Pursuant to Section 595(c) of Title 28, the Office of
Independent Counsel (OIC) hereby submits substantial and credible
information that President Clinton obstructed justice during the
Jones v. Clinton sexual harassment lawsuit by lying under oath
and concealing evidence of his relationship with a young White
House intern and federal employee, Monica Lewinsky. After a
federal criminal investigation of the President's actions began
in January 1998, the President lied under oath to the grand jury
and obstructed justice during the grand jury investigation.
There also is substantial and credible information that the
President's actions with respect to Monica Lewinsky constitute an
abuse of authority inconsistent with the President's
constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws.
There is substantial and credible information supporting the
following eleven possible grounds for impeachment:
1. President Clinton lied under oath in his civil case when
he denied a sexual affair, a sexual relationship, or sexual
relations with Monica Lewinsky.
2. President Clinton lied under oath to the grand jury
about his sexual relationship with Ms. Lewinsky.
3. In his civil deposition, to support his false statement
about the sexual relationship, President Clinton also lied under
oath about being alone with Ms. Lewinsky and about the many gifts
exchanged between Ms. Lewinsky and him.
4. President Clinton lied under oath in his civil
deposition about his discussions with Ms. Lewinsky concerning her
involvement in the Jones case.
5. During the Jones case, the President obstructed justice
and had an understanding with Ms. Lewinsky to jointly conceal the
truth about their relationship by concealing gifts subpoenaed by
Ms. Jones's attorneys.
6. During the Jones case, the President obstructed justice
and had an understanding with Ms. Lewinsky to jointly conceal the
truth of their relationship from the judicial process by a scheme
that included the following means: (i) Both the President and
Ms. Lewinsky understood that they would lie under oath in the
Jones case about their sexual relationship; (ii) the President
suggested to Ms. Lewinsky that she prepare an affidavit that, for
the President's purposes, would memorialize her testimony under
oath and could be used to prevent questioning of both of them
about their relationship; (iii) Ms. Lewinsky signed and filed the
false affidavit; (iv) the President used Ms. Lewinsky's false
affidavit at his deposition in an attempt to head off questions
about Ms. Lewinsky; and (v) when that failed, the President lied
under oath at his civil deposition about the relationship with
Ms. Lewinsky.
7. President Clinton endeavored to obstruct justice by
helping Ms. Lewinsky obtain a job in New York at a time when she
would have been a witness harmful to him were she to tell the
truth in the Jones case.
8. President Clinton lied under oath in his civil
deposition about his discussions with Vernon Jordan concerning
Ms. Lewinsky's involvement in the Jones case.
9. The President improperly tampered with a potential
witness by attempting to corruptly influence the testimony of his
personal secretary, Betty Currie, in the days after his civil
deposition.
10. President Clinton endeavored to obstruct justice during
the grand jury investigation by refusing to testify for seven
months and lying to senior White House aides with knowledge that
they would relay the President's false statements to the grand
jury -- and did thereby deceive, obstruct, and impede the grand
jury.
11. President Clinton abused his constitutional authority
by (i) lying to the public and the Congress in January 1998 about
his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky; (ii) promising at that time
to cooperate fully with the grand jury investigation; (iii) later
refusing six invitations to testify voluntarily to the grand
jury; (iv) invoking Executive Privilege; (v) lying to the grand
jury in August 1998; and (vi) lying again to the public and
Congress on August 17, 1998 -- all as part of an effort to
hinder, impede, and deflect possible inquiry by the Congress of
the United States.
The first two possible grounds for impeachment concern the
President's lying under oath about the nature of his relationship
with Ms. Lewinsky. The details associated with those grounds
are, by their nature, explicit. The President's testimony
unfortunately has rendered the details essential with respect to
those two grounds, as will be explained in those grounds.
I. There is substantial and credible information that President
Clinton lied under oath as a defendant in Jones v. Clinton
regarding his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
(1) He denied that he had a "sexual relationship" with
Monica Lewinsky.
(2) He denied that he had a "sexual affair" with Monica
Lewinsky.
