IX. October-November 1997:
United Nations' Job Offer
Having learned that she would not be able to return to the
White House, Ms. Lewinsky sought the President's help in finding
a job in New York City. The President offered to place her at
the United Nations. After initial enthusiasm, Ms. Lewinsky
cooled on the idea of working at the U.N., and she prodded the
President to get her a job in the private sector.
A. October 10: Telephone Conversation
According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President telephoned her at
approximately 2:00 to 2:30 a.m. on Friday, October 10.<(591) They
spent much of the hour-and-a-half call arguing. "[H]e got so mad
at me, he must have been purple," she later recalled.<(592)
According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President said: "If I had
known what kind of person you really were, I wouldn't have gotten
involved with you."<(593) He reminded Ms. Lewinsky that she had
earlier promised, "[i]f you just want to stop doing this, I'll
. . . be no trouble."<(594) Ms. Lewinsky said she challenged the
President: "[T]ell me . . . when I've caused you trouble."<(595)
The President responded, "I've never worried about you. I've
never been worried you would do something to hurt me."<(596)
When the conversation shifted to her job search, Ms.
Lewinsky complained that the President had not done enough to
help her. He responded that, on the contrary, he was eager to
help.<(597) The President said that he regretted Ms. Lewinsky's
transfer to the Pentagon and assured her that he would not have
permitted it had he foreseen the difficulty in returning her to
the White House.<(598) Ms. Lewinsky told him that she wanted a job
in New York by the end of October, and the President promised to
do what he could.<(599)
B. October 11 Meeting
At approximately 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 11,
according to Ms. Lewinsky, Ms. Currie called and told her that
the President wished to see her.<(600) Ms. Lewinsky entered the
White House at 9:36 a.m. and departed at 10:54 a.m.<(601) The
President entered the Oval Office at 9:52 a.m.<(602)
Ms. Lewinsky met with the President in the study, and they
discussed her job search.<(603) Ms. Lewinsky told the President that
she wanted to pursue jobs in the private sector, and he told her
to prepare a list of New York companies that interested her.<(604)
Ms. Lewinsky asked the President whether Vernon Jordan, a well-known Washington attorney who she knew was a close friend of the
President and had many business contacts, might help her find a
job.<(605) According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President was receptive to
the idea.<(606)
In a recorded conversation, Ms. Lewinsky said that, at the
end of the October 11 meeting, she and the President joined Ms.
Currie in the Oval Office. The President grabbed Ms. Lewinsky's
arm and kissed her on the forehead.<(607) He told her: "I talked to
Erskine [Bowles] about . . . trying to get John Hilley to give
you . . . a good recommendation for your work here."<(608)
Later, Ms. Lewinsky and Ms. Tripp discussed their concerns
about the President's involvement in Ms. Lewinsky's job search.
Specifically, Ms. Lewinsky was nervous about involving the
President's Chief of Staff:
Ms. Lewinsky: Well, see, I don't really think -- I'm
going to tell him that I don't think Erskine should have
anything to do with this. I don't think anybody who works
there should.
Ms. Tripp: I don't see how that's -- how that's a
problem.
Ms. Lewinsky: Because look at what happened with Webb
Hubbell.<(609)
Ms. Lewinsky preferred that Vernon Jordan assist her in her job
search:
Ms. Tripp: Well, I don't remember during the Webb
Hubbell thing, was Vernon mentioned?
Ms. Lewinsky: Yeah, but there's a big difference. I
think somebody could construe, okay? Somebody could
construe or say, "Well, they gave her a job to shut her up.
They made her happy. . . . And he [Mr. Bowles] works for
the government and shouldn't have done that." And with the
other one [Mr. Jordan] you can't say that.<(610)
C. October 16-17: The "Wish List"
On October 16, Ms. Lewinsky sent the President a packet,
which included what she called a "wish list" describing the types
of jobs that interested her in New York City.<(611) The note began:
My dream had been to work in Communications
or Strategic Planning at the White House. I
am open to any suggestions that you may have
on work that is similar to that or may
intrigue me. The most important things to me
are that I am engaged and interested in my
work, I am not someone's administrative/
executive assistant, and my salary can
provide me a comfortable living in NY.<(612)
She identified five public relations firms where she would like
to work.<(613) Ms. Lewinsky concluded by saying of the United
Nations:
I do not have any interest in working there.
As a result of what happened in April '96, I
have already spent a year and a half at an
agency in which I have no interest. I want a
job where I feel challenged, engaged, and
interested. I don't think the UN is the
right place for me.<(614)
In a recorded conversation, Ms. Lewinsky said she wanted the
President to take her list seriously and not ask her to settle
for a U.N. job.<(615) She said she hoped "that if he starts to pick
a bone with me and the U.N., he sure as hell doesn't do it on the
phone. . . . I don't want to start getting into a screaming
match with him on the phone."<(616)
In addition to the "wish list," Ms. Lewinsky said she
enclosed in the packet a pair of sunglasses and "a lot of things
in a little envelope," including some jokes, a card, and a
postcard.<(617) She said that she had written on the card: "Wasn't
I right that my hugs are better in person than in cards?"<(618) The
postcard featured a "very erotic" Egon Schiele painting.<(619) Ms.
Lewinsky also enclosed a note with her thoughts on education
reform.<(620)
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she felt that the President owed
her a job for several reasons: Her relationship with him was the
reason she had been transferred out of the White House; he had
promised her a job and so far had done nothing to help her find
one; and she had left the White House "quietly," without making
an issue of her relationship with the President.<(623)
D. The President Creates Options
At some point around this time in the fall of 1997,
Ms. Currie asked John Podesta, the Deputy Chief of Staff, to help
Ms. Lewinsky find a job in New York.<(624) Mr. Podesta testified
that, during a Presidential trip to Latin America, he approached
then-U.N. Ambassador William Richardson while aboard Air Force
One and asked the Ambassador to consider a former White House
intern for a position at the U.N.<(626) At the time, Mr. Podesta
could not recall the intern's name.<(627) Ambassador Richardson and
the President both testified that they never discussed Ms.
Lewinsky with each other.<(628)
Ambassador Richardson returned from Latin America on Sunday,
October 19.<(629) Within a few days, his Executive Assistant,
Isabelle Watkins, called Mr. Podesta's secretary and asked
whether "she knew anything about a resume that John was going to
send us."<(630) Mr. Podesta's secretary knew nothing about it and
asked Mr. Podesta what to do; he instructed her to call
Ms. Currie.<(631) At 3:09 p.m. on October 21, Ms. Currie faxed Ms.
Lewinsky's resume to the United Nations.<(632)
At 7:01 p.m., a six-minute call was placed to Ms. Lewinsky's
apartment from a U.N. telephone number identified in State
Department records as "Ambassador Richardson's line."<(633) Ms.
