "sexual relations" used at the
Jones deposition).(19)
(ii) Friday, November 17, 1995
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she met with the President again
two days later, on Friday, November 17, 1995.(20) During that
encounter, Ms. Lewinsky stated, she performed oral sex on the
President in the private bathroom outside the Oval Office
study.(21) The President initiated the oral sex by unzipping his
pants and exposing his genitals. Ms. Lewinsky understood the
President's actions to be a sign that he wanted her to perform
oral sex on him.(22) During this encounter, the President also
fondled Ms. Lewinsky's bare breasts with his hands and kissed her
breasts.(23)
(iii) Sunday, December 31, 1995
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she met with the President on
New Year's Eve, Sunday, December 31, 1995, after the President
invited her to the Oval Office.(24) Once there, the President
lifted Ms. Lewinsky's sweater, fondled her bare breasts with his
hands, and kissed her breasts. She stated that she performed
oral sex on the President in the hallway outside the Oval Office
study.(25)
(iv) Sunday, January 7, 1996
Monica Lewinsky testified that she performed oral sex on the
President in the bathroom outside the Oval Office study during
the late afternoon on Sunday, January 7, 1996.(26) The President
arranged this encounter by calling Ms. Lewinsky at home and
inviting her to visit.(27) On that occasion, the President and
Ms. Lewinsky went into the bathroom, where he fondled her bare
breasts with his hands and mouth. During this encounter, the
President stated that he wanted to perform oral sex on
Ms. Lewinsky, but she stopped him for a physical reason.(28)
(v) Sunday, January 21, 1996
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she and the President had a
sexual encounter on the afternoon of Sunday, January 21, 1996,
after he invited her to the Oval Office.(29) The President lifted
Ms. Lewinsky's top and fondled her bare breasts.(30) The President
unzipped his pants and exposed his genitals, and she performed
oral sex on him in the hallway outside the Oval Office study.(31)
(vi) Sunday, February 4, 1996
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she and the President had sexual
contact in the Oval Office study and in the adjacent hallway on
the afternoon of Sunday, February 4, 1996.(32) That day, the
President had called Ms. Lewinsky.(33) During their encounter, the
President partially removed Ms. Lewinsky's dress and bra and
touched her bare breasts with his mouth and hands. He also
directly touched her genitalia.(34) Ms. Lewinsky performed oral
sex on the President.(35)
(vii) Sunday, March 31, 1996
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she and the President had sexual
contact in the hallway outside the Oval Office study during the
late afternoon of Sunday, March 31, 1996.(36) The President
arranged this encounter by calling Ms. Lewinsky and inviting her
to the Oval Office. During this encounter, Ms. Lewinsky did not
perform oral sex on the President. The President fondled
Ms. Lewinsky's bare breasts with his hands and mouth and fondled
her genitalia directly by pulling her underwear out of the way.
In addition, the President inserted a cigar into Ms. Lewinsky's
vagina.(37)
(viii) Sunday, April 7, 1996
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she and the President had sexual
contact on Easter Sunday, April 7, 1996, in the hallway outside
the Oval Office study and in the study itself.(38) On that
occasion, the President touched Ms. Lewinsky's breasts, both
through her clothing and directly. After the President unzipped
his pants, Ms. Lewinsky also performed oral sex on him.(39)
This was their last in-person sexual encounter for over nine
months.