(3) He denied that he had "sexual relations" with Monica
Lewinsky.
(4) He denied that he engaged in or caused contact with the
genitalia of "any person" with an intent to arouse or
gratify (oral sex performed on him by Ms. Lewinsky).
(5) He denied that he made contact with Monica Lewinsky's
breasts or genitalia with an intent to arouse or
gratify.
On May 6, 1994, former Arkansas state employee Paula Corbin
Jones filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against President
Clinton claiming that he had sexually harassed her on May 8,
1991, by requesting her to perform oral sex on him in a suite at
the Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock. Throughout the pretrial
discovery process in Jones v. Clinton, United States District
Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled, over the President's objections,
that Ms. Jones's lawyers could seek various categories of
information, including information about women who had worked as
government employees under Governor or President Clinton and
allegedly had sexual activity with him. Judge Wright's rulings
followed the prevailing law in sexual harassment cases: The
defendant's sexual relationships with others in the workplace,
including consensual relationships, are a standard subject of
inquiry during the discovery process. Judge Wright recognized
the commonplace nature of her discovery rulings and stated that
she was following a "meticulous standard of materiality" in
allowing such questioning.
At a hearing on January 12, 1998, Judge Wright required
Ms. Jones to list potential trial witnesses. Ms. Jones's list
included several "Jane Does."(1) Ms. Jones's attorneys said they
intended to call a Jane Doe named Monica Lewinsky as a witness to
support Ms. Jones's claims. Under Ms. Jones's legal theory,
women who had sexual relationships with the President received
job benefits because of the sexual relationship, but women who
resisted the President's sexual advances were denied such
benefits.(2)
On January 17, 1998, Ms. Jones's lawyers deposed President
Clinton under oath with Judge Wright present and presiding over
the deposition. Federal law requires a witness testifying under
oath to provide truthful answers. The intentional failure to
provide truthful answers is a crime punishable by imprisonment
and fine.(3) At the outset of his deposition, the President took
an oath administered by Judge Wright: "Do you swear or affirm
. . . that the testimony you are about to give in the matter
before the court is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth, so help you God?" The President replied: "I do."(4)
At the beginning of their questioning, Ms. Jones's attorneys
asked the President: "And your testimony is subject to the
penalty of perjury; do you understand that, sir?" The President
responded, "I do."(5)
Based on the witness list received in December 1997 (which
included Ms. Lewinsky) and the January 12, 1998, hearing, the
President and his attorneys were aware that Ms. Jones's attorneys
likely would question the President at his deposition about
Ms. Lewinsky and the other "Jane Does." In fact, the attorneys
for Ms. Jones did ask numerous questions about "Jane Does,"
including Ms. Lewinsky.
There is substantial and credible information that President
Clinton lied under oath in answering those questions.
A. Evidence that President Clinton Lied Under Oath During the
Civil Case
1. President Clinton's Statements Under Oath About Monica
Lewinsky
During pretrial discovery, Paula Jones's attorneys served
the President with written interrogatories.(6) One stated in
relevant part:
Please state the name, address, and telephone number of
each and every [federal employee] with whom you had
sexual relations when you [were] . . . President of the
United States.(7)
The interrogatory did not define the term "sexual relations."
Judge Wright ordered the President to answer the interrogatory,
and on December 23, 1997, under penalty of perjury, President
Clinton answered "None."(8)
At the January 17, 1998, deposition of the President,
Ms. Jones's attorneys asked the President specific questions
about possible sexual activity with Monica Lewinsky. The
attorneys used various terms in their questions, including
"sexual affair," "sexual relationship," and "sexual relations."
The terms "sexual affair" and "sexual relationship" were not
specially defined by Ms. Jones's attorneys. The term "sexual
relations" was defined:
For the purposes of this deposition, a person engages
in "sexual relations" when the person knowingly engages
in or causes . . . contact with the genitalia, anus,
groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person
with an intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire
of any person. . . . "Contact" means intentional
touching, either directly or through clothing.(9)
President Clinton answered a series of questions about
Ms. Lewinsky, including:
Q: Did you have an extramarital sexual affair with
Monica Lewinsky?