Lewinsky testified that she spoke to Ambassador Richardson. A
woman called, Ms. Lewinsky testified, and said, "[H]old for
Ambassador Richardson."<(634) Then the Ambassador himself came on
the line: "I remember, because I was shocked and I was . . .
very nervous."<(635) The purpose of the call was to schedule a job
interview at a Watergate apartment the following week.<(636) At odds
with Ms. Lewinsky, the Ambassador and Ms. Watkins both testified
that Ms. Watkins, not the Ambassador, spoke with Ms. Lewinsky.<(637)
A few days later, according to Ms. Lewinsky, the President
called her. She had been upset because no one at the White House
had prepared her for the Ambassador's recent call and because she
did not want the White House to railroad her into taking the U.N.
job.<(638) She reiterated that she was eager to pursue other
opportunities, especially in the private sector.<(639) The President
reassured her, promising that a U.N. position was just one of
many options.<(640)
Ms. Lewinsky spoke to the President again one week later.
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she told Ms. Currie to ask the
President to call her to assuage her nervousness before the U.N.
interview.<(641)
According to Ms. Lewinsky, on October 30, the night before
the interview, the President did call. She characterized the
conversation as a "pep talk": "[H]e was trying to kind of build
my confidence and reassure me."<(642) The President told her to call
Ms. Currie after the interview.<(644) In his Jones deposition, the
President indicated that he learned of her interview with
Ambassador Richardson not from Ms. Lewinsky herself but from Ms.
Currie.<(645)
E. The U.N. Interview and Job Offer
On Friday morning, October 31, Ambassador Richardson and two
of his assistants, Mona Sutphen and Rebecca Cooper, interviewed
Ms. Lewinsky at the Watergate.<(646) According to Ambassador
Richardson, he "listen[ed] while Mona and Rebecca were
interviewing her."<(647) Neither Ambassador Richardson nor any of
his staff made inquiries, before or after the interview, about
Ms. Lewinsky's prior work performance.<(648)
On Sunday, November 2, Ms. Lewinsky drafted a letter to Ms.
Currie asking what to do in the event she received an offer from
the U.N.<(649) She wrote:
I became a bit nervous this weekend when I
realized that Amb. Richardson said his staff
would be in touch with me this week. As you
know, the UN is supposed to be my back-up,
but because VJ [Vernon Jordan] has been out
of town, this is my only option right now.
What should I say to Richardson's people this
week when they call?<(650)
Ms. Lewinsky asked Ms. Currie to speak to the President about her
problem: "If you feel it's appropriate, maybe you could ask 'the
big guy' what he wants me to do. Ahhhhh . . . anxiety!!!!!"<(651)
Ms. Lewinsky also mentioned the President's promise to involve
Vernon Jordan in her job search:
I don't think I told you that in my
conversation last Thursday night with him
that he said that he would ask you to set up
a meeting between VJ and myself, once VJ got
back. I assume he'll mention this to you at
some point -- hopefully sooner rather than
later!<(652)
Before Ms. Lewinsky sent this letter, in her recollection,
she received an offer from the U.N.<(653) Phone records reflect
that, at 11:02 a.m. on November 3, a three-minute call was placed
to Ms. Lewinsky from the U.N. line identified in State Department
records as Ambassador Richardson's.<(654) Ms. Lewinsky stated that
she believes she spoke to Ambassador Richardson, who extended her
a job offer.<(655)
According to his assistant, Ambassador Richardson made the
decision to hire Ms. Lewinsky. Ms. Sutphen testified:
I said, are you sure; and he said, yeah,
yeah, I'm sure, why. And I said . . . are
you sure, though you don't want to talk to
anyone else . . . . And he said, no, no, I
think it's fine; why don't you go ahead and
give her an offer?<(656)
Ambassador Richardson and Ms. Sutphen both testified that
Ms. Sutphen, not the Ambassador, extended the job offer to Ms.
Lewinsky. They recalled that the offer was made a week or 10
days after the interview, though Ms. Sutphen, when shown the
phone records, testified that the November 3 call to Ms. Lewinsky
probably was the job offer.<(657)
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she told Ms. Currie about the
offer and she probably also told the President directly.<(658) Ms.
Currie first testified that she had "probably" told the President
about Ms. Lewinsky's U.N. offer, then testified that she had in
fact told him, then testified that she could not remember, though
she acknowledged that the President was interested in
Ms. Lewinsky's getting a job.<(659)
When the President was asked in the Jones deposition whether
he knew that Ms. Lewinsky had received the offer of a job at the
U.N., he testified: "I know that she interviewed for one. I
don't know if she was offered one or not."<(660)
F. The U.N. Job Offer Declined
Three weeks after she received an offer, on November 24, Ms.
Lewinsky called Ms. Sutphen and asked for more time to consider
the offer because she wanted to pursue possibilities in the
private sector.<(661) Ms. Sutphen told Ambassador Richardson, who,
according to Ms. Sutphen, said the delay would be fine.<(662) Over a
month later, on January 5, 1998, Ms. Lewinsky finally turned down
the job.<(663)
X. November 1997: Growing Frustration
Ms. Lewinsky met with Vernon Jordan, who promised to help
her find a job in New York. November proved, however, to be a
month of inactivity with respect to both Ms. Lewinsky's job
search and her relationship with the President. Mr. Jordan did
not meet with Ms. Lewinsky again, nor did he contact anyone in
New York City on her behalf. Ms. Lewinsky became increasingly
anxious about her inability to see the President. Except for a
momentary encounter in mid-November, Ms. Lewinsky did not meet
with the President between October 11 and December 5.
A. Interrogatories Answered
On November 3, 1997, the President answered Paula Jones's
Second Set of Interrogatories. Two of those interrogatories
asked the President to list any woman other than his wife with
whom he had "had," "proposed having," or "sought to have" sexual
relations during the time that he was Attorney General of
Arkansas, Governor of Arkansas, and President of the United
States.<(664) President Clinton objected to the scope and relevance
of both interrogatories and refused to answer them.<(665)
B. First Vernon Jordan Meeting
In mid-October, the President had agreed to involve Vernon
Jordan in Ms. Lewinsky's job search.<(666) In a draft letter to Ms.
Currie dated November 2, Ms. Lewinsky wrote that the President
had "said he would ask you to set up a meeting between VJ and
myself."<(667) According to Ms. Lewinsky, on November 3 or November
4, Ms. Currie told her to call Vernon Jordan's secretary to
arrange a meeting.<(668) Ms. Currie said she had spoken with Mr.
Jordan and he was expecting Ms. Lewinsky's call.<(669) In Ms.
