High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton (7 page)
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Authors: Ann Coulter
BOOK: High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton
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Despite the White House’s dogged attempts to portray the Monica scandal as “only about sex,” the looming question for both Jones’s lawyers and Clinton himself during the deposition was clearly whether the president had obstructed justice in the
Jones
case by trying to prevent Jones’s lawyers from finding out about Lewinsky—such as during that December 28 meeting in the White House.
Jones
case by trying to prevent Jones’s lawyers from finding out about Lewinsky—such as during that December 28 meeting in the White House.
Indeed, one of the strangest aspects of the president’s deposition was that Judge Wright and Bob Bennett were required to ask Clinton to speak up whenever the questions veered toward the possibility that he had suborned Lewinsky’s perjury. The most booming glad-hander ever to occupy the Oval Office had suddenly lost his voice. And he started talking like George Bush. As the questions went from whether the president had discussed Lewinsky’s testimony with her to whether the president had arranged for the U.N. ambassador to get her a job, Clinton’s answers became confused and inaudible. In an especially nice touch, the president stalled for time by repeatedly commenting, “I want to be as accurate as I can.”
Q:
Did you ever talk with Monica Lewinsky about the possibility that she might be asked to testify in this case?
Did you ever talk with Monica Lewinsky about the possibility that she might be asked to testify in this case?
A:
Bruce Lindsey, I think Bruce Lindsey told me that she was, I think maybe that’s the first person told me she was.
I want to be as accurate as I can.
Bruce Lindsey, I think Bruce Lindsey told me that she was, I think maybe that’s the first person told me she was.
I want to be as accurate as I can.
MR. BENNETT:
Keep your voice up, Mr. President.
Keep your voice up, Mr. President.
THE WITNESS:
Okay.
Okay.
A:
But he may not have, I don’t have a specific memory, but I talked with him about the case on more than one occasion, so he might have said that.
But he may not have, I don’t have a specific memory, but I talked with him about the case on more than one occasion, so he might have said that.
Q:
I believe I was starting to ask you a question a moment ago and we got sidetracked. Have you ever talked to Monica Lewinsky about the possibility that she might be asked to testify in this lawsuit?
I believe I was starting to ask you a question a moment ago and we got sidetracked. Have you ever talked to Monica Lewinsky about the possibility that she might be asked to testify in this lawsuit?
A:
I’m not sure, and I’ll tell you why I’m not sure. It seems to me the, the, the,—
I want to be as accurate as I can here.
Seems to me the last time she was there to see Betty before Christmas we were joking about how you-all with the help of the Rutherford Institute, were going to call every woman I’ve ever talked to and I said, you know—
I’m not sure, and I’ll tell you why I’m not sure. It seems to me the, the, the,—
I want to be as accurate as I can here.
Seems to me the last time she was there to see Betty before Christmas we were joking about how you-all with the help of the Rutherford Institute, were going to call every woman I’ve ever talked to and I said, you know—
MR. BENNETT:
We can’t hear you, Mr. President.
We can’t hear you, Mr. President.
Clinton instinctively reverted to attacking Jones’s lawyers as members of a vast right-wing conspiracy out to get him—“we were joking about how you-all with the help of the Rutherford Institute, were going to call every woman I’ve ever talked to….” In fact, Jones’s lawyers were interested only in calling in every woman Clinton had ever attempted to grope, proposition, or seduce. That group just happened to be strongly correlated with every woman the president had ever talked to.
Q:
Is it your understanding that she was offered a job at the U.N.?
Is it your understanding that she was offered a job at the U.N.?
A:
I know that she interviewed for one. I don’t know if she was offered one or not.
I know that she interviewed for one. I don’t know if she was offered one or not.
Q:
Have you ever talked to Bill Richardson about Monica Lewinsky?
Have you ever talked to Bill Richardson about Monica Lewinsky?
A:
No.
No.
Q:
What is his title?
What is his title?
A:
He’s the Ambassador to the U.N.
He’s the Ambassador to the U.N.
JUDGE WRIGHT:
I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that.
I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that.
WITNESS:
He’s the Ambassador to the U.N.
He’s the Ambassador to the U.N.
Q:
Have you ever asked anyone to talk to Bill Richardson about Monica Lewinsky?
Have you ever asked anyone to talk to Bill Richardson about Monica Lewinsky?
