High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton

10 Deposition of William Jefferson Clinton, Jones v. Clinton, (January 17, 1998) Exhibit 1 (emphasis added).

  11 CBS’s 60 Minutes, January 26, 1992.

  12 Susan Yoachum, “New Flareup Over Singer’s Claim of Affair with Clinton,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 24, 1992.

  13 Interviewer Steve Kroft: “I’m assuming from your answer that you’re categorically denying that you ever had an affair with Gennifer Flowers?”Clinton: “I said that before…. And so has she.”

  Kroft: “You feel like you’ve leveled with the American people?”

  Clinton: “I have absolutely leveled with the American people.”

  CBS’s 60 Minutes, January 26, 1992.

  CHAPTER 4

  1 John M. Broder, “Testing of a President: The Investigation,” New York Times, March 7, 1998; Michael Isikoff and Evan Thomas, “The Secret War,” Newsweek, February 9, 1998; John Harris, “Starr-Lewinsky Talks About Immunity Slow,” Washington Post, February 1, 1998.

  2 Peter Baker, “White House, Changing Tactics, Guards Records; During Fund-Raising Flap, Documents Were Strategically Released to Limit Bad Spin,” Washington Post, February 3, 1998.

  3 Peter Baker and Susan Schmidt, “Clinton Discussed Lewinsky Testimony with His Secretary,” Washington Post, February 6, 1998.

  4 Affidavit of Monica S. Lewinsky, dated January 7, 1998.

  5 Deposition of William Jefferson Clinton, Jones v. Clinton, at 68 (January 17, 1998).

  6 White House records indicate she had been cleared to enter the White House on Sunday, December 28.

  7 John M. Broder, “Testing of a President: The Investigation,” New York Times, March 7, 1998.

  8 John M. Broder, “Testing of a President: The Investigation,” New York Times, March 7, 1998.

  9 John M. Broder, “Testing of a President: The Investigation,” New York Times, March 7, 1998.

  10 “Text of Vernon Jordan’s Statement,” Associated Press, March 5, 1998.

  11 NBC’s Today, January 27, 1998.

  12 Tripp told Newsweek that the talking points sounded like Bruce Lindsey’s words, especially the suggestion that Tripp say she believed Willey had misinterpreted the president’s attempt to console a grieving widow. That talking point stated that the alleged Oval Office groping had taken place “at around the time of her husband’s death. (The president has claimed that it was after her husband died. Do you really want to contradict him?)” Tripp identified the parenthetical as probably coming from Lindsey. Evan Thomas, Martha Brant, and Pat Wingert with Michael Isikoff, “What Made Linda Do It?” Newsweek, March 23, 1998.

  13 Michael Isikoff, “Diary of a Scandal,” Newsweek, January 21, 1998.

  CHAPTER 5

  1 Michael Isikoff, “A Twist in Jones v. Clinton,” Newsweek, August 11, 1997.

  2 See, e.g., Michael Isikoff, “A Twist in Jones v. Clinton,” Newsweek, August 11, 1997.

  3 After the article appeared, Tripp sent a letter to Isikoff clarifying her position, but retracting nothing: “Whatever happened that day in the Oval Office, if anything, is known to only two people.” Seven months and one enormous presidential scandal later, Tripp told Newsweek that the reason she sent the follow-up letter was because, in Newsweek’s words, she “felt pushed” by Lewinsky, “who advised her that it would be a wise career move.” Evan Thomas, Martha Brant, and Pat Wingert with Michael Isikoff, “What Made Linda Do It?” Newsweek, March 23, 1998.

  4 Willey had been volunteering in the White House Social Office, but had requested a meeting with President Clinton to ask for a full-time, paying job in the White House. She and her husband had just signed a note for $274,495 to repay a court judgment against Mr. Willey, who had been found guilty of embezzling that amount from two of his former clients, Josephine Abbott and Anthony Lanasa. According to Isikoff, Willey told others she saw Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen waiting when she came out of the president’s office. Bentsen’s records, Isikoff added, show he had a meeting with Clinton on November 29, 1993, at 3 PM.

  5 Jonathan Peterson and Alan C. Miller, “New Questions Raised Over Willey’s Account,” Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1998.

  6 Michael Isikoff, “A Twist in Jones v. Clinton,” Newsweek, August 11, 1997.

  7 She was apparently taking the FOB lawyers’ line on “relevance” in a sexual harassment case—and meant only that she was not present when Jones met Clinton in the Excelsior Hotel on May 8, 1991. Noticeably, she did not deny having information relevant to President Clinton’s practice of sexually harassing female underlings.