Lewinsky's account, Ms. Currie sought Mr. Jordan's aid at the
President's direction.<(670) Mr. Jordan likewise testified that, in
his understanding, the President was behind Ms. Currie's
request.<(671)
Ms. Currie testified at various points that she contacted
Mr. Jordan on her own initiative; that the President "probably"
talked with her about Ms. Lewinsky's New York job hunt; and that
she could not recall whether the President was involved.<(672) In
his Jones deposition, the President was asked whether he did
anything to facilitate a meeting between Mr. Jordan and Ms.
Lewinsky. He testified:
I can tell you what my memory is. My memory
is that Vernon said something to me about her
coming in, Betty had called and asked if he
[Mr. Jordan] would see her [Ms.
Lewinsky]. . . . I'm sure if he said
something to me about it I said something
positive about it. I wouldn't have said
anything negative about it.<(673)
When pressed, the President testified that he did not think that
he was the "precipitating force" in arranging the meeting between
Mr. Jordan and Ms. Lewinsky.<(674)
At 8:50 a.m. on November 5, Mr. Jordan spoke with the
President by telephone for five minutes.<(675) Later that morning,
Mr. Jordan and Ms. Lewinsky met in his office for about twenty
minutes.<(676) She told him that she intended to move to New York,
and she named several companies where she hoped to work.<(677) She
showed him the "wish list" that she had sent the President on
October 16.<(678) Mr. Jordan said that he had spoken with the
President about her and that she came "highly recommended."<(679)
Concerning her job search, Mr. Jordan said: "We're in
business."<(681)
In the course of the day, Mr. Jordan placed four calls to
Ms. Hernreich (whom he acknowledged calling when he wished to
speak to the President<(682)) and one to Ms. Currie.<(683) Mr. Jordan
testified that he could not remember the calls, but "[i]t is
entirely possible" that they concerned Monica Lewinsky.<(684)
Mr. Jordan also visited the White House and met with the
President at 2:00 p.m. that day.<(685) Again, Mr. Jordan testified
that he had "no recollection" of the substance of his
conversation with the President.<(686)
On November 6, the day after meeting with Mr. Jordan, Ms.
Lewinsky wrote him a thank-you letter: "It made me happy to know
that our friend has such a wonderful confidant in you."<(687) Also
on November 6, Ms. Lewinsky wrote in an email to a friend that
she expected to hear from Mr. Jordan "later next week."<(688) The
evidence indicates, though, that Mr. Jordan took no steps to help
Ms. Lewinsky until early December, after she appeared on the
witness list in the Jones case.
Mr. Jordan initially testified that he had "no recollection
of having met with Ms. Lewinsky on November 5."<(689) When shown
documentary evidence demonstrating that his first meeting with
Ms. Lewinsky occurred in early November, he acknowledged that an
early November meeting was "entirely possible."<(690) Mr. Jordan's
failure to remember his November meeting with Ms. Lewinsky may
indicate the low priority he attached to it at the time.
C. November 13: The Zedillo Visit
On Thursday, November 13, while Ernesto Zedillo, the
President of Mexico, was in the White House, Ms. Lewinsky met
very briefly with President Clinton in the private study.<(691) Ms.
Lewinsky's visit, which she described in an email as a
"hysterical escapade," was the culmination of days of phone calls
and notes to Ms. Currie and the President.<(692)
Over the course of the week that preceded November 13, Ms.
Lewinsky made several attempts to arrange a visit with the
President. On Monday, November 10, in addition to making
frequent calls to Ms. Currie, she sent the President a note
asking for a meeting.<(693)
She hoped to see him on Tuesday, November 11 (Veterans Day),
but he did not respond.<(694) By courier,<(695) she sent the President
another note:
I asked you three weeks ago to please be
sensitive to what I am going through right
now and to keep in contact with me, and yet
I'm still left writing notes in vain. I am
not a moron. I know that what is going on in
the world takes precedence, but I don't think
what I have asked you for is unreasonable.<(696)
She added: "This is so hard for me. I am trying to deal with so
much emotionally, and I have nobody to talk to about it. I need
you right now not as president, but as a man. PLEASE be my
friend."<(697)
That evening, November 12, according to Ms. Lewinsky, the
President called and invited her to the White House the following
day.<(698) In an email to a friend, Ms. Lewinsky wrote that she and
the President "talked for almost an hour."<(699) She added: "[H]e
thought [N]ancy [Hernreich] (one of the meanies) would be out for
a few hours on Thursday and I could come see him then."<(700)
The following morning, November 13, Ms. Lewinsky tried to
arrange a visit with the President. She called repeatedly but
suspected that Ms. Currie was not telling the President of her
calls.<(701) Around noon, Ms. Currie told Ms. Lewinsky that the
President had left to play golf. Ms. Lewinsky, in her own words,
"went ballistic."<(702)
After the President returned from the Army-Navy Golf Course
in the late afternoon, Ms. Lewinsky told Ms. Currie that she was
coming to the White House to give him some gifts.<(703) Ms. Currie
suggested that Ms. Lewinsky wait in Ms. Currie's car in the White
House parking lot. Ms. Lewinsky went to the White House only to
find that the doors to Ms. Currie's car were locked. Ms.
Lewinsky waited in the rain.<(704)
Ms. Currie eventually met her in the parking lot, and, in
Ms. Lewinsky's words, they made a "bee-line" into the White
House, sneaking up the back stairs to avoid other White House
employees, particularly Presidential aide Stephen Goodin.<(705) Ms.
Lewinsky left two small gifts for the President with Ms. Currie,
then waited alone for about half an hour in the Oval Office
study.<(706) In the study, Ms. Lewinsky saw several gifts she had
given the President, including Oy Vey! The Things They Say: A
Guide to Jewish Wit, Nicholson Baker's novel Vox, and a letter
opener decorated with a frog.<(707)
The President finally joined Ms. Lewinsky in the study,
where they were alone for only a minute or two.<(708) Ms. Lewinsky
gave him an antique paperweight in the shape of the White
House.<(709) She also showed him an email describing the effect of
chewing Altoid mints before performing oral sex. Ms. Lewinsky
was chewing Altoids at the time, but the President replied that
he did not have enough time for oral sex.<(710) They kissed, and the
President rushed off for a State Dinner with President Zedillo.<(711)
D. November 14-December 4: Inability to See the President
After this brief November 13 meeting, Ms. Lewinsky did not
see the President again until the first week in December. Hoping
to arrange a longer rendezvous, she sent the President several
notes, as well as a cassette on which she recorded a message.<(712)
Along with her chagrin over not seeing the President, Ms.
Lewinsky was frustrated that her job search had apparently
stalled. A few days before Thanksgiving, she complained to Ms.
