8A - The Monday September 14, 1998 INVESTIGATING THE PRESIDENT THa STARR ; F 5 as :F3" A' F f ; t : 4 ai ...The Ofice of the Idependent Cou nsl ("OIC" yor "Ofe) ery submits substntial nu credible infotondth a PresidentWi a e ron Clinton comittd acs that may constiute grounds for an impeachment. The inormati reves that President Clinton: lied under oath at a civil deposition whie he was a defendant in a sexual harass- ment lawsuit; lied under oath to a grand jury; * attempted to inf nce the testimony of a potential witness who had dect knowledgeofctt would reveal the falsity of his de osition &istruct attempe t bsrc justice bywit- ness' s la to r his° to co pIwit a w i v, att emped t struct justice Iy eo a wit- ness to that the Presd be false, and then y ma king use of that htle ffidait at his own on lied to teaii rand jury wtnesses, knowng that they would rpeat those lis before the grand cry; and enga i na ernof conduct t wasin onsis- tent with utional duty tof i e xcutethe laws. The evidence shows that these acts, and others, were part of pattern habegan as an effort to preent the dislosure of infrr- mation about the Piweidcnt's relationship with a former White ouse intern and employee, Monica S Lewinky, and contin- ued as an effort to prevnt the information from being disclosed in an ongoing criminal investigation. Factual 1akrund In May 1994, Paula Crin :ones filed a lawsuit against William Jeferson Clinton in the United StatesD istrict Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas Ms. Jones alleged that while hie was te governor of Arkansas, President Clinton sexually harassed her during an incident in a Little Rock hotel room. President Clinton denied the allegations... One sharply disputed issue in the Jones litigation was the extent to which the President would be required to disclose information about sexul lakonships he may have had wih "ter women" Ms. Jones's attorneys sught disclosure of this information, arguingtat i was relevant to proving that the President had propositioned Ms. Jones. The President rsisted the discov- ery requests, arguing tht evidence of rela- tionships with other w oen (if any) was irrelevant. In late 1997, the isu was presented to United States District Jude Susan Webber Wright for resolution. Jde Wright's deci- sion was unambiguous. For purposes of pre- trial discovery, Presidnt Clinton was required to provide crtain information about his alleged reationships with other women. In mid-December 1997, the President answered one of the wrtn discovery ques- tions posed by Ms.Ji": on this issue. When asked to ieniy al konen who were state or federal employees ad with whom he had had "sexual reWlhons" since 1986,heo President ansee aerot:"oe" For Excerpts romtheindependentcounsel' page rort sent to Con 445- judgment, concluding that even if the facts alleged by Paula Jones were true, her claims aled as a matter of law. Ms. Jones has filed an appeal, and as of the date of this Referral, the matter remains under consideration by the United States Court of Appeals for the ighth Circuit. A fter the dismissal of Ms. Jones's lawsuit, the criminal investigation continued ... After careful consideration of all the evidence, the OC has concluded that the evidence of wrongdoing is substantial and credible, and that the wrongdoing is of sufficient gravity that it warrants referral to Congress. The Significance of the Evidence of Wrongdoing It is not the role of this Office to deter- mine whether the President's actions warrant impeachment by the House and removal by the Senate; those judgments are, of course, constitutionally entrusted to the legislative branch This Office is authorized, rather, to conduct criminal investigations and to seek criminal prosecutions for matters within its jurisdiction. In carrying out its investigation, however, this Office also has a statutory duty to disclose to Congress information that "may constitute grounds for an impeach- ment," a task that inevitably requires judg- ment about the seriousness of the acts revealed by the evidence. From the beginning, this phase of the OIC's investigation has been criticized as an improper inquiry into the President's person- al behavior; indeed, the President himself suggested that specific inquiries into his conduct were part of an effort to "criminal- ize my private life." The regrettable fact that the investigation has often required witness- es to discuss sensitive personal matters has fueled this perception. All Americans, including the President, are entitled to enjoy a private family life, free from public or governmental scrutiny. But the privacy concerns raised in this case are subject to limits, three of which we briefly set forth here. First. The first limit was imposed when the President was sued in federal court for alleged sexual harassment. The evidence in such litigation is often personal. At times, that evidence is highly