Bill Clinton's Lewinsky Scandal: The Day He Denied It All

On January 26, 1998, then-US President Bill Clinton denied having a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern. Standing beside his wife, Hillary Clinton, he addressed a White House press conference, stating: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. This denial came after news of the scandal broke on January 17, 1998, in a report by Matt Drudge, and was later followed by Clinton's impeachment by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury.

Clinton's televised denial

On January 26, 1998, President Bill Clinton denied having a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky in a televised statement. Standing alongside his wife, Hillary Clinton, he said:

> I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time; never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people. Thank you.

Clinton's denial came nine days after news of the scandal first broke on the Drudge Report, and five days after it hit the mainstream press. Despite his denial, the clamour for answers from the White House grew louder, and Clinton was eventually impeached by the House of Representatives later that year.

The Starr investigation

In January 1998, Linda Tripp, a Pentagon colleague of Monica Lewinsky, delivered secret recordings of telephone conversations between her and Lewinsky to Starr. In these conversations, Lewinsky discussed her sexual relationship with Clinton, which lasted from 1995 to 1997. Starr also received more than 20 hours of tapes from Tripp, which contradicted an affidavit signed by Lewinsky stating that she never had a sexual relationship with Clinton.

Starr's investigation into Clinton's relationship with Lewinsky included grand jury testimony from both parties. Clinton denied having a "sexual relationship", "sexual affair", or "sexual relations" with Lewinsky and that he was ever alone with her. However, Lewinsky testified that she had multiple sexual encounters with the president, indicating that he was an active participant.

The investigation concluded with the delivery of the Starr Report to the House Judiciary Committee on September 9, 1998. The report summarised the evidence against the president and cited 11 possible grounds for impeachment, including perjury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and abuse of power. The report included a detailed timeline of Lewinsky's sexual encounters with Clinton and physical evidence such as DNA test results matching a semen stain on Lewinsky's dress to Clinton's blood sample.

Clinton was later impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice but was ultimately acquitted of all charges in a Senate trial.

Lewinsky's immunity deal

On July 28, 1998, Monica Lewinsky received transactional immunity in exchange for grand jury testimony concerning her relationship with President Bill Clinton.

Lewinsky's lawyer, Plato Cacheris, announced that she would testify to a Washington grand jury investigating her relationship with the President and whether he encouraged her to commit perjury. She was granted "transactional immunity" in exchange for "full and truthful testimony", but Cacheris refused to give any details of what she would say.

The immunity deal meant that Lewinsky would not be charged with perjury over her previous denial of a sexual affair. Lewinsky's mother, Marcia Lewis, was also granted immunity as part of the deal, as it was alleged that she urged her daughter to lie about the relationship.

For months, Lewinsky had resisted attempts by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr to get her to testify about her relationship with Clinton. She wanted full immunity from prosecution for possible perjury, but Starr refused until his office had interviewed Lewinsky.

The breakthrough came on July 27, 1998, during a five-hour meeting between Lewinsky and Starr's lawyers in New York. The next day, they announced an immunity deal for her. On July 29, Clinton agreed to testify before the grand jury voluntarily.

On August 3, a blood sample was taken from Clinton for DNA testing against stains from the blue dress taken from Lewinsky. The story became public on August 19.

Lewinsky began to testify before the grand jury on August 6, having already spent days in interviews. On August 17, Clinton testified to the grand jury for more than four hours and admitted to "inappropriate intimate contact". That evening, he addressed the nation in a televised statement, admitting for the first time that he had a relationship with Lewinsky:

> "Indeed, I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong. It constituted a critical lapse in judgment and a personal failure on my part for which I am solely and completely responsible."

Clinton's impeachment

On January 26, 1998, President Bill Clinton denied having "sexual relations" with Monica Lewinsky, stating:

> I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time; never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people. Thank you.

Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, on two charges: perjury and obstruction of justice. The catalyst for the impeachment was the Starr Report, a September 1998 report prepared by Ken Starr, Independent Counsel, for the House Judiciary Committee. The report included details of a sexual relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky, a White House intern.

The Starr Report was the culmination of a wide-ranging investigation into alleged abuses by Clinton, including the Whitewater controversy, the firing of White House travel agents, and the alleged misuse of FBI files. The investigation was expanded to include Clinton's relationship with Lewinsky after he was accused of lying under oath during a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones.

Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives but acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999, and remained in office for the rest of his second term.

The Senate trial

On January 26, 1998, President Bill Clinton denied having a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, stating:

> I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time; never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people. Thank you.

Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. However, he was acquitted on all charges after a 21-day trial in the Senate, which took place from January 7 to February 12, 1999.

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