Currie that she had not heard from Mr. Jordan.<(713) Ms. Currie
arranged for her to speak with him "before Thanksgiving," while
Ms. Lewinsky was in Los Angeles. Mr. Jordan told her to call him
the following week to arrange another meeting.<(714)
In draft letters to the President, which were recovered from
her Pentagon computer, Ms. Lewinsky reflected on the change in
their relationship: "[B]oth professionally and personally, . . .
our personal relationship changing has caused me more pain. Do
you realize that?"<(715) She asked for the President's
understanding: "I don't want you to think that I am not grateful
for what you are doing for me now -- I'd probably be in a mental
institute without it -- but I am consumed with this
disappointment, frustration, and anger." Ms. Lewinsky rued the
brevity of her November 13 visit with the President: "All you
. . . . ever have to do to pacify me is see me and hold me," she
wrote. "Maybe that's asking too much."<(716)
XI. December 5-18, 1997:
The Witness List and Job Search
On Friday, December 5, Paula Jones's attorneys faxed a list
of their potential witnesses -- including Ms. Lewinsky -- to the
President's personal attorneys. The following day, President
Clinton saw Ms. Lewinsky in an unscheduled visit and then
discussed the Jones case with his attorneys and Deputy White
House Counsel Bruce Lindsey. A few days later, Ms. Lewinsky met
with Mr. Jordan at his office, and he arranged interviews for Ms.
Lewinsky at three companies. In the middle of the night on
December 17, the President called and informed Ms. Lewinsky that
she was on the witness list and that she might have to testify
under oath in the Jones case.
A. December 5: The Witness List
On Friday December 5, 1997, attorneys for Paula Jones
identified Ms. Lewinsky as a potential witness in Ms. Jones's
sexual harassment case.<(717) At 5:40 p.m., they faxed their witness
list to the President's attorney, Robert Bennett.<(718) Ms.
Lewinsky, however, would not learn of her potential involvement
in the Jones case for twelve more days, when the President
informed her.<(719)
President Clinton was asked in the grand jury when he
learned that Ms. Lewinsky's name was on the witness list. The
President responded: "I believe that I found out late in the
afternoon on the sixth."<(720)
B. December 5: Christmas Party at the White House
On Friday, December 5, Ms. Lewinsky returned from Department
of Defense travel in Europe.<(721) She asked Ms. Currie if the
President could see her the next day, but Ms. Currie said he was
busy meeting with his lawyers.<(722) In the late afternoon, she
attended a Christmas party at the White House with a Defense
Department colleague.<(723) Ms. Lewinsky exchanged a few words with
the President in the reception line.<(724)
The Christmas reception encounter heightened Ms. Lewinsky's
frustration. On the evening of December 5, she drafted an
anguished letter to the President.<(725) "[Y]ou want me out of your
life," she wrote. "I guess the signs have been made clear for
awhile -- not wanting to see me and rarely calling. I used to
think it was you putting up walls."<(727) She had purchased several
gifts for him, and, she wrote, "I wanted to give them to you in
person, but that is obviously not going to happen."<(728) Ms.
Lewinsky reminded the President of his words during their October
10 telephone argument:
I will never forget what you said that night
we fought on the phone -- if you had known
what I was really like you would never have
gotten involved with me. I'm sure you're not
the first person to have felt that way about
me. I am sorry that this has been such a bad
experience.<(729)
She concluded the letter: "I knew it would hurt to say goodbye
to you; I just never thought it would have to be on paper. Take
care."<(730)
C. December 6: The Northwest Gate Incident
1. Initial Visit and Rejection
On the morning of Saturday, December 6, Ms. Lewinsky went to
the White House to deliver the letter and gifts to the President.
The gifts included a sterling silver antique cigar holder, a tie,
a mug, a "Hugs and Kisses" box, and an antique book about
Theodore Roosevelt.<(731) Ms. Lewinsky planned to leave the parcel
with Ms. Currie, who had told Ms. Lewinsky that the President
would be busy with his lawyers and unable to see her.<(732)
Ms. Lewinsky arrived at the White House at approximately
10:00 a.m. She told the Secret Service uniformed officers at the
Northwest Gate that she had gifts to drop off for the President,
but that Ms. Currie did not know she was coming.<(733) Ms. Lewinsky
and the officers made several calls in an attempt to locate Ms.
Currie.<(734) The officers eventually invited Ms. Lewinsky inside
the guard booth.<(735) When Ms. Currie learned that Ms. Lewinsky was
at the Northwest Gate, she sent word that the President "already
had a guest in the [O]val," so the officers should have Ms.
Lewinsky wait there for about 40 minutes.<(736)
While Ms. Lewinsky was waiting, one officer mentioned that
Eleanor Mondale was in the White House.<(737) Ms. Lewinsky correctly
surmised that the President was meeting with Ms. Mondale, rather
than his lawyers, and she was "livid."<(738) She stormed away,
called and berated Ms. Currie from a pay phone, and then returned
to her Watergate apartment.<(740)
Hands shaking and almost crying, Ms. Currie informed
several Secret Service officers that the President was "irate"
that someone had disclosed to Ms. Lewinsky whom he was meeting
with.<(741) Ms. Currie told Sergeant Keith Williams, a supervisory
uniformed Secret Service Officer, that if he "didn't find out
what was going on, someone could be fired."<(742) She also told
Captain Jeffrey Purdie, the Secret Service watch commander for
the uniformed division at the time, that the President was "so
upset he wants somebody fired over this."<(743)
2. Ms. Lewinsky Returns to the White House
From her apartment, Ms. Lewinsky reached the President on
the phone.<(745) According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President was angry
that she had "made a stink" and said that "it was none of my
business . . . what he was doing."<(746)
Then, to Ms. Lewinsky's surprise, the President invited her
to visit him.<(747) She testified that "none of the other times that
we had really fought on the phone did it end up resulting in a
visit that day."<(748) WAVES records reflect that Ms. Lewinsky was
cleared to enter the White House at 12:52 p.m. and exited at 1:36
p.m.<(749)
During their meeting, Ms. Lewinsky told the President that
Mr. Jordan had done nothing to help her find a job.<(750) The
President responded, "Oh, I'll talk to him. I'll get on it."<(751)
Ms. Lewinsky testified that, overall, she had a "really
nice" and "affectionate" visit with the President.<(752) In an email
to a friend a few days later, she wrote that, although "things
have been crazy with the creep, . . . I did have a wonderful
visit with him on Saturday. When he doesn't put his walls up, it
is always heavenly."<(753)
3. "Whatever Just Happened Didn't Happen"
Later that day (December 6), the uniformed Secret Service
officers at the Northwest Gate were told that no one would be
fired -- so long as they remained quiet. According to Sergeant
Williams, Ms. Currie said that, if the officers did not "tell a
lot of people what had happened, then nothing would happen."<(754)
The President told Captain Jeffrey Purdie, the Secret
Service watch commander for the uniformed division at the time,
"I hope you use your discretion."<(755) Captain Purdie interpreted
the President's remark to mean that Captain Purdie "wasn't going
to say anything," and he in turn told all of the officers
involved not to discuss the incident.<(756) One officer recalled
that Captain Purdie told him and other officers, "Whatever just
happened didn't happen."<(757) Captain Purdie told another officer,
"I was just in the Oval Office with the President and he wants
somebody's ass out here. . . . As far as you're concerned, . . .