WJC: No.
Q: If she told someone that she had a sexual affair
with you beginning in November of 1995, would that
be a lie?
WJC: It's certainly not the truth. It would not be the
truth.
Q: I think I used the term "sexual affair." And so
the record is completely clear, have you ever had
sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky, as that
term is defined in Deposition Exhibit 1, as
modified by the Court?
Mr. Bennett:(10)
I object because I don't know that he can remember
--
Judge Wright:
Well, it's real short. He can -- I will permit
the question and you may show the witness
definition number one.
WJC: I have never had sexual relations with Monica
Lewinsky. I've never had an affair with her.(11)
President Clinton reiterated his denial under questioning by his
own attorney:
Q: In paragraph eight of [Ms. Lewinsky's] affidavit,
she says this, "I have never had a sexual
relationship with the President, he did not
propose that we have a sexual relationship, he did
not offer me employment or other benefits in
exchange for a sexual relationship, he did not
deny me employment or other benefits for rejecting
a sexual relationship." Is that a true and
accurate statement as far as you know it?
WJC: That is absolutely true.(12)
2. Monica Lewinsky's Testimony
Monica Lewinsky testified under oath before the grand jury
that, beginning in November 1995, when she was a 22-year-old
White House intern, she had a lengthy relationship with the
President that included substantial sexual activity. She
testified in detail about the times, dates, and nature of ten
sexual encounters that involved some form of genital contact. As
explained in the Narrative section of this Referral, White House
records corroborate Ms. Lewinsky's testimony in that the
President was in the Oval Office area during the encounters. The
records of White House entry and exit are incomplete for
employees, but they do show her presence in the White House on
eight of those occasions.(13)
The ten incidents are recounted here because they are
necessary to assess whether the President lied under oath, both
in his civil deposition, where he denied any sexual relationship
at all, and in his grand jury testimony, where he acknowledged an
"inappropriate intimate contact" but denied any sexual contact
with Ms. Lewinsky's breasts or genitalia. When reading the
following descriptions, the President's denials under oath should
be kept in mind.
Unfortunately, the nature of the President's denials
requires that the contrary evidence be set forth in detail. If
the President, in his grand jury appearance, had admitted the
sexual activity recounted by Ms. Lewinsky and conceded that he
had lied under oath in his civil deposition, these particular
descriptions would be superfluous. Indeed, we refrained from
questioning Ms. Lewinsky under oath about particular details
until after the President's August 17 testimony made that
questioning necessary. But in view of (i) the President's
denials, (ii) his continued contention that his civil deposition
testimony was legally accurate under the terms and definitions
employed, and (iii) his refusal to answer related questions, the
detail is critical. The detail provides credibility and
corroboration to Ms. Lewinsky's testimony. It also demonstrates
with clarity that the Pres ident lied under oath both in his
civil deposition and to the federal grand jury.(14) There is
substantial and credible information that the President's lies
about his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky were abundant and
calculating. >
(i) Wednesday, November 15, 1995
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she had her first sexual contact
with the President on the evening of Wednesday, November 15,
1995, while she was an intern at the White House. Two times that
evening, the President invited Ms. Lewinsky to meet him near the
Oval Office.(15) On the first occasion, the President took
Ms. Lewinsky back into the Oval Office study, and they kissed.(16)
On the second, she performed oral sex on the President in the
hallway outside the Oval Office study.(17) During this encounter,
the President directly touched and kissed Ms. Lewinsky's bare
breasts.(18) In addition, the President put his hand down
Ms. Lewinsky's pants and directly stimulated her genitalia (acts
clearly within the definition of "sexual relations" used at the
Jones deposition).(19)
(ii) Friday, November 17, 1995
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she met with the President again
two days later, on Friday, November 17, 1995.(20) During that
encounter, Ms. Lewinsky stated, she performed oral sex on the
President in the private bathroom outside the Oval Office
study.(21) The President initiated the oral sex by unzipping his
pants and exposing his genitals. Ms. Lewinsky understood the
President's actions to be a sign that he wanted her to perform
oral sex on him.(22) During this encounter, the President also
fondled Ms. Lewinsky's bare breasts with his hands and kissed her
breasts.(23)
