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)
XIII. JANUARY 5-JANUARY 16, 1998: THE AFFIDAVIT
On January 5, 1998, Ms. Lewinsky’s attorney, Francis Carter, drafted an affidavit for Ms. Lewinsky in an attempt to avert her deposition. She spoke with the President that evening.
On January 6, Ms. Lewinsky talked to Mr. Jordan about the affidavit, which denied any sexual relations between her and the President. On January 7, Ms. Lewinsky signed the affidavit. On January 8, she interviewed for a job in New York City. After the interview went poorly, Mr. Jordan placed a phone call to the company’s chairman on her behalf, and Ms. Lewinsky was given a second interview. The following week, after Ms. Lewinsky told Ms. Currie that she would need a reference from the White House, the President asked Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles to arrange one.
A. January 5: Francis Carter Meeting
At 3:00 p.m. on Monday, January 5, 1998, Ms. Lewinsky met with Mr. Carter at his office for approximately one hour.(916)
Ms. Lewinsky testified that Mr. Carter described what a deposition was like and “threw out a bunch of different questions.”(917) The questions that most concerned her related to the circumstances of her departure from the White House.(918)
Mr. Carter told Ms. Lewinsky that he would draft an affidavit for her to sign in hopes of averting her deposition. They arranged for Ms. Lewinsky to pick up a draft of the affidavit the next day.(919)
B. January 5: Call from the President
After her meeting with Mr. Carter, Ms. Lewinsky sent word via Ms. Currie that she needed to speak to the President about an important matter.(920) Specifically, Ms. Lewinsky told Ms. Currie she was anxious about something she needed to sign.(921)
A few hours later, according to Ms. Lewinsky, the President returned her call.(922) She mentioned an affidavit she would be signing and asked if he wanted to see it. According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President responded that he did not, as he had already seen about fifteen others.(923) Ms. Lewinsky testified that she told the President that she was troubled by potential questions about her transfer from the White House to the Pentagon. She was concerned that “people at the White House who didn’t like (her)” might contradict her and “get (her) in trouble.”(924) The President, according to Ms. Lewinsky, advised her: “(Y)ou could always say that the people in Legislative Affairs got it (the Pentagon job) for you or helped you get it.”(925)
The President acknowledged in the grand jury that he was aware that Ms. Lewinsky had signed an affidavit in early January, but had no specific recollection of a conversation with her in that time period.(926) He testified that he did not recall telling Ms. Lewinsky that she could say, if asked, that persons in the Legislative Affairs Office of the White House had helped her obtain the job at the Pentagon.(927)
According to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President also briefly discussed an antique book that she had dropped off with Ms. Currie the day before. With the book, she enclosed a letter telling the President that she wanted to have sexual intercourse with him at least once.(928) In their phone conversation, Ms. Lewinsky told the President, “I shouldn’t have written some of those things in the note.”(929) She testified that the President agreed.(930)
Although the President had testified in the Jones case that any personal messages from Ms. Lewinsky to him had been “unremarkable,” he told the grand jury that he had received “quite affectionate” messages from Ms. Lewinsky, even after their intimate relationship ended.(931) The President testified that he cautioned Ms. Lewinsky about such messages: “I remember telling her she should be careful what she wrote, because a lot of it was clearly inappropriate and would be embarrassing if somebody else read it. I don’t remember when I said that. I don’t remember whether it was in ’96 or when it was.”(932) The President did remember the antique book Ms. Lewinsky had given him, but said he did not recall a romantic note enclosed with it.(933)
C. January 6: The Draft Affidavit
According to Ms. Lewinsky, in the afternoon of January 6, 1998, she visited Mr. Carter’s office and picked up a draft of the affidavit.(934) Later that day, according to Ms. Lewinsky, she and Mr. Jordan discussed the draft by telephone.(936) Ms. Lewinsky testified that having Mr. Jordan review the affidavit was like getting it “blessed” by the President.(937) Ms. Lewinsky testified that she told Mr. Jordan that she was worried about a sentence that implied that she had been alone with the President and thus might incline Paula Jones’s attorneys to question her.(938) She eventually deleted it.(939)