[t]his never happened."<(758) In response, that officer, who
considered the Northwest Gate incident a "major event," "just
shook [his] head" and "started making a set of [his] own notes"
in order to document the incident.<(759)
Captain Purdie recommended to his supervisor, Deputy Chief
Charles O'Malley, that "no paperwork be generated" regarding the
Northwest Gate incident because "Ms. Currie was satisfied with
the way things were handled."<(760) According to Captain Purdie,
Deputy Chief O'Malley agreed, and no record of the incident was
made.<(761) Deputy Chief O'Malley testified that the meeting between
the President and Captain Purdie was the only occasion he could
recall in fourteen years at the White House where a President
directly addressed a job performance issue with a uniformed
division supervisor.<(762)
The President was questioned in the grand jury about the
incident at the Northwest Gate. He testified that he knew that
Ms. Lewinsky had become upset upon learning that Ms. Mondale was
in the White House "to see us that day."<(763) He testified: "As I
remember, I had some other work to do that morning. . . . "<(764)
The President said that the disclosure of information that day
was "inappropriate" and "a mistake," but he could not recall
whether he wanted a Secret Service officer fired or gave any such
orders.<(765) He thought that the officers "were . . . told not to
let it happen again, and I think that's the way it should have
been handled."<(766) When asked if he told Captain Purdie that he
hoped that he could count on his discretion, the President
stated, "I don't remember anything I said to him in that
regard."<(767)
According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President later indicated to
her that he had concerns about the discretion of the Secret
Service uniformed officers. On December 28 she asked how Paula
Jones's attorneys could have known enough to place her on the
witness list. The President replied that the source might be
Linda Tripp or "the uniformed officers."<(768)
D. The President Confers with His Lawyers
Deputy Counsel Bruce Lindsey testified that he met with the
President and the President's personal attorney, Robert Bennett,
at around 5:00 p.m. on December 6 to discuss the Jones case.<(769)
According to Mr. Lindsey, it was "likely" that he learned about
Ms. Lewinsky's appearance on the witness list in that meeting.<(770)
Earlier in the day, at around 12:00 p.m. (after Ms. Lewinsky
stormed away from the Northwest Gate but before she returned and
saw the President), Mr. Lindsey had received a page: "Call Betty
ASAP."<(771) Mr. Lindsey testified that he did not recall the page,
nor did he know, at the time, that Ms. Lewinsky had visited the
White House.<(772)
E. Second Jordan Meeting
The next day (Sunday, December 7), Mr. Jordan visited the
White House and met with the President.<(774) Mr. Jordan testified
that he was "fairly certain" that he did not discuss the Jones
suit or Ms. Lewinsky.<(775)
On Thursday, December 11, Ms. Lewinsky had her second
meeting with Mr. Jordan.<(776) Ms. Lewinsky testified that they
discussed her job search, and Mr. Jordan told her to send letters
to three business contacts that he provided her. Mr. Jordan
noted that Ms. Lewinsky was anxious to get a job as quickly as
possible, and he took action.<(777) In the course of the day, Mr.
Jordan placed calls on her behalf to Peter Georgescu, Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer at Young & Rubicam; Richard Halperin,
Executive Vice President and Special Counsel to the Chairman of
MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc. (majority stockholder of
Revlon); and Ursula Fairbairn, Executive Vice-President, Human
Resources and Quality, of American Express.<(778) Mr. Jordan told
Ms. Lewinsky to keep him informed of the progress of her job
search.<(779)
At one point in the conversation, according to Ms. Lewinsky,
Mr. Jordan said, "[Y]ou're a friend of the President."<(780) This
prompted Ms. Lewinsky to reveal that she "didn't really look at
him as the President"; rather, she "reacted to him more as a man
and got angry at him like a man and just a regular person."<(781)
When Mr. Jordan asked why Ms. Lewinsky got angry at the
President, she replied that she became upset "when he doesn't
call me enough or see me enough."<(782) Ms. Lewinsky testified that
Mr. Jordan advised her to take her frustrations out on him rather
than the President.<(783) According to Ms. Lewinsky, Mr. Jordan
summed up the situation: "You're in love, that's what your
problem is."<(785)
Mr. Jordan recalled a similar conversation, in which Ms.
Lewinsky complained that the President did not see her enough,
although he thought it took place during a meeting eight days
later. He testified that he felt the need to remind Ms. Lewinsky
that the President is the "leader of the free world" and has
competing obligations.<(786)
Mr. Jordan is "certain" that he had a conversation with the
President about Ms. Lewinsky at some point after this December 11
meeting.<(787) He told the President that he would be trying to get
Ms. Lewinsky a job in New York.<(788) Mr. Jordan testified that the
President "was aware that people were trying to get jobs for her,
that Podesta was trying to help her, that Bill Richardson was
trying to help her, but that she really wanted to work in the
private sector."<(789)
F. Early Morning Phone Call
On December 15, 1997, Paula Jones's lawyers served President
Clinton with her second set of document requests by overnight
mail. These requests asked the President to "produce documents
that related to communications between the President and Monica
Lewisky" [sic].<(790) This was the first Paula Jones discovery
request to refer to Monica Lewinsky by name.
Ms. Lewinsky testified that in the early-morning hours of
December 17, at roughly 2:00 or 2:30 a.m., she received a call
from the President.<(791) The call lasted about half an hour.<(792)
The President gave Ms. Lewinsky two items of news: Ms.
Currie's brother had died in a car accident, and Ms. Lewinsky's
name had appeared on the witness list in the Jones case.<(793)
According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President said "it broke his
heart" to see her name on the witness list.<(794) The President told
her that she would not necessarily be subpoenaed; if she were, he
"suggested she could sign an affidavit to try to satisfy [Ms.