(iii) Sunday, December 31, 1995
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she met with the President on
New Year's Eve, Sunday, December 31, 1995, after the President
invited her to the Oval Office.(24) Once there, the President
lifted Ms. Lewinsky's sweater, fondled her bare breasts with his
hands, and kissed her breasts. She stated that she performed
oral sex on the President in the hallway outside the Oval Office
study.(25)
(iv) Sunday, January 7, 1996
Monica Lewinsky testified that she performed oral sex on the
President in the bathroom outside the Oval Office study during
the late afternoon on Sunday, January 7, 1996.(26) The President
arranged this encounter by calling Ms. Lewinsky at home and
inviting her to visit.(27) On that occasion, the President and
Ms. Lewinsky went into the bathroom, where he fondled her bare
breasts with his hands and mouth. During this encounter, the
President stated that he wanted to perform oral sex on
Ms. Lewinsky, but she stopped him for a physical reason.(28)
(v) Sunday, January 21, 1996
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she and the President had a
sexual encounter on the afternoon of Sunday, January 21, 1996,
after he invited her to the Oval Office.(29) The President lifted
Ms. Lewinsky's top and fondled her bare breasts.(30) The President
unzipped his pants and exposed his genitals, and she performed
oral sex on him in the hallway outside the Oval Office study.(31)
(vi) Sunday, February 4, 1996
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she and the President had sexual
contact in the Oval Office study and in the adjacent hallway on
the afternoon of Sunday, February 4, 1996.(32) That day, the
President had called Ms. Lewinsky.(33) During their encounter, the
President partially removed Ms. Lewinsky's dress and bra and
touched her bare breasts with his mouth and hands. He also
directly touched her genitalia.(34) Ms. Lewinsky performed oral
sex on the President.(35)
(vii) Sunday, March 31, 1996
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she and the President had sexual
contact in the hallway outside the Oval Office study during the
late afternoon of Sunday, March 31, 1996.(36) The President
arranged this encounter by calling Ms. Lewinsky and inviting her
to the Oval Office. During this encounter, Ms. Lewinsky did not
perform oral sex on the President. The President fondled
Ms. Lewinsky's bare breasts with his hands and mouth and fondled
her genitalia directly by pulling her underwear out of the way.
In addition, the President inserted a cigar into Ms. Lewinsky's
vagina.(37)
(viii) Sunday, April 7, 1996
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she and the President had sexual
contact on Easter Sunday, April 7, 1996, in the hallway outside
the Oval Office study and in the study itself.(38) On that
occasion, the President touched Ms. Lewinsky's breasts, both
through her clothing and directly. After the President unzipped
his pants, Ms. Lewinsky also performed oral sex on him.(39)
This was their last in-person sexual encounter for over nine
months.
(ix) Friday, February 28, 1997
Ms. Lewinsky testified that her next sexual encounter with
the President occurred on Friday, February 28, 1997, in the early
evening.(40) The President initiated this encounter by having his
secretary Betty Currie call Ms. Lewinsky to invite her to the
White House for a radio address. After the address, Ms. Lewinsky
and the President kissed by the bathroom. The President
unbuttoned her dress and fondled her breasts, first with her bra
on and then directly. He touched her genitalia through her
clothes, but not directly, on this occasion. Ms. Lewinsky
performed oral sex on him.(41) On this day, Ms. Lewinsky was
wearing a blue dress that forensic tests have conclusively shown
was stained with the President's semen.(42)
(x) Saturday, March 29, 1997
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she and the President had sexual
contact on the afternoon of March 29, 1997, in the Oval Office
study.(43) On that occasion, the President unbuttoned
Ms. Lewinsky's blouse and touched her breasts through her bra,
but not directly. He also put his hands inside Ms. Lewinsky's
pants and stimulated her genitalia.(44) Ms. Lewinsky performed
oral sex on him, and they also had brief, direct genital-to-genital contact.(45)
(xi) Two Subsequent Meetings
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she met with President Clinton
in the Oval Office study on the morning of Saturday, August 16,
1997. They kissed, and Ms. Lewinsky touched the President's
genitals through his clothing, but he rebuffed her efforts to
perform oral sex. No other sexual acts occurred during this
encounter.(46)
On Sunday, December 28, 1997, three weeks before the
President's civil deposition in the Jones case, the President and
Ms. Lewinsky met in the Oval Office. In addition to discussing a
number of issues that are analyzed below, they engaged in
"passionate" kissing -- she said, "I don't call it a brief kiss."