  8 Michael Isikoff, “A Twist in Jones v. Clinton,” Newsweek, August 11, 1997.

  9 See, e.g., Tucker Carlson, “The Scandal That Wasn’t,” The Weekly Standard, August 18, 1997 (“Willey could wind up in the headlines again if Paula Jones’s attorneys succeed in forcing her to sit for a deposition, but it seems likely a judge will quash the subpoena before events get that far.”). The Human Events legal reporter was consistently correct in predicting legal rulings in the Jones case.

  10 Amy Goldstein,“Willey’s Career Path Had a Sharp Upturn,” Washington Post, March 15, 1998.

  CHAPTER 6

  1 Jones’s papers were likely to contain copies of Willey’s deposition transcript, which until then had not been made public on account of Judge Wright’s gag order.

  2 Nor, in fact, would it be the first time the Clinton administration had turned against one of their own to protect the “reputation” of the president. When David Watkins, assistant to the president for management and administration, released a document detailing the first lady’s role in the White House Travel Office firings, the White House reportedly prepared to leak information to the press about Watkins’s own sexual harassment problems.

  3 “Ex-Miss America Apologizes to First Lady Over Alleged One-Night Stand with Clinton,” Associated Press, April 25, 1998.

  4 ABC’s Good Morning America, March 16, 1998.

  CHAPTER 7

  1 James Bennet and Adam Nagourney, “The President Under Fire: The Strategy,” New York Times, January 30, 1998.

  2 ABC’s This Week with Sam and Cokie, February 8, 1998.

  3 ABC’s This Week with Sam and Cokie, February 8, 1998.

  4 Lois Romano, “The Monday Interview; On the Warpath for Clinton,” Washington Post, September 21, 1992.

  5 David Brock, “Living with the Clintons,” The American Spectator, January 1994.

  6 CNN’s Larry King Live, January 27, 1992.

  7 Thomas M. DeFrank and Thomas Galvin, “Inside the Clinton Attack Machine,” The Weekly Standard, August 4, 1997.

  8 William P. Cheshire, “The Story the Media Won’t Touch,” Arizona Republic, February 13, 1994.

  9 A dead dog at that: “I had a dog like that who just wanted to catch cars, and he successfully caught one one day, and I have a new dog. So if they’re insisting on proceeding, we’ll proceed.” NBC’s Meet the Press, June 1, 1997.

  10 Bennett’s bald-faced threat was so openly contrary to a feminist article of faith that he managed to finally flush them out of the bushes on this one. Within a few days, Bennett had retracted his threat to go into Jones’s sexual history, saying “I’m not a fool.”

  11 Defendant Danny Ferguson could have dug up dirt on Paula in order to reduce her damages in the event that she won her defamation claim against Ferguson. The theory is that if she had had a lousy reputation anyway, she didn’t lose much when Ferguson defamed her. Ferguson is the trooper who escorted her to the hotel room and then told The American Spectator that she willingly engaged in a sexual act with Clinton.It would be nice to know who is paying Ferguson’s legal bills.

  12 CBS’s 60 Minutes, March 14, 1998.

  13 Michael Isikoff, “Willey and the Mogul,” Newsweek, March 23, 1998.

  14 Michael Isikoff, “A Twist in Jones v. Clinton,” Newsweek, August 11, 1997.

  15 “Excerpts of Kathleen Willey Letters,” Associated Press (AP Online), March 17, 1998 (May 3, 1993, letter).

  16 Jill Abramson and
Don Van Natta, Jr., “Testing of a President: The Volunteer,” New York Times, March 20, 1998.

  17 See, e.g., Alan C. Miller, “Willey’s Credibility Takes Hits,” Los Angeles Times, March 22, 1998.

  18 “Excerpts of Kathleen Willey Letters,” Associated Press (AP Online) March 17, 1998 (February 14, 1995, letter).

  19 “Excerpts of Kathleen Willey Letters,” Associated Press (AP Online) March 17, 1998 (February 14, 1995, letter).

  20 Michael Isikoff, “A Twist in Jones v. Clinton,” Newsweek, August 11, 1997 (“The cost of her trips to the taxpayers was about $7,000. Frank Provyn, the director of the State Department Office of International Programs, said he was ‘kind of surprised’ to see her on the trip to Indonesia. But, he added, ‘a good way to get yourself into a jam is to ask too many questions when someone comes from the White House.’”).