Jones's] inquiry and not be deposed."<(795)
The President told Ms. Lewinsky to contact Ms. Currie in the
event she were subpoenaed.<(796) He also reviewed one of their
established cover stories. He told Ms. Lewinsky that she "should
say she visited the [White House] to see Ms. Currie and, on
occasion when working at the [White House], she brought him
letters when no one else was around."<(797) The President's advice
"was . . . instantly familiar to [Ms. Lewinsky]."<(798) She
testified that the President's use of this "misleading" story
amounted to a continuation of their pre-existing pattern.<(799)
Later in the conversation, according to Ms. Lewinsky, the
President said he would try to get Ms. Currie to come in over the
weekend so that Ms. Lewinsky could visit and he could give her
several Christmas presents.<(800) Ms. Lewinsky replied that, since
Ms. Currie's brother had just died, perhaps they should "let
Betty be."<(801)
In his grand jury appearance, the President was questioned
about the December 17 phone call. He testified that, although he
could not rule it out, he did not remember such a call.<(802) The
President was also asked whether in this conversation, or a
conversation before Ms. Lewinsky's name came up in the Jones
case, he instructed her to say that she was coming to bring
letters. The President answered: "I might well have said
that."<(803)
But when asked whether he ever said anything along these
lines after Ms. Lewinsky had been identified on the witness list,
the President answered: "I don't recall whether I might have
done something like that."<(804) He speculated that he might have
suggested this explanation in the context of a call from a
reporter.<(805) Nonetheless, he testified, in the context of the
Jones case, "I never asked her to lie."<(806)
G. Job Interviews
On December 18, Ms. Lewinsky had two job interviews in New
York City. At MacAndrews & Forbes, she met with Executive Vice
President and Special Counsel to the Chairman Richard Halperin,
who viewed the interview as "an accommodation for Vernon
Jordan."<(807) At Burson-Marstellar, she interviewed with Celia
Berk, Managing Director of Human Resources.<(808) A few days later,
on December 23, Ms. Lewinsky interviewed in Washington, D.C.,
with Thomas Schick, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs
and Communications, of American Express.<(809)
XII. December 19, 1997 - January 4, 1998:
The Subpoena
Ms. Lewinsky was served with a subpoena in the Jones case on
Friday, December 19. She immediately called Mr. Jordan, and he
invited her to his office. Mr. Jordan spoke with the President
that afternoon and again that evening. He told the President
that he had met with Ms. Lewinsky, that she had been subpoenaed,
and that he planned to obtain an attorney for her. On Sunday,
December 28, the President met with Ms. Lewinsky, who expressed
concern about the subpoena's demand for the gifts he had given
her. Later that day, Ms. Currie drove to Ms. Lewinsky's
apartment and collected a box containing some of the subpoenaed
gifts. Ms. Currie took the box home and hid it under her bed.
A. December 19: Ms. Lewinsky Is Subpoenaed
On Friday, December 19, 1997, sometime between 3:00 p.m. and
4:00 p.m., Ms. Lewinsky was served with a subpoena at her
Pentagon office.<(810) The subpoena commanded her to appear for a
deposition in Washington, D.C., at 9:30 a.m. on January 23,
1998.<(811) The subpoena also required the production of certain
documents and gifts. Among the items that Ms. Lewinsky was
required to produce were "each and every gift including, but not
limited to, any and all dresses, accessories, and jewelry, and/or
hat pins given to you by, or on behalf of, Defendant Clinton," as
well as "[e]very document constituting or containing
communications between you and Defendant Clinton, including
letters, cards, notes, memoranda, and all telephone records."<(812)
Ms. Lewinsky testified that, after being served with the
subpoena, she "burst into tears," and then telephoned Mr. Jordan
from a pay phone at the Pentagon.<(813) Mr. Jordan confirmed Ms.
Lewinsky's account; he said he tried to reassure Ms. Lewinsky:
"[C]ome and talk to me and I will see what I can do about finding
you counsel."<(814)
According to records maintained by Mr. Jordan's law firm,
Ms. Lewinsky arrived at his office at 4:47 p.m.<(815) White House
phone records show that, at 4:57 p.m., the President telephoned
Mr. Jordan; the two men spoke from 5:01 p.m. to 5:05 p.m.<(816) At
5:06 p.m., Mr. Jordan placed a two-minute call to a Washington,
D.C., attorney named Francis Carter.<(817)
Ms. Lewinsky and Mr. Jordan gave somewhat different accounts
of their meeting that day. According to Ms. Lewinsky, shortly
after her arrival, Mr. Jordan received a phone call, and she
stepped out of his office. A few minutes later, Ms. Lewinsky was
invited back in, and Mr. Jordan called Mr. Carter.<(819)
Mr. Jordan testified that he spoke to the President before
Ms. Lewinsky ever entered his office.<(820) He told the President:
"Monica Lewinsky called me up. She's upset. She's gotten a
subpoena. She is coming to see me about this subpoena. I'm
confident that she needs a lawyer, and I will try to get her a
lawyer."<(821) Mr. Jordan told the President that the lawyer he had
in mind was Francis Carter.<(822) According to Mr. Jordan, the
President asked him: "You think he's a good lawyer?" Mr. Jordan
responded that he was.<(823) Mr. Jordan testified that informing the
President of Ms. Lewinsky's subpoena "was the purpose of [his]
call."<(824)
According to Mr. Jordan, when Ms. Lewinsky entered his
office, "[H]er emotional state was obviously one of dishevelment
and she was quite upset. She was crying. She was -- she was
highly emotional, to say the least."<(825) She showed him the
subpoena as soon as she entered.<(826)
Ms. Lewinsky also testified that she discussed the subpoena
with Mr. Jordan.<(827) She told him that she found the specific
reference to a hat pin alarming -- how could the Jones's
attorneys have known about it?<(828) Mr. Jordan told her it was "a
standard subpoena."<(829) When he indicated to Ms. Lewinsky that he
would be seeing the President that night, Ms. Lewinsky told him
"to please make sure that he told the President" about her
subpoena.<(830)
At some point, according to Mr. Jordan, Ms. Lewinsky asked
him about the future of the Clintons' marriage.<(831) Because Ms.
Lewinsky seemed "mesmerized" by President Clinton,<(832) he "asked
her directly had there been any sexual relationship between [her]
and the President."<(833) Mr. Jordan explained, "You didn't have to
be Einstein to know that that was a question that had to be asked
by me at that particular time, because heretofore this discussion
was about a job. The subpoena changed the circumstances."<(834) Ms.
Lewinsky said she had not had a sexual relationship with the
President.<(835)
Ms. Lewinsky testified, however, that at this time she
assumed that Mr. Jordan knew "with a wink and a nod that [she]
was having a relationship with the President."<(836) She therefore
interpreted Mr. Jordan's questions as "What are you going to
say?" rather than "What are the [actual] answers . . .?"<(837) When
the meeting ended, she "asked [Mr. Jordan] if he would give the
President a hug."<(838)
That evening, Mr. Jordan visited the President at the White
House. According to Mr. Jordan, the two met alone in the
Residence and talked for about ten minutes.<(839) He testified:
I told him that Monica Lewinsky had been subpoenaed,
came to me with a subpoena. I told him that I was
concerned by her fascination, her being taken with him.
I told him how emotional she was about having gotten
the subpoena. I told him what she said to me about
whether or not he was going to leave the First Lady at
the end of the term.<(840)
Mr. Jordan asked the President "[t]he one question that I wanted
answered."<(841) That question was, "Mr. President, have you had
sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky?" The President told Mr.