embarrassing for both plaintiff and defendant ... Nevertheless, Congress and the Supreme Court have concluded that embarrassment- related concerns must give way to the greater interest in allowing aggrieved parties to pursue their claims. Courts have long rec- ognized the difficulties of proving sexual harassment in the workplace, inasmuch as improper or unlawful behavior often takes place in private. To excuse a party who lied or concealed evidence on the ground that the evidence covered only "personal" or "pri- vate" behavior would frustrate the goals that Conress and the courts have sought to achieve in enacting and interpreting the Nation's sexual harassment laws. That is par- ticularly true when the conduct that is being concealed - sexual relations in the work- place between a high official and a young subordinate employee - itself conflicts with those goals. Second ... A federal judge specifically ordered the President, on more than one occasion, to provide the requested informa- tion about relationships with other women, including Monica Lewinsky ... the President was duty bound to testify truthful- ly and fully. Perjury and attempts to obstruct the gath- ering of evidence can never be an acceptable a response to a court order, regardless of the eventual course or outcome of the litigation. The Supreme Court has spoken forceful- ly about perjury and other forms of obstruc- tion of justice: In this constitutional process of securing a witness' testimony, perjury simply has no place whatever. Perjured testimony is an obvious and flagrant affront to the basic con- cepts of judicial proceedings ... Third. The third limit is unique to the President ... As the head of the Executive Branch, the President has the constitutional duty to "take Care that the Laws be faithful- lv executed." The President gave his testimo- ny in the Jones case under oath and in the presence of a federal judge, a member of a co-equal branch of government; he then tes- tified before a federal grand jury, a body of citizens who had themselves taken an oath to seek the truth. In view of the enormous trust and responsibility attendant to his high Ofiee, the President has a manifest duty to ensure that his conduct at all times complies with the law of the land. In sum, perjury and acts that obstruct jus- tice by any citizen -- whether in a criminal case, a grand iury investigation, a congres- sional hearing, a civil trial, or civil discovery - are profoundly serious matters. When such acts are committed by the President of the United States, we believe those acts "may constitute grounds for an impeach- ment...". This Referral presents substantial and credible information that President Clinton criminally obstructed the judicial process, first in a sexual harassment lawsuit in which he was the defendant and then in a grand jury investigation ... . Physical evidence conclusively establish- es that the President and Ms. Lewinsky had a sexual relationship. After reaching an immunity and cooperation agreement with the Office of then Independent Counsel on July 28, 1998, Ms. Lewinsky turned over a navy blue dress that she said she had worn during a sexual encounter with the President on February 28, 1997. According to Ms. Lewinsky, she noticed stains on the garment the next time she took it from her closet. From their location, she surmised that the stains were the President's semen. Initial tests revealed that the stains are in fact semen ... the genetic markers on the semen, which match the President's DNA, are characteristic of one out of 7.87 trillion Caucasians. In addition to the dress, Ms. Lewinsky provided what she said were answering machine tapes containing brief messages from the President, as well as sev- eral gifts that the President had given her ... In the evaluation of experienced prosecutors and investigators, Ms. Lewinsky has provid- ed truthful information. She has not falsely inculpated the President. Harming him, she has testified, is "the last thing in the world I want to do ... In the Jones deposition on January 17, 1998, the President denied having had "a sexual affair," "sexual relations," or "a sexu- al relationship" with Ms. Lewinsky. He noted that "[t]here are no curtains on the Oval Office, there are no curtains on my pri- vate office, there are no curtains or blinds that can close [on] the windows in my pri- vate dining room," and added: "I have done everything I could to avoid the kind of ques- tions you are asking me here today. ..." Testifying before the grand jury on August 17, 1998, seven months after his Jones deposition, the President acknowl- edged "inappropriate intimate contact" with Ms. Lewinsky but maintained tat his January deposition testimony was accu- rate...the President maintained that there can be no sexual relationship without sexual intercourse, regardless of what other sexual activities may transpire. He stated that "