  21 “Excerpts of Kathleen Willey Letters,” Associated Press (AP Online) March 17, 1998 (December 5, 1995, letter).

  22 Steele is not Willey’s only corroborating witness. In addition to Linda Tripp, USA Today quoted another Willey friend as confirming that Willey had told a similar story to the unnamed friend shortly after the presidential grope. Willey, the friend reported, “said [ Clinton] had given her a big old kiss… and then said something to the effect of ‘I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.’” Peter Eisler, “Willey’s Life Dramatically Altered One Cold Day in Fall,” USA Today, March 11, 1998.

  23 Michael Isikoff, “Newsweek Had Story, But Held It,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, January 23, 1998.

  24 CNN’s CNN Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, March 15, 1998.

  25 Tony Snow, “Will Leak Trip Up Clinton White House?” Detroit News, June 15, 1998.

  26 Donna Abu-nasr, “Pentagon to Investigate Linda Tripp,” Associated Press (AP Online), March 14, 1998.

  27 Elaine Sciolino, “Testing of a President: The Pentagon; Linda Tripp’s Security Form Draws Inquiry,” New York Times, March 14, 1998; CNN’s Larry King Live, May 26, 1998.

  28 Editorial, “Lot of Lying Going on, But Question Is: By Whom?” USA Today, March 16, 1998.

  29 Tim Weiner with Neil A. Lewis, “Testing of a President: The Unraveling,” New York Times, February 9, 1998.

  30 Jay Nordlinger, “Bacon Tripps Up,” The Weekly Standard, May 18, 1998.

  CHAPTER 8

  1 NBC’s Today, March 23, 1998.

  2 Peter Baker, Susan Schmidt, “Starr Subpoenas Lewinsky to Testify,” Washington Post, February 10, 1998.

  3 William Ginsburg with Nathaniel Speights, “Behind the Scenes with Monica,” Time, February 16, 1998.

  4 Doug Ireland, “Of Closets and Clinton,” The Nation, March 30, 1998.

  5 Michael Kelly, “Clinton’s Whisperers,” Washington Post, March 5, 1998.

  6 Lou Chibbaro, Jr., and Lisa Keen, “Clinton Adviser Denies Outing Starr Staffers,” Washington Blade, March 20, 1998.

  CHAPTER 9

  1 CNN’s Larry King Live, June 11, 1998.

  2 Ann Gerhart and Annie Groer, “The Reliable Source,” Washington Post, April 30, 1998.

  3 Peter Baker, “Shrinking Public Role For Lewinsky Attorney; Family May Add Another Lawyer to Team,” Washington Post, May 24, 1998.

  CHAPTER 10

  1 Federalist No. 75, at 453 (Alexander Hamilton). This was not the framers’ expectation for all public servants. Quite different characteristics would define congressmen, for example. The “people’s House,” as the House of Representatives was called, was expected to be a raucous, spirited place. With its many members and short terms of office, the House was designed to have a “fluctuating” and “multitudinous composition,” as Alexander Hamilton put it in Federalist No. 75.

  2 Federalist No. 76, at 455-456 (Alexander Hamilton).

  3 Federalist No. 46, at 296 (James Madison).

  4 Matthew Andrew Rich and Kara Hopkins, “Feminists Still Hypocrites on Clinton’s Character,” Human Events, February 13, 1998.

  5 Gloria Steinem, “Feminists and the Clinton Question,” New York Times, March 22, 1998.

  6 Gloria Steinem, “Feminists and the Clinton Question,” New York Times, March 22, 1998.

  7 CNBC’s Equal Time, February 18, 1998:Buchanan: Oh, no, that adds up perfectly.

  Prof. Estrich: What they do add up is 65 percent right now are saying—70 percent are saying we believe he lied about having a sexual relationship. We think he’s dumb on the matter of sex. But we don’t think a mother should be investigated over it. We don’t think we should have a—a sexual witch-hunt in Salem, Washington, and we’d like to get on with the business of figuring out whether we’re going to war.

  Buchanan: Call it perjury, my friend.

  Prof. Estrich: I call it lying about sex.

  8 Peter Brimelow, “An Interview with Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman,” Forbes, December 12, 1988.

  9 See, e.g., CNBC’s Equal Time, June 10, 1998 (Susan Estrich: “Most Americans believe, for themselves, that some hanky-panky went on here….”).

  CHAPTER 11

  1 Federalist No. 76, at 456 (Alexander Hamilton).

  2 Susan Schmidt, “Papers Detail Clinton Friend’s Contract Push; House Panel Reviews’93 Travel Office Firings,” Washington Post, October 25, 1995.