Jordan, "No, never."<(842)
Mr. Jordan told the President: "I'm trying to help her get a
job and I'm going to continue to do that. I'm going to get her
counsel and I'm going to try to be helpful to her as much as I
possibly can, both with the lawyer, and I've already done what I
could about the job, and I think you ought to know that."<(843) Mr.
Jordan testified: "He thanked me for telling him. Thanked me
for my efforts to get her a job and thanked me for getting her a
lawyer."<(844)
In his grand jury testimony, the President recalled that he
met with Mr. Jordan on December 19; however, he testified that
his memory of that meeting was somewhat vague:
I do not remember exactly what the nature of
the conversation was. I do remember that I
told him that there was no sexual
relationship between me and Monica Lewinsky,
which was true. And that -- then all I
remember for the rest is that he said he had
referred her to a lawyer, and I believe it
was Mr. Carter.<(845)
Asked whether he recalled that Mr. Jordan told him that Ms.
Lewinsky appeared fixated on him and hoped that he would leave
Mrs. Clinton, the President testified: "I recall him saying he
thought that she was upset with -- somewhat fixated on me, that
she acknowledged that she was not having a sexual relationship
with me, and that she did not want to be [brought] into that
Jones lawsuit."<(846)
B. December 22: Meeting with Vernon Jordan
Mr. Jordan arranged for Ms. Lewinsky to meet with attorney
Francis Carter at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, December 22.<(847) On that
morning, according to Ms. Lewinsky, she called Mr. Jordan and
asked to meet before they went to Mr. Carter's office.<(848) She
testified: "I was a little concerned. I thought maybe [Mr.
Jordan] didn't really understand . . . what it was that was
happening here with me being subpoenaed and what this really
meant."<(849) She also wanted to find out whether he had in fact
told the President of her subpoena. Mr. Jordan said that he
had.<(850) Ms. Lewinsky also told Mr. Jordan that she was worried
that someone might have been eavesdropping on her telephone
conversations with the President.<(851) When Mr. Jordan asked why
she thought that would be of concern, Ms. Lewinsky said, "Well,
we've had phone sex."<(852)
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she brought some of her gifts
from the President, showed them to Mr. Jordan, and implied that
these items were not all of the gifts that the President had
given her.<(853) Mr. Jordan, in contrast, testified that Ms.
Lewinsky never showed him any gifts from the President.<(854)
C. December 22: First Meeting with Francis Carter
Mr. Jordan drove Ms. Lewinsky to Mr. Carter's office.<(855)
There, he introduced Ms. Lewinsky to Mr. Carter, explaining that
she needed not only a lawyer but a "counselor."<(856) Mr. Carter
testified that, after the initial referral, he expected to have
no further contact with Mr. Jordan about Ms. Lewinsky or her
case.<(858)
Mr. Carter and Ms. Lewinsky then met for approximately an
hour.<(859) She explained that she did not want to be drawn into the
Jones case and would strongly prefer not to be deposed.<(860) He
said that he would try to persuade Paula Jones's attorneys not to
depose her.<(861) Ms. Lewinsky testified that she suggested filing
an affidavit to avert a deposition.<(862)
According to Ms. Lewinsky, she asked Mr. Carter to get in
touch with the President's personal attorney, Robert Bennett,
just "to let him know that I had been subpoenaed in this case."<(863)
She wanted to make clear that she was "align[ing] [her]self with
the President's side."<(864) Mr. Carter testified that, while Ms.
Lewinsky was in his office, he placed a call to Mr. Bennett to
arrange a meeting.<(865)
On the morning of Tuesday, December 23, Mr. Carter met for
an hour with two of the President's personal attorneys, Mr.
Bennett and Katherine Sexton.<(866) The President's attorneys told
Mr. Carter that other witnesses had filed motions to quash their
subpoenas, and they offered legal research to support such a
motion.<(867)
D. December 23: Clinton Denials to Paula Jones
Throughout the sexual harassment case, Ms. Jones's attorneys
attempted to obtain information about President Clinton's sexual
relationships with any woman other than his wife. On December
11, 1997, the judge overseeing the Jones case, Susan Webber
Wright, ruled that the President had to answer a written
interrogatory naming every state and federal employee since 1986
with whom he had sexual relations or with whom he had proposed to
have sexual relations. On December 23, 1997, the President
answered the interrogatory: "None."<(868)
E. December 28: Final Meeting with the President
A day or two after Christmas, Ms. Lewinsky called Ms. Currie
and told her that the President had mentioned that he had
presents for her.<(869) Ms. Currie called back and told her to come
to the White House at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 28.<(870)
That morning, Ms. Lewinsky met with the President in the
Oval Office. WAVES records reflect that the visit was requested
by Ms. Currie and that Ms. Lewinsky entered the White House at
8:16 a.m.<(871)
After she arrived at the Oval Office, she, the President,
and Ms. Currie played with Buddy, the President's dog, and
chatted. Then, the President took her to the study and gave her
several Christmas presents: a marble bear's head, a Rockettes
blanket, a Black Dog stuffed animal, a small box of chocolates, a
pair of joke sunglasses, and a pin with a New York skyline on
it.<(872)
Ms. Lewinsky testified that, during this visit, she and the
President had a "passionate" and "physically intimate" kiss.<(873)
Ms. Lewinsky and the President also talked about the Jones
case.<(874) In Ms. Lewinsky's account, she asked the President "how
he thought [she] got put on the witness list."<(875) He speculated
that Linda Tripp or one of the uniformed Secret Service officers
had told the Jones attorneys about her.<(876) When Ms. Lewinsky
mentioned her anxiety about the subpoena's reference to a hat
pin, he said "that sort of bothered [him], too."<(877) He asked
whether she had told anyone about the hat pin, and she assured
him that she had not.<(878)
At some point in the conversation, Ms. Lewinsky told the
President, "[M]aybe I should put the gifts away outside my house
somewhere or give them to someone, maybe Betty."<(879) Ms. Lewinsky
recalled that the President responded either "I don't know" or
"Let me think about that."<(880)
When Ms. Lewinsky was asked whether she thought it odd for
the President to give her gifts under the circumstances (with a
subpoena requiring the production of all his gifts), she
testified that she did not think of it at the time, but she did
note some hesitancy on the President's part:
[H]e had hesitated very briefly right before I left that day
in kind of packaging . . . all my stuff back up . . . I
don't think he said anything that indicated this to me, but
I thought to myself, "I wonder if he's thinking he shouldn't
give these to me to take out." But he did.<(881)
When asked in the Jones deposition about his last meeting
with Ms. Lewinsky, the President remembered only that she stopped
by "[p]robably sometime before Christmas" and he "stuck [his]
head out [of the office], said hello to her."<(882) The deposition
occurred three weeks after this December 28 meeting with Ms.