No other sexual contact occurred.(47)
3. Phone Sex
Ms. Lewinsky testified that she and the President engaged in
"phone sex" approximately fifteen times. The President initiated
each phone sex encounter by telephoning Ms. Lewinsky.(48)
4. Physical Evidence
>Ms. Lewinsky produced to OIC investigators a dress she wore
during the encounter on February 28, 1997, which she believed
might be stained with the President's semen. At the request of
the OIC, the FBI Laboratory examined the dress and found semen
stains.(49) At that point, the OIC requested a DNA sample from the
President. On August 3, 1998, two weeks before the President's
grand jury testimony, a White House physician drew blood from the
President in the presence of a senior OIC attorney and a FBI
special agent.(50) Through the most sensitive DNA testing, RFLP
testing, the FBI Laboratory determined conclusively that the
semen on Ms. Lewinsky's dress was, in fact, the President's.(51)
The chance that the semen is not the President's is one in 7.87
trillion.(52)
5. Testimony of Ms. Lewinsky's Friends, Family Members,
and Counselors
During her relationship with the President, Monica Lewinsky
spoke contemporaneously to several friends, family members, and
counselors about the relationship. Their testimony corroborates
many of the details of the sexual activity provided by
Ms. Lewinsky to the OIC.
1. The pseudonym Jane Doe was used during discovery to refer
to certain women whose identities were protected from the public.
2. For a discussion of the procedural background to the
Jones case, see Appendix, Tab C.
3. Sections 1621 and 1623 of Title 18 (perjury) carry a
penalty of imprisonment of not more than five years for knowingly
making a false, material statement under oath, including in any
ancillary court proceeding. An "ancillary proceeding" includes a
deposition in a civil case. United States v. McAfee, 8 F.3d
1010, 1013 (5th Cir. 1993); United States v. Scott, 682 F.2d 695,
698 (8th Cir. 1982). The perjury statutes apply to statements
made during civil proceedings. As one United States Court of
Appeals recently stated, "we categorically reject any suggestion,
implicit or otherwise, that perjury is somehow less serious when
made in a civil proceeding. Perjury, regardless of the setting,
is a serious offense that results in incalculable harm to the
functioning and integrity of the legal system as well as to
private individuals." United States v. Holland, 22 F.3d 1040,
1047 (11th Cir. 1994); see also United States v. Wilkinson, 137
F.3d 214, 225 (4th Cir. 1998).
4. Clinton 1/17/98 Depo.; see also Clinton 1/17/98 Depo. at
18.
5. Clinton 1/17/98 Depo. at 19.
6. Written interrogatories are a common discovery device in
federal civil cases by which a party serves written questions on
the opposing party. The rules require that they be answered
under oath and therefore under penalty of perjury. See Fed. R.
Civ. P. 33.
7. V002-DC-00000016-32 (Plaintiff's Second Set of
Interrogatories, see Interrogatory no. 10). The interrogatory in
the text reflects Judge Wright's order, dated December 11, 1997,
limiting the scope of the question to cover only women who were
state or federal employees at the relevant times.
8. V002-DC-00000052-55 (President Clinton's Supplemental
Responses to Plaintiff's Second Set of Interrogatories, see
Response to Interrogatory no. 10).
9. Clinton 1/17/98 Depo., Exh. 1.
10. Robert S. Bennett, counsel for President Clinton.
11. Clinton 1/17/98 Depo. at 78 (emphasis added).
12. Id. at 204 (emphasis added). The full text of
Ms. Lewinsky's affidavit is set forth in the Doc. Supp. B, Tab 7.