A:
I believe that, I believe that Monica, what I know about that is I believe Monica asked Betty Currie to ask someone to talk to him, and she talked to him and went to an interview with him. That’s what I believe happened.
I believe that, I believe that Monica, what I know about that is I believe Monica asked Betty Currie to ask someone to talk to him, and she talked to him and went to an interview with him. That’s what I believe happened.
Q:
And the source of that information is who?
And the source of that information is who?
A:
Betty
. I think that’s what
Betty
—
I think Betty did that.
I think Monica talked to
Betty
about moving to New York, and I, my recollection is that that was the chain of events.
Betty
. I think that’s what
Betty
—
I think Betty did that.
I think Monica talked to
Betty
about moving to New York, and I, my recollection is that that was the chain of events.
Before the end of his garbled responses on efforts to suborn perjury, the president had finally settled on the fall guy: Betty Currie. “Betty did that” quickly became the leitmotif of Clinton’s deposition.
One of the most amusing exchanges in the entire deposition—in the entire case, really—is when Clinton is asked about the gifts he and Lewinsky exchanged. The Jones lawyers clearly knew a lot more than he thought
anyone
knew. Feeling the probe go deeper and deeper, the president played the liar’s game of trying to elicit all known facts from his interlocutor before formulating his own “recollection”—
anyone
knew. Feeling the probe go deeper and deeper, the president played the liar’s game of trying to elicit all known facts from his interlocutor before formulating his own “recollection”—
Q:
Well, have you ever given any gifts to Monica Lewinsky?
Well, have you ever given any gifts to Monica Lewinsky?
A:
I don’t recall.
Do you know what they were?
I don’t recall.
Do you know what they were?
Q:
A hat pin?
A hat pin?
A:
I don’t, I don’t remember. But I certainly, I could have.
I don’t, I don’t remember. But I certainly, I could have.
Q:
A book about Walt Whitman?
A book about Walt Whitman?
A:
I give—let me just say, I give people a lot of gifts, and when people are around
I give a lot of things I have at the White House away
, so I could have given her a gift, but I don’t remember a specific gift.
I give—let me just say, I give people a lot of gifts, and when people are around
I give a lot of things I have at the White House away
, so I could have given her a gift, but I don’t remember a specific gift.
The story is, upon learning of the
Leaves of Grass
love token her husband had given to Lewinsky, Mrs. Clinton was finally shocked. She is said to have been aboard an Amtrak train when she first got wind of this part of her better half’s perfidy, and gasped, “He gave me the same book after our second date!”
6
(It must be said that the book was the perfect courtship gift for Clinton, combining prurience with personal disclaimers. There are lines like “You settled your head athwart my hips and gently turn’d over upon me,” but also, “Do I contradict? Very well then I contradict myself.”)
Leaves of Grass
love token her husband had given to Lewinsky, Mrs. Clinton was finally shocked. She is said to have been aboard an Amtrak train when she first got wind of this part of her better half’s perfidy, and gasped, “He gave me the same book after our second date!”
6
(It must be said that the book was the perfect courtship gift for Clinton, combining prurience with personal disclaimers. There are lines like “You settled your head athwart my hips and gently turn’d over upon me,” but also, “Do I contradict? Very well then I contradict myself.”)
And what are all those “things I have at the White House” he’s been giving away? Official portraits? Does he have a lot of dresses and hat pins lying around the White House?
Q:
Do you remember giving her an item that had been purchased from The Black Dog store at Martha’s vineyard?
Do you remember giving her an item that had been purchased from The Black Dog store at Martha’s vineyard?
A:
I do remember that, because when I went on vacation Betty said that, asked me if I was going to bring some stuff back from The Black Dog, and she said Monica loved, like that stuff and would like to have a a piece of it and I did a lot of Christmas shopping from the Black Dog, and I bought a lot of things for a lot of people, and I gave Betty a couple of the pieces and she gave I think something to Monica and something to some of the other girls who worked in the office. I remember that because Betty mentioned it to me.
7
I do remember that, because when I went on vacation Betty said that, asked me if I was going to bring some stuff back from The Black Dog, and she said Monica loved, like that stuff and would like to have a a piece of it and I did a lot of Christmas shopping from the Black Dog, and I bought a lot of things for a lot of people, and I gave Betty a couple of the pieces and she gave I think something to Monica and something to some of the other girls who worked in the office. I remember that because Betty mentioned it to me.
7
Again, “Betty did that.”
Q:
Has Monica Lewinsky ever given you any gifts?