In addition, Paragraph 8 of the draft affidavit provided in part:
I have never had a sexual relationship with the President. . .The occasions that I saw the President, with crowds of other people, after I left my employment at the White House in April, 1996 related to official receptions, formal functions or events related to the U.S. Department of Defense, where I was working at the time.(941)
Deeming the reference to “crowds” “too far out of the realm of possibility,”(942) Ms. Lewinsky deleted the underscored phrase and wrote the following sentence at the end of this paragraph:
“There were other people present on all of these occasions.”(943) She discussed this proposed sentence, as well as her general anxiety about Paragraph 8, with Mr. Jordan.(944)
When questioned in the grand jury, Mr. Jordan acknowledged that Ms. Lewinsky called him with concerns about the affidavit,(945) but maintained that he told her to speak with her attorney.(946)
Phone records for January 6 show that Mr. Jordan had a number of contacts with Ms. Lewinsky, the President, and Mr. Carter. Less than thirty minutes after Mr. Jordan spoke by phone to Ms. Lewinsky, he talked with the President for thirteen minutes. Immediately after this call, at 4:33 p.m., Mr. Jordan called Mr. Carter. Less than an hour later, Mr. Jordan placed a four-minute call to the main White House number. Over the course of the day, Mr. Jordan called a White House number twice, Ms. Lewinsky three times, and Mr. Carter four times.(947)
Mr. Carter testified that his phone conversations with Mr. Jordan this day and the next “likely” related to Ms. Lewinsky and his litigation strategy for her.(948) In fact, Mr. Carter billed Ms. Lewinsky for time for “(t)elephone conference with Atty Jordan.”(949)
When questioned in the grand jury, Mr. Jordan testified that he could not specifically remember the January 6 calls. He said he “assumed” that he talked with Ms. Lewinsky about her job search, and he believed that he called Mr. Carter to see “how he was dealing with this highly emotional lady.”(950) He said that he might have talked with the President about Ms. Lewinsky, but he maintained that “there (was) no connection” between his 13-minute conversation with the President and the call he placed immediately thereafter to Mr. Carter.(951)
D. January 7: Ms. Lewinsky Signs Affidavit
Ms. Lewinsky set an appointment with Mr. Carter to finalize the affidavit for 10 a.m. on January 7, 1998.(952) She signed the affidavit; however, she acknowledged in the grand jury that statements in it were false.(953) Mr. Carter indicated to her that he “intend(ed) to hold onto this until after I talk to plaintiff’s lawyers.” He told her to “keep in touch,” and said: “Good luck on your job search.”(956)
According to Mr. Jordan, Ms. Lewinsky came to his office on January 7 and showed him the signed affidavit.(957) Over the course of the day, Mr. Jordan placed three calls of significant duration to the White House.(958) He testified: “I knew the President was concerned about the affidavit and whether it was signed or not.”(959) When asked whether the President understood that the affidavit denied a sexual relationship, Mr. Jordan testified: “I think that’s a reasonable assumption.”(960) According to Mr. Jordan, when he informed the President that Ms. Lewinsky had signed the affidavit, the President said, “Fine, good.”(961) Mr. Jordan said he was continuing to work on her job, and the President responded, “Good.”(962)
Ten days after this conversation, in the Jones deposition, President Clinton was asked whether he knew that Ms. Lewinsky had met with Vernon Jordan and talked about the Jones case. He answered:
I knew he met with her. I think Betty suggested that he meet with her. Anyway, he met with her.
I, I thought that he talked to her about something else. I didn’t know that–I thought he had given her some advice about her move to New York. Seems like that’s what Betty said.(963)
In his grand jury appearance, however, President Clinton testified that Mr. Jordan informed “us” on January 7 that Ms. Lewinsky had signed an affidavit to be used in connection with the Jones case.(964) The President defended his deposition testimony by stating:
(M)y impression was that, at the time, I was focused on the meetings. I believe the meetings he had were meetings about her moving to New York and getting a job.