13. White House records reflecting entry and exit are
incomplete. For Ms. Lewinsky, there are no records for January
7, 1996, and January 21, 1996.
14. The President's false statements to the grand jury are
discussed in Ground II.
15. Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo. at 6-7.
16. Id. at 7.
17. Id. at 8. Ms. Lewinsky stated that the hallway outside
the Oval Office study was more suitable for their encounters than
the Oval Office because the hallway had no windows. Lewinsky
8/6/98 GJ at 34-35.
18. Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo. at 8.
19. Id. at 8, 21. Ms. Lewinsky testified that she had an
orgasm. Id. at 8.
20. Id. at 11-12.
21. Id. at 12-13.
22. Id. at 14.
23. Id. at 12-13.
24. Id. at 15-16.
25. Id. at 17. After the sexual encounter, she saw the
President masturbate in the bathroom near the sink. Id. at 18.
26. Id. at 18.
27. Id. at 18.
28. Id. at 19. They engaged in oral-anal contact as well.
See Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo. at 18-20.
29. Id. at 21-22. This was shortly after their first phone
sex encounter, which occurred on January 16, 1996. Id. at 22;
Lewinsky 7/30/98 Int. at 9. Phone sex occurs when one or both
parties masturbate while one or both parties talk in a sexually
explicit manner on the telephone.
30. Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo. at 25.
31. Id. at 26. As Ms. Lewinsky departed, she observed the
President "manually stimulating" himself in Ms. Hernreich's
office. Id. at 27.
32. Id. at 28-32.
33. Id. at 28.
34. Id. at 30-31. Ms. Lewinsky testified that she had an
orgasm. Id.
35. Id. at 30-32. They engaged in oral-anal contact as
well. See Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo. at 29-33.
36. Id. at 34-38.
37. Id. at 37-38. The President then put the cigar in his
mouth and said to Ms. Lewinsky: "it tastes good." Lewinsky
7/30/98 Int. at 12-13; see also Lewinsky Depo. at 38.
38. Lewinsky 8/6/98 GJ at 91, 94-97; Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo.
at 40-42.
39. Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo. at 40-43.
40. Id. at 45-49. They had engaged in phone sex a number of
times in the interim, according to Ms. Lewinsky. Lewinsky
7/30/98 Int. at 14-15.
41. Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo. at 47. On this occasion, the
President ejaculated. Id.
42. FBI Lab Report, Lab Nos. 980730002SBO and 980803100SBO,
8/17/98.
43. Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo. at 49-51.
44. Ms. Lewinsky testified that she had multiple orgasms.
Id. at 50.
45. Id. at 50-51; Lewinsky 8/6/98 GJ at 21. On this
occasion, the President ejaculated. Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo. at
50-51.
46. Lewinsky 8/26/98 Depo. at 51-53.
47. Id. at 53. See also Lewinsky 8/6/98 GJ at 35-36.
48. Lewinsky 7/30/98 Int. at 11-16; Lewinsky 8/6/98 GJ at
24. The summary chart of contacts between the President and
Ms. Lewinsky, GJ Exhibit ML-7, which is based on information
provided by Ms. Lewinsky, lists 17 separate phone sex calls. Id.
at 27-28. Ms. Lewinsky also gave the President Vox, a novel
about phone sex. Id.
While phone sex may not itself constitute a "sexual
relationship," it adds detail to Ms. Lewinsky's testimony and
underscores the sexual and intimate nature of the relationship
between the President and Ms. Lewinsky.
Ms. Lewinsky also said that the President left a few
messages on her home answering machine (although he told her he
did not like to leave messages). Ms. Lewinsky provided four
microcassettes of four messages to the OIC on July 29, 1998. FBI
Receipt for Property Received, dated 7/29/98.
49. FBI Lab Report, Lab No. 9800730002SB0, 8/3/98.
50. FBI Observation Report (White House), 8/3/98.
51. FBI Lab Report, Lab No. 980730002SBO and 980803100SBO,
8/17/98.
52. Id.