Has Monica Lewinsky ever given you any gifts?
A:
Once or twice. I think she’s given me a book or two.
Once or twice. I think she’s given me a book or two.
Q:
Did she give you a silver cigar box?
Did she give you a silver cigar box?
A:
No.
No.
Q:
Did she give you a tie?
Did she give you a tie?
A:
Yes, she has given me a tie before. I believe that’s right. Now, as I said, let me remind you, normally when I get these ties, I get ties, you know, together, and then they’re given to me later, but I believe that she has given me a tie.
8
Yes, she has given me a tie before. I believe that’s right. Now, as I said, let me remind you, normally when I get these ties, I get ties, you know, together, and then they’re given to me later, but I believe that she has given me a tie.
8
Q:
Did you have an extramarital sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky?
Did you have an extramarital sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky?
A:
No.
No.
Q:
If she told someone that she had a sexual affair with you beginning in November of 1995, would that be a lie?
If she told someone that she had a sexual affair with you beginning in November of 1995, would that be a lie?
A:
It’s certainly not the truth. It would not be the truth.
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?
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?
A:
I have never had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. I’ve never had an affair with her.
I have never had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. I’ve never had an affair with her.
In response to widespread reports that Clinton believed oral sex did not constitute adultery,
9
Jones’s attorney’s had posited a definition of “sexual relations” in Deposition Exhibit 1 broad enough to circumvent the typical Clintonian escape hatch. It was not so broad, however, as to encompass a slap on the buttocks, as James Carville has claimed, unless Carville believes a slap on the buttocks would be capable of “arous[ing] or gratify[ing]” sexual desires. The definition was—
9
Jones’s attorney’s had posited a definition of “sexual relations” in Deposition Exhibit 1 broad enough to circumvent the typical Clintonian escape hatch. It was not so broad, however, as to encompass a slap on the buttocks, as James Carville has claimed, unless Carville believes a slap on the buttocks would be capable of “arous[ing] or gratify[ing]” sexual desires. The definition was—
(1) 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
;(2) contact between any part of the person’s body or an object and the genitals or anus of another person; or(3) contact between the genitals or anus of the person and any part of another person’s body.
10
No room for weasel words there. Clinton denied under oath that he had engaged in the sexual acts described by Lewinsky in florid detail, on hours of tape—tapes which were at that very moment in the possession of the independent counsel.
When Clinton got back to the White House he canceled dinner plans and called Betty Currie at home to ask her to come to the office the next day, though it was a Sunday and there was no crisis imposing special duties on anyone else. He reportedly ran her through a series of questions and answers about her understanding of his dealings with Lewinsky: “We were never alone, right?” When White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry was later asked to explain this odd behavior, he said the president called Currie in for extra, overtime duty that Sunday because he needed to refresh
his
recollection. McCurry did not explain why the president needed to refresh his recollection for questions he had already answered under oath on videotape and therefore, as far as he knew then, would never again have to answer.
his
recollection. McCurry did not explain why the president needed to refresh his recollection for questions he had already answered under oath on videotape and therefore, as far as he knew then, would never again have to answer.
Prior to the deposition, Clinton had apparently already refreshed his recollection enough to recall things he had forgotten throughout the 1992 campaign. One of the most peculiar exchanges during the deposition was this:
Q:
Did you ever have sexual relations with Gennifer Flowers?
Did you ever have sexual relations with Gennifer Flowers?
A:
…The answer to your question… is yes.
…The answer to your question… is yes.
Q:
On how many occasions?
On how many occasions?
A:
Once.
Once.
Q:
In what year?
In what year?
A:
1977.
1977.
During the campaign, Clinton had said that Flowers was a “friendly acquaintance,”
11
and that “the affair did not happen.”
12
On
60 Minutes
he affirmed that he was, as the questioner put it, “categorically denying that [he] ever had an affair with Gennifer Flowers,” earnestly insisting, “I have absolutely leveled with the American people.”
13
Whoops. Flowers had not only testified under oath about the affair, but had also published a book describing sex with Clinton in immoderate detail.
11
and that “the affair did not happen.”
12
On
60 Minutes
he affirmed that he was, as the questioner put it, “categorically denying that [he] ever had an affair with Gennifer Flowers,” earnestly insisting, “I have absolutely leveled with the American people.”
13
Whoops. Flowers had not only testified under oath about the affair, but had also published a book describing sex with Clinton in immoderate detail.
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