(ix) Friday, February 28, 1997
Ms. Lewinsky testified that her next sexual encounter with
the President occurred on Friday, February 28, 1997, in the early
evening.(40) The President initiated this encounter by having his
secretary Betty Currie call Ms. Lewinsky to invite her to the
White House for a radio address. After the address, Ms. Lewinsky
and the President kissed by the bathroom. The President
unbuttoned her dress and fondled her breasts, first with her bra
on and then directly. He touched her genitalia through her
clothes, but not directly, on this occasion. Ms. Lewinsky
performed oral sex on him.(41) On this day, Ms. Lewinsky was
wearing a blue dress that forensic tests have conclusively shown
was stained with the President's semen.(42)
(x) Saturday, March 29, 1997
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she and the President had sexual
contact on the afternoon of March 29, 1997, in the Oval Office
study.(43) On that occasion, the President unbuttoned
Ms. Lewinsky's blouse and touched her breasts through her bra,
but not directly. He also put his hands inside Ms. Lewinsky's
pants and stimulated her genitalia.(44) Ms. Lewinsky performed
oral sex on him, and they also had brief, direct genital-to-genital contact.(45)
(xi) Two Subsequent Meetings
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she met with President Clinton
in the Oval Office study on the morning of Saturday, August 16,
1997. They kissed, and Ms. Lewinsky touched the President's
genitals through his clothing, but he rebuffed her efforts to
perform oral sex. No other sexual acts occurred during this
encounter.(46)
On Sunday, December 28, 1997, three weeks before the
President's civil deposition in the Jones case, the President and
Ms. Lewinsky met in the Oval Office. In addition to discussing a
number of issues that are analyzed below, they engaged in
"passionate" kissing -- she said, "I don't call it a brief kiss."
No other sexual contact occurred.(47)
3. Phone Sex
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she and the President engaged in
"phone sex" approximately fifteen times. The President initiated
each phone sex encounter by telephoning Ms. Lewinsky.(48)
4. Physical Evidence
>Ms. Lewinsky produced to OIC investigators a dress she wore
during the encounter on February 28, 1997, which she believed
might be stained with the President's semen. At the request of
the OIC, the FBI Laboratory examined the dress and found semen
stains.(49) At that point, the OIC requested a DNA sample from the
President. On August 3, 1998, two weeks before the President's
grand jury testimony, a White House physician drew blood from the
President in the presence of a senior OIC attorney and a FBI
special agent.(50) Through the most sensitive DNA testing, RFLP
testing, the FBI Laboratory determined conclusively that the
semen on Ms. Lewinsky's dress was, in fact, the President's.(51)
The chance that the semen is not the President's is one in 7.87
trillion.(52)
5. Testimony of Ms. Lewinsky's Friends, Family Members,
and Counselors
During her relationship with the President, Monica Lewinsky
spoke contemporaneously to several friends, family members, and
counselors about the relationship. Their testimony corroborates
many of the details of the sexual activity provided by
Ms. Lewinsky to the OIC.
(i) Catherine Allday Davis
Catherine Allday Davis, a college friend of Monica
Lewinsky's,(53) testified that Ms. Lewinsky told her in late 1995
or early 1996 about Ms. Lewinsky's sexual relationship with the
President.(54) According to Ms. Davis, Ms. Lewinsky told her that
the relationship included mutual kissing and hugging, as well as
oral sex performed by Ms. Lewinsky on the President. She also
stated that the President touched Monica "on her breasts and on
her vagina."(55) Ms. Davis also described the cigar incident
discussed above.(56) Ms. Davis added that Monica said that she had
"phone sex" with the President five to ten times in 1996 or
1997.(57)
(ii) Neysa Erbland
Neysa Erbland, a high school friend of Ms. Lewinsky's,(58)
testified that Ms. Lewinsky told her in 1995 that she was having
an affair with President Clinton.(59) According to Ms. Erbland,
Ms. Lewinsky said that the sexual relationship began when
Ms. Lewinsky was an intern.(60) Ms. Lewinsky told Ms. Erbland that
the sexual contact included oral sex, kissing, and fondling.(61)
On occasion, as Ms. Erbland described it, the President put his
face in Ms. Lewinsky's bare chest.(62) Ms. Erbland also said that
Ms. Lewinsky described the cigar incident discussed above.(63)
Ms. Erbland also understood from Ms. Lewinsky that she and the
President engaged in phone sex, normally after midnight.(64)
(iii) Natalie Rose Ungvari
Ms. Lewinsky told another high school friend, Natalie Rose
Ungvari,(65) of her sexual relationship with the President.
