Lewinsky Scandal: Clinton's Legal Troubles

The Clinton–Lewinsky scandal was a sex scandal involving Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, and Monica Lewinsky, a 22-year-old White House intern. Their sexual relationship began in 1995 and lasted 18 months. Clinton initially denied the affair, famously stating, I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms Lewinsky, but later admitted to a critical lapse in judgement. The scandal led to Clinton's impeachment by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, but he was subsequently acquitted on all charges in a Senate trial.

Clinton's impeachment trial

The impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, began in the U.S. Senate on January 7, 1999, and concluded with his acquittal on February 12. Clinton was the second U.S. president to face a Senate impeachment trial, after Andrew Johnson.

The catalyst for the president's impeachment was the Starr Report, a September 1998 report prepared by Independent Counsel Ken Starr for the House Judiciary Committee. The Starr Report included details outlining a sexual relationship between Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern.

Clinton was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, on two articles of impeachment: perjury and obstruction of justice. He was formally charged with lying under oath and obstructing justice.

The impeachment trial began on January 7, 1999, with Chief Justice William Rehnquist presiding. The trial lasted 21 days and ended on February 12, with Clinton being acquitted on both articles of impeachment. The prosecution needed a two-thirds majority to convict but failed to achieve even a bare majority. On the first charge of perjury, 45 Democrats and 10 Republicans voted "not guilty," and on the charge of obstruction of justice, the Senate was split 50-50.

Lewinsky's affidavit denying a relationship with Clinton

In January 1998, it was discovered that Monica Lewinsky had signed an affidavit denying a sexual relationship with Bill Clinton. This affidavit was signed as part of the Paula Jones case, in which Jones accused Clinton of sexual harassment.

Lewinsky was subpoenaed by Jones' lawyers, who hoped to argue that Clinton had displayed a pattern of workplace harassment. Jones' lawyers received this tip from a conservative legal group that had volunteered to fund her lawsuit.

Linda Tripp, a co-worker of Lewinsky's, had secretly recorded conversations in which Lewinsky confided about her relationship with Clinton. Tripp gave these tapes to Ken Starr, the independent counsel investigating Clinton on other matters. Starr then broadened his investigation to include Lewinsky and her possible perjury in the Jones case.

In January 1998, Lewinsky attempted to persuade Tripp to commit perjury in the Jones case. However, instead of agreeing, Tripp gave the tapes to Starr, who was now armed with evidence of Lewinsky's admission of a physical relationship with Clinton.

On January 26, 1998, Clinton denied the report of an affair on television, stating: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." This denial would later lead to charges of perjury and the impeachment of Clinton by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Clinton's denial of the affair

On January 17, 1998, the Drudge Report published a story alleging that Newsweek had been tipped off about President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. The story broke in the mainstream press on January 21, in The Washington Post. Despite swift denials from Clinton, the clamor for answers from the White House grew louder.

On January 26, 1998, Clinton, standing with his wife, spoke at a White House press conference and issued a denial, saying:

> Now, I have to go back to work on my State of the Union speech. And I worked on it until pretty late last night. But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: 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.

Pundits debated whether Clinton would address the allegations in his State of the Union Address. Ultimately, he chose not to mention them. Hillary Clinton remained supportive of her husband throughout the scandal. On January 27, in an appearance on NBC's Today show, she said:

> The great story here for anybody willing to find it and write about it and explain it is this vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced [his run] for president.

For the next several months and through the summer, the media debated whether or not an affair had occurred and whether or not Clinton had lied or obstructed justice. Nothing could be definitively established beyond the taped recordings because Lewinsky was unwilling to discuss the affair or testify about it.

On July 28, 1998, Lewinsky received transactional immunity in exchange for grand jury testimony concerning her relationship with Clinton. She also turned over a semen-stained blue dress to the Starr investigators. The FBI tested the dress and matched the semen stains to a blood sample from Clinton, thereby providing unambiguous circumstantial evidence that proved the relationship despite Clinton's official denials.

Clinton admitted in a taped grand jury testimony on August 17, 1998, that he had engaged in an "improper physical relationship" with Lewinsky. That evening, he gave a nationally televised statement, admitting that his relationship with Lewinsky was "not appropriate".

The Starr Report

The investigation of Clinton's possible adultery drew criticism of Starr, as some believed he had crossed a line and was acting more as a political hitman than a prosecutor. Clinton was ultimately impeached by the House of Representatives but was later acquitted of all charges in a 21-day trial in the Senate, where he remained in office.

Clinton's acquittal

The impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, ended on February 12, 1999, with the Senate voting to acquit him on both articles of impeachment: perjury and obstruction of justice. The catalyst for Clinton's impeachment was the Starr Report, a September 1998 report prepared by Independent Counsel Ken Starr for the House Judiciary Committee. The report included details outlining a sexual relationship between Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern.

Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, on grounds of perjury to a grand jury and obstruction of justice. He was the second president in American history to be impeached, the first being Andrew Johnson, who was impeached in 1868.

The Senate trial of Clinton began on January 7, 1999, with Chief Justice William Rehnquist presiding. On February 12, the Senate voted on whether to remove Clinton from office. The prosecution needed a two-thirds majority to convict but failed to achieve even a bare majority. The Senate rejected the charge of perjury, 45-55, with 10 Republicans voting against conviction. It then split 50-50 on a second article accusing Clinton of obstruction of justice in concealing his affair with Lewinsky. Five Republicans broke ranks on the obstruction-of-justice charge. No Democrats voted to convict on either charge.

Clinton was thereby acquitted of all charges and remained in office.

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