  3 Matthew Cooper, “The Arkansas Impresarios,” The New Republic, September 9, 1996.

  4 House Report 104-849: “Investigation of the White House Travel Office Firings and Related Matters,” Report by the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, September 26, 1996.

  5 World Wide Travel was owned by the Worthen Bank, which in turn was controlled by the Stephens family. The Riady family held an interest in the bank, where James Riady was once president, and Worthen’s legal work was performed by the prestigious Rose Law Firm.

  6 Steven Heilbronner, “Memo at Variance with White House Explanation on Travel Office,” UPI, May 21, 1993.

  7 House Report 104-849: “Investigation of the White House Travel Office Firings and Related Matters,” Report by the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, September 26, 1996.

  8 Steven Heilbronner, “Memo at Variance with White House Explanation on Travel Office,” UPI, May 21, 1993.

  9 The White House’s own report on the Travel Office firings admitted that Cornelius was copying and smuggling documents out of the office on Watkins’s instructions, to help build a case against the Travel Office employees. Thomas L. Friedman, “White House Rebukes 4 in Travel Office Shake-up,” New York Times, July 3, 1993. Soon after Cornelius began work in the Travel Office, a photocopier repairman had found a copy of a $288,000 check stuck in the machine, suggesting that someone was copying the office’s files. “Later it would be revealed that [Cornelius] was gathering information about charges for charter travel and other matters that she thought might implicate the travel-office staff in wrongdoing.” Kim I. Eisler, “Fall Guy; Everyone Liked Billy Dale, But Clinton Pals Wanted His Job. In the End, Vince Foster Was Dead and Billy Dale Was Ruined. Here’s the Story Behind the Headlines,” Washingtonian, February 1996. Even the General Accounting Office’s whitewash report of the Travel Office firings conceded that Cornelius took papers from the office and brought them home with her.

  10 Kim I. Eisler, “Fall Guy; Everyone Liked Billy Dale, But Clinton Pals Wanted His Job. In the End, Vince Foster Was Dead and Billy Dale Was Ruined. Here’s the Story Behind the Headlines,” Washingtonian, February 1996.

  11 Toni Locy, “Fired Travel Office Director Acquitted of Embezzlement; Dale Charged After Ouster From White House,” Washington Post, November 17, 1995.

  12 David Brock, The Seduction of Hillary Rodham, 374 (1996).

  13 Susan Schmidt, “McLarty Recalls ‘Pressure to Act’ on Travel Office from First Lady,” Washington Post, August 6, 1996.

  14 Susan Schmidt, “Papers Detail Clinton Friend’s Contract Push; House Panel Reviews ’93 Travel Office Firings,” Washington Post, October 25, 1995. See generally Richard L. Berke, “Travel Outfit Tied to Clinton Halts Work for
White House,” New York Times, May 22, 1993 (“During today’s briefing [May 21, 1993], Mr. Stephanopoulos said Mr. Thomason had raised his concerns about the travel staff directly to the President.”).

  15 Susan Schmidt, “Papers Detail Clinton Friend’s Contract Push; House Panel Reviews’93 Travel Office Firings,” Washington Post, October 25, 1995.

  16 House Report 104-849: “Investigation of the White House Travel Office Firings and Related Matters,” Report by the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, September 26, 1996.

  17 House Report 104-849: “Investigation of the White House Travel Office Firings and Related Matters,” Report by the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, September 26, 1996.

  18 Terence Hunt, “White House Trying to Find Where It Went Wrong,” Associated Press, May 26, 1993.

  19 Kim I. Eisler, “Fall Guy; Everyone Liked Billy Dale, But Clinton Pals Wanted His Job. In the End, Vince Foster Was Dead and Billy Dale Was Ruined. Here’s the Story Behind the Headlines,” Washingtonian, February 1996.

  20 House Report 104-849: “Investigation of the White House Travel Office Firings and Related Matters,” Report by the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, September 26, 1996.

  21 Susan Schmidt and Toni Locy, “Papers Detail Clinton Friend’s Contract Push; House Panel Reviews ’93 Travel Office Firings,” Washington Post, October 25, 1995.

  22 House Report 104-849: “Investigation of the White House Travel Office Firings and Related Matters,” Report by the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, September 26, 1996.

  23 ABC’s Good Morning America, May 26, 1993.

  24 Ann Devroy, Al Kamen, “Longtime Travel Office Staff Given Walking Papers,” Washington Post, May 20, 1993.