Ms. Lewinsky first informed Ms. Ungvari of the sexual
relationship on November 23, 1995. Ms. Ungvari specifically
remembers the date because it was her birthday.(66) Ms. Ungvari
recalled that Ms. Lewinsky said that she performed oral sex on
the President and that he fondled her breasts.(67) Ms. Lewinsky
told Ms. Ungvari that the President sometimes telephoned
Ms. Lewinsky late at night and would ask her to engage in phone
sex.(68)
(iv) Ashley Raines
Ashley Raines, a friend of Ms. Lewinsky who worked in the
White House Office of Policy Development Operations,(69) testified
that Ms. Lewinsky described the sexual relationship with the
President. Ms. Raines testified that Ms. Lewinsky told her that
the relationship began around the time of the government furlough
in late 1995.(70) Ms. Raines understood that the President and
Ms. Lewinsky engaged in kissing and oral sex, usually in the
President's study.(71) Ms. Lewinsky also told Ms. Raines that she
and the President had engaged in phone sex on several
occasions.(72)
(v) Andrew Bleiler
In late 1995, Monica Lewinsky told Andrew Bleiler, a former
boyfriend, that she was having an affair with a high official at
the White House.(73) According to Mr. Bleiler, Ms. Lewinsky said
that the relationship did not include sexual intercourse, but did
include oral sex. She also told Mr. Bleiler about the cigar
incident discussed above, and sexual activity in which the man
touched Ms. Lewinsky's genitals and caused her to have an
orgasm.(74)
(vi) Dr. Irene Kassorla
Dr. Irene Kassorla counseled Ms. Lewinsky from 1992 through
1997.(75) Ms. Lewinsky told her of the sexual relationship with
the President. Ms. Lewinsky said she performed oral sex on the
President in a room adjacent to the Oval Office, that the
President touched Ms. Lewinsky causing her to have orgasms, and
that they engaged in fondling and touching of one another.(76) The
President was in charge of scheduling their sexual encounters and
"became Lewinsky's life."(77)
(vii) Linda Tripp
When she worked at the Pentagon, Ms. Lewinsky told a co-worker, Linda Tripp, that she had a sexual relationship with
President Clinton.(78) Ms. Tripp stated that Ms. Lewinsky first
told her about the relationship in September or October 1996.
Ms. Lewinsky told Ms. Tripp that the first sexual encounter with
the President had occurred on November 15, 1995, when
Ms. Lewinsky performed oral sex on him. Ms. Lewinsky told
Ms. Tripp that, during the course of this sexual relationship,
she performed oral sex on the President, the President fondled
Ms. Lewinsky's breasts, the President touched Ms. Lewinsky's
genitalia, and they engaged in phone sex.(79)
(viii) Debra Finerman
Ms. Lewinsky's aunt, Debra Finerman, testified that Monica
told her about her sexual relationship with President Clinton.(80)
Ms. Finerman testified that Ms. Lewinsky described a particular
sexual encounter with the President.(81) Ms. Finerman otherwise
did not ask and was not told the specifics of the sexual activity
between the President and Ms. Lewinsky.(82)
(ix) Dale Young
Dale Young, a family friend, testified that Ms. Lewinsky
told her that she had engaged in oral sex with President
Clinton.(83)
(x) Kathleen Estep
Kathleen Estep, a counselor for Ms. Lewinsky,(84) met with
Ms. Lewinsky on three occasions in November 1996.(85) Based on her
limited interaction with Ms. Lewinsky, Ms. Estep stated that she
considered Ms. Lewinsky to be credible.(86) During their second
session, Ms. Lewinsky told Ms. Estep about her sexual
relationship with President Clinton.(87) Ms. Lewinsky told
Ms. Estep that the physical part of the relationship involved
kissing, Ms. Lewinsky performing oral sex on the President, and
the President fondling her breasts.(88)
6. Summary
The detailed testimony of Ms. Lewinsky, her corroborating
prior consistent statements to her friends, family members, and
counselors, and the evidence of the President's semen on
Ms. Lewinsky's dress establish that Ms. Lewinsky and the
President engaged in substantial sexual activity between November
15, 1995, and December 28, 1997.(89)
The President, however, testified under oath in the civil
case -- both in his deposition and in a written answer to an
interrogatory -- that he did not have a "sexual relationship" or
a "sexual affair" or "sexual relations" with Ms. Lewinsky. In
addition, he denied engaging in activity covered by a more
specific definition of "sexual relations" used at the
deposition.(90)
In his civil case, the President made five different false
statements related to the sexual relationship. For four of the
five statements, the President asserts a semantic defense: The
President argues that the terms used in the Jones deposition to
cover sexual activity did not cover the sexual activity in which
he engaged with Ms. Lewinsky. For his other false statements,
the President's response is factual -- namely, he disputes
Ms. Lewinsky's account that he ever touched her breasts or
genitalia during sexual activity.(91)
The President's denials -- semantic and factual -- do not
withstand scrutiny.
First, in his civil deposition, the President denied a
"sexual affair" with Ms. Lewinsky (the term was not defined).
The President's response to lying under oath on this point rests
on his definition of "sexual affair" -- namely, that it requires
sexual intercourse, no matter how extensive the sexual activities
might otherwise be. According to the President, a man could
regularly engage in oral sex and fondling of breasts and genitals
with a woman and yet not have a "sexual affair" with her.
Second, in his civil deposition, the President also denied a
"sexual relationship" with Ms. Lewinsky (the term was not
defined). The President's response to lying under oath on this
point similarly rests on his definition of "sexual relationship"
-- namely, that it requires sexual intercourse. Once again,
under the President's theory, a man could regularly engage in
oral sex and fondling of breasts and genitals with a woman, yet
not have a "sexual relationship" with her.
The President's claim as to his interpretation of "sexual
relationship" is belied by the fact that the President's own
lawyer -- earlier at that same deposition -- equated the term
"sexual relationship" with "sex of any kind in any manner, shape
or form." The President's lawyer offered that interpretation
when requesting Judge Wright to limit the questioning to prevent
further inquiries with respect to Monica Lewinsky. As the
videotape of the deposition reveals, the President was present
and apparently looking in the direction of his attorney when his
attorney offered that statement.(92) The President gave no
indication that he disagreed with his attorney's straightforward
interpretation that the term "sexual relationship" means "sex of
any kind in any manner, shape, or form." Nor did the President
thereafter take any steps to correct the attorney's statement.
Third, in an answer to an interrogatory submitted before his
deposition, the President denied having "sexual relations" with
Ms. Lewinsky (the term was not defined). Yet again, the
President's apparent rejoinder to lying under oath on this point
rests on his definition of "sexual relations" -- that it, too,
requires sexual intercourse. According to President Clinton,
oral sex does not constitute sexual relations.
Fourth, in his civil deposition, the President denied
committing any acts that fell within the specific definition of
"sexual relations" that was in effect for purposes of that
deposition. Under that specific definition, sexual relations
occurs "when the person knowingly engages in or causes contact
with the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks
of any person with an intent to arouse or gratify the sexual
desire of any person."(93) Thus, the President denied engaging in
or causing contact with the genitalia, breasts, or anus of "any
person" with an intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of
"any person."
Concerning oral sex, the President's sole answer to the
charge that he lied under oath at the deposition focused on his
interpretation of "any person" in the definition. Ms. Lewinsky
testified that she performed oral sex on the President on nine
occasions. The President said that by receiving oral sex, he
would not "engage in" or "cause"(94) contact with the genitalia,
anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of "any person"
because "any person" really means "any other person." The
President further testified before the grand jury: "[I]f the
deponent is the person who has oral sex performed on him, then
the contact is with -- not with anything on that list, but with
the lips of another person."(95)
The President's linguistic parsing is unreasonable. Under
the President's interpretation (which he says he followed at his
deposition), in an oral sex encounter, one person is engaged in
sexual relations, but the other person is not engaged in sexual
relations.(96)
Even assuming that the definitional language can be
manipulated to exclude the deponent's receipt of oral sex, the
President is still left with the difficulty that reasonable
persons would not have understood it that way. And in context,
the President's semantics become even weaker: The Jones suit
rested on the allegation that the President sought to have
Ms. Jones perform oral sex on him. Yet the President now claims
that the expansive definition devised for deposition questioning
should be interpreted to exclude that very act.
Fifth, by denying at his civil deposition that he had
engaged in any acts falling within the specific definition of
"sexual relations," the President denied engaging in or causing
contact with the breasts or genitalia of Ms. Lewinsky with an
intent to arouse or gratify one's sexual desire. In contrast to
his explanations of the four preceding false statements under
oath, the President's defense to lying under oath in this
instance is purely factual.
As discussed above, Ms. Lewinsky testified credibly that the
President touched and kissed her bare breasts on nine occasions,
and that he stimulated her genitals on four occasions.(97) She
also testified about a cigar incident, which is discussed above.
In addition, a deleted computer file from Ms. Lewinsky's home
computer contained an apparent draft letter to the President that
explicitly referred to an incident in which the President's
"mouth [was] on [her] breast" and implicitly referred to direct
contact with her genitalia.(98) This draft letter further
corroborates Ms. Lewinsky's testimony.
Ms. Lewinsky's prior consistent statements to various
friends, family members, and counselors -- made when the
relationship was ongoing -- likewise corroborate her testimony on
the nature of the President's touching of her body. Ms. Lewinsky
had no apparent motive to lie to her friends, family members, and
counselors. Ms. Lewinsky especially had no reason to lie to
Dr. Kassorla and Ms. Estep, to whom she related the facts in the
course of a professional relationship. And Ms. Lewinsky's
statements to some that she did not have intercourse with the
President, even though she wanted to do so, enhances the
credibility of her statements. Moreover, the precise nature of
the sexual activity only became relevant after the President
interposed his semantic defense regarding oral sex on August 17,
1998.
By contrast, the President's testimony strains credulity.
His apparent "hands-off" scenario -- in which he would have
received oral sex on nine occasions from Ms. Lewinsky but never
made direct contact with Ms. Lewinsky's breasts or genitalia --
is not credible. The President's claim seems to be that he
maintained a hands-off policy in ongoing sexual encounters with
Ms. Lewinsky, which coincidentally happened to permit him to
truthfully deny "sexual relations" with her at a deposition
occurring a few years in the future. As Ms. Lewinsky noted, it
suggests some kind of "service contract -- that all I did was
perform oral sex on him and that that's all this relationship
was."(99)
The President also had strong personal, political, and legal
motives to lie in the Jones deposition: He did not want to admit
that he had committed extramarital sex acts with a young intern
in the Oval Office area of the White House. Such an admission
could support Ms. Jones's theory of liability and would embarrass
him. Indeed, the President admitted that during the relationship
he did what he could to keep the relationship secret, including
"misleading" members of his family and Cabinet.(100) The President
testified, moreover, that he "hoped that this relationship would
never become public."(101)
At the time of his civil deposition, the President also
could have presumed that he could lie under oath without risk
because -- as he knew -- Ms. Lewinsky had already filed a false
affidavit denying a sexual relationship with the President.
Indeed, they had an understanding that each would lie under oath
(explained more fully in Ground VI below). So the President
might have expected that he could lie without consequence on the
belief that no one could ever successfully challenge his denial
of a sexual relationship with her.
In sum, based on all of the evidence and considering the
President's various responses, there is substantial and credible
information that the President lied under oath in his civil
deposition and his interrogatory answer in denying a sexual
relationship, a sexual affair, or sexual relations with
Ms. Lewinsky.(102)