I knew at some point that she had told him that she needed some help, because she had gotten a subpoena. I’m not sure I know whether she did that in a meeting or a phone call. And I was not, I was not focused on that. I know that, I know Vernon helped her get a lawyer, Mr. Carter. And I, I believe that he did it after she had called him, but I’m not sure. But I knew that the main source of their meetings was about her move to New York and her getting a job.(965)
E. January 8: The Perelman Call
The day after she signed the affidavit, January 8, 1998, Ms. Lewinsky interviewed in New York with Jaymie Durnan, Senior Vice President and Special Assistant to the Chairman at MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc. (MFH).(966) Mr. Durnan testified that, although impressive, Ms. Lewinsky was not suited for any MFH opening.(967) He told her that he would pass on her resume to Revlon, an MFH company.(968) Ms. Lewinsky called Mr. Jordan and reported that she felt that the interview had gone “very poorly.”(969) Mr. Jordan indicated in response that “he’d call the chairman.”(970)
At 4:54 p.m., Mr. Jordan called Ronald Perelman, chairman and chief executive officer of MFH.(971) Mr. Jordan told the grand jury with respect to Mr. Perelman, one “(c)an’t get any higher–or any richer.”(972) Asked why he chose to call Mr. Perelman, Mr. Jordan responded: “I have spent a good part of my life learning institutions and people, and, in that process, I have learned how to make things happen. And the call to Ronald Perelman was a call to make things happen, if they could happen.”(973)
According to Mr. Perelman, Mr. Jordan spoke of “this bright young girl, who I think is terrific,” and said that he wanted “to make sure somebody takes a look at her.”(977) Mr. Perelman testified that, in the roughly twelve years that Mr. Jordan had been on Revlon’s Board of Directors, he did not recall Mr. Jordan ever calling to recommend someone.(978) After he spoke with Mr. Perelman, Mr. Jordan telephoned Ms. Lewinsky and told her, “I’m doing the best I can to help you out.”(982) Ms. Lewinsky soon received a call from Revlon, inviting her to another interview.(984)
Over the course of January 8, Mr. Jordan placed three calls to the White House–twice to a number at the White House Counsel’s Office, once to the main White House number.(985) As to the Counsel’s Office calls, Mr. Jordan speculated that he was trying to reach Cheryl Mills, Deputy White House Counsel, to express his “frustration” about Ms. Lewinsky.(986) According to Mr. Jordan, Ms. Mills knew who Ms. Lewinsky was: “(T)hat was no secret, I don’t think, around the White House, that I was helping Monica Lewinsky.”(987)
F. January 9: “Mission Accomplished”
On the morning of Friday, January 9, 1998, Ms. Lewinsky interviewed with Allyn Seidman, Senior Vice President of MFH, and two individuals at Revlon.(988) Ms. Lewinsky testified that the interviews went well and that Ms. Seidman called her back that day and “informally offered (her) a position, and (she) informally accepted.”(989)
Ms. Lewinsky then called Mr. Jordan and relayed the good news.(990) When shown records of a seven-minute call at 4:14 p.m., Mr. Jordan testified: “I have to assume that if she got the job and we have a seven-minute conversation and the day before I had talked to the chairman (Ronald Perelman), I have to assume the Jordan magic worked.”(991)
According to Mr. Jordan, he believed that he notified Ms. Currie and the President as soon as he learned that Ms. Lewinsky had obtained an offer: “I am certain that at some point in time I told Betty Currie, `Mission accomplished.’ “(992) Mr. Jordan testified that he also told the President directly that, ” `Monica Lewinsky’s going to work for Revlon,’ and his response was, `Thank you very much.’ “(993)
G. January 12: Pre-Trial Hearing in Jones Case
On January 12, 1998, Judge Wright held a hearing in the Jones case to discuss pre-trial issues, including the President’s upcoming deposition.(994) At that hearing, Judge Wright required Ms. Jones’s counsel to list all the witnesses that they planned to call at trial. Ms. Jones’s witness list named many women, among them Ms. Lewinsky, to support her theory that the President had a pattern of rewarding women based on their willingness to engage in sexual relations with him. At the hearing, Judge Wright indicated that she would permit Ms. Jones to call as witnesses some of the women she listed in support of her case.
H. January 13: References from the White House
On Tuesday, January 13, 1998, Jennifer Sheldon, Manager of Corporate Staffing of Revlon, called Ms. Lewinsky and formally extended her a position as a public relations administrator.
Asked whether this was a relatively quick hiring process, Ms. Sheldon responded, “In totality of how long open positions normally stay open, yes. This was pretty fast.”(995) Ms. Sheldon told Ms. Lewinsky that she needed to send her some references.(996)
According to Ms. Lewinsky, she then called Ms. Currie because she was “concerned that if I put (Mr. Hilley) down as a reference, he might not say flattering things about me.” (997) At 11:11 a.m. on January 13, Ms. Currie paged Ms. Lewinsky and left the following message: “Will know something this afternoon. Kay.”(998)
That day, January 13, the President talked with Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles about a reference for Ms. Lewinsky.(999) The President told Mr. Bowles that Ms. Lewinsky “had found a job in the. . .private sector, and she had listed John Hilley as a reference, and could we see if he could recommend her, if asked.” Mr. Bowles assured the President that Mr. Hilley would give Ms. Lewinsky a recommendation commensurate with her job performance.(1000)
Thereafter, Mr. Bowles took the President’s request to Mr. Podesta, the Deputy Chief of Staff, who in turn spoke with Mr. Hilley.(1001) Mr. Hilley responded that, because he did not know Ms. Lewinsky personally, he would have his office write a recommendation.(1002) It would be a generic letter, simply confirming the dates of employment, because of the less than favorable circumstances surrounding Ms. Lewinsky’s departure from the White House.(1003)
Ms. Lewinsky testified that Ms. Currie called later that day and told her that “Mr. Podesta took care of it and everything would be fine with Mr. Hilley.”(1004) At 11:17 a.m. the next day, Wednesday, January 14, Ms. Lewinsky faxed her acceptance to Revlon and listed John Hilley and her Defense Department supervisor as references.(1006)
The President was asked in the grand jury whether he ever spoke to Mr. Bowles about obtaining a reference from Mr. Hilley for Ms. Lewinsky. He testified that he did, at Ms. Lewinsky’s request, although he thought he had done so earlier than January 13 or 14.(1007)
I. January 13: Final Jordan Meeting
According to Ms. Lewinsky, on Tuesday, January 13, she stopped by Mr. Jordan’s office to drop off some thank-you gifts for helping her find a job. Ms. Lewinsky offered to show him a copy of her signed affidavit in the Jones case, but he indicated that he did not need to see it.(1008)
J. January 13-14: Lewinsky-Tripp Conversation and Talking Points
In a face-to-face conversation on January 13, Ms. Lewinsky told Linda Tripp: “This is what my lawyer taught me. You really don’t–you don’t very often say `no’ unless you really need to. The best is, `Well, not that I recall, not that I really remember. Might have, but I don’t really remember.’ “(1009) Ms. Lewinsky said that, if asked in a deposition, “Were you ever alone with the President?” she could say, “Um, it’s possible I may have taken a letter on the weekend, but, you know–I might have, but I don’t really. . .”(1010) Ms. Lewinsky and Ms. Tripp then discussed the situation:
Ms. Lewinsky: I don’t think the way that man thinks, I don’t think he thinks of lying under oath. . .
Ms. Tripp: Yes, he is because he’s the one who said, “Deny, deny, deny.” Of course he knows.
Ms. Lewinsky: Right. But it’s–hard to explain this. It’s like– (sigh)
Ms. Tripp: You know what I mean. I mean, I don’t know–do I think he is consciously–
Ms. Lewinsky: If–if–if I said, if somebody said to him, “Is Monica lying under oath,” he would say yes. But when he on his own thinks about it, he doesn’t think about it in those terms. Okay?
Ms. Tripp: Probably.
Ms. Lewinsky: Okay? He thinks of it as, “We’re safe. We’re being smart.” Okay? “We’re being smart, we’re being safe, it’s good for everybody.”(1011)
On January 14, Ms. Lewinsky gave Ms. Tripp a three-page document regarding “points to make in (Ms. Tripp’s) affidavit.”(1012) Ms. Lewinsky testified that she wrote the document herself, although some of the ideas may have been inspired by conversations with Ms. Tripp.(1013)