Lewinsky.
In the grand jury, the President acknowledged "talking with
Ms. Lewinsky about her testimony, or about the prospect that she
might have to give testimony. And she, she talked to me about
that."<(883) He maintained, however, that they did not discuss Ms.
Lewinsky's subpoena: "[S]he was upset. She -- well, she -- we -- she didn't -- we didn't talk about a subpoena. But she was
upset."<(884) In the President's recollection, Ms. Lewinsky said she
knew nothing about sexual harassment; why did she have to
testify? According to the President, "I explained to her that it
was a political lawsuit. They wanted to get whatever they could
under oath that was damaging to me."<(885)
Ms. Lewinsky's friend, Catherine Allday Davis, testified
about a conversation with Ms. Lewinsky on January 3, 1998. Ms.
Lewinsky told Ms. Davis that she had met with the President and
discussed the Jones case a few days earlier. Ms. Davis testified
that Ms. Lewinsky and the President had "noted [that] there was
no evidence" of their relationship.<(887)
E. December 28: Concealment of Gifts
In the afternoon of December 28, a few hours after Ms.
Lewinsky's White House visit, Ms. Currie drove to Ms. Lewinsky's
Watergate apartment and collected a box containing the
President's gifts. Ms. Currie then took the box home and hid it
under her bed. Ms. Lewinsky, Ms. Currie, and the President were
all questioned as to why Ms. Currie retrieved the box of gifts
from Ms. Lewinsky.
According to Ms. Lewinsky, the transfer originated in a
phone call from Ms. Currie that afternoon. Ms. Lewinsky
testified that Ms. Currie said, "I understand you have something
to give me," or, "The President said you have something to give
me."<(888) Ms. Lewinsky understood that Ms. Currie was alluding to
the gifts.<(889) Ms. Currie said that she would stop by Ms.
Lewinsky's apartment and pick up the items.<(890) Ms. Lewinsky
testified that she put many, but not all, of her gifts from the
President into a box. Ms. Currie drove by her apartment and
picked it up.<(891)
Ms. Lewinsky was concerned because the gifts were under
subpoena; she did not throw them away, however, because "they
meant a lot to [her]."<(892) The reason she gave the gifts to Ms.
Currie, and not to one of her friends or her mother, was "a
little bit of an assurance to the President . . . that everything
was okay."<(893) She felt that, because the gifts were with Ms.
Currie, they were within the President's control: "Not that [the
gifts] were going to be in his possession, but that he would
understand whatever it was I gave to Betty and that that might
make him feel a little bit better."<(894)
Ms. Lewinsky's account of the events of December 28 in her
sworn statement of February 1, 1998, corroborates her later grand
jury testimony:
"Ms. L . . . asked if she should put away
(outside her home) the gifts he had given her
or, maybe, give them to someone else. Ms.
Currie called Ms. L later that afternoon as
said that the Pres. had told her Ms. L.
wanted her to hold onto something for her.
Ms. L boxed up most of the gifts she had
received and gave them to Ms. Currie. It is
unknown if Ms. Currie knew the contents of
the box."<(895)
Ms. Currie's testimony was somewhat at odds with Ms.
Lewinsky's. Though her overall recollection was hazy, Ms. Currie
believed that Ms. Lewinsky had called her and raised the idea of
the gifts transfer.<(896) Ms. Currie was asked about the President's
involvement in the transfer:
Q: And did the President know you were holding these
things for Monica?
BC: I don't know. I don't know.
Q: Didn't he say to you that Monica had something for you
to hold?
BC: I don't remember that. I don't.
Q: Did you ever talk to the President and tell him you had
this box from Monica?
BC: I don't remember that either.
Q: Do you think it happened, though?
BC: I don't know. I don't know.<(897)
When asked whether a statement by Ms. Lewinsky indicating that
Ms. Currie had in fact spoken to the President about the gift
transfer would be false, Ms. Currie replied: "Then she may
remember better than I. I don't remember."<(898)
According to Ms. Currie, Ms. Lewinsky said that she was
uncomfortable retaining the gifts herself because "people were
asking questions" about them.<(899) Ms. Currie said she drove to Ms.
Lewinsky's residence after work, collected the box, brought it
home, and put it under her bed.<(900) Written on the top of the box
were the words "Please do not throw away!!!"<(901) Ms. Currie
testified that she knew that the box contained gifts from the
President.<(902)
For his part, the President testified that he never asked
Ms. Currie to collect a box of gifts from Ms. Lewinsky.<(903) He
said that he had no knowledge that Ms. Currie had held those
items "until that was made public."<(904)
The President testified that he has no distinct recollection
of discussing the gifts with Ms. Lewinsky on December 28: "[M]y
memory is that on some day in December, and I'm sorry I don't
remember when it was, she said, well, what if they ask me about
the gifts you have given me. And I said, well, if you get a
request to produce those, you have to give them whatever you
have."<(905)
D. December 31: Breakfast with Vernon Jordan
Ms. Lewinsky testified that in late December 1997 she
realized that she needed to "come up with some sort of strategy
as to [what to do] if Linda Tripp" divulged what she knew.<(906) On
December 30, Ms. Lewinsky telephoned Mr. Jordan's office and
conveyed either directly to him or through one of his secretaries
that she was concerned about the Jones case.<(907)
The following day, Ms. Lewinsky and Mr. Jordan had breakfast
together at the Park Hyatt Hotel.<(908) According to Ms. Lewinsky,
she told Mr. Jordan that a friend of hers, Linda Tripp, was
involved in the Jones case. She told Mr. Jordan: "I used to
trust [Ms. Tripp], but I didn't trust her any more."<(909) Ms.
Lewinsky said that Ms. Tripp might have seen some notes in her
apartment. Mr. Jordan asked: "Notes from the President to you?"
Ms. Lewinsky responded: "No, notes from me to the President."
According to Ms. Lewinsky, Mr. Jordan said: "Go home and make
sure they're not there." Ms. Lewinsky testified that she
understood that Mr. Jordan was advising her to "throw . . . away"
any copies or drafts of notes that she had sent to the
President.<(910)
After breakfast, Mr. Jordan gave Ms. Lewinsky a ride back to
his office.<(911) When Ms. Lewinsky returned home to her apartment
that day, she discarded approximately 50 draft notes to the
President.<(912)
E. January 4: The Final Gift
On Sunday, January 4, 1998, Ms. Lewinsky called Ms. Currie
at home and told her that she wanted to drop off a gift for the
President.<(913) Ms. Currie invited Ms. Lewinsky to her home, and
Ms. Lewinsky gave her the package.<(914) The package contained a
book entitled The Presidents of the United States and a love note
inspired by the movie Titanic.<(915)
Next: Narrative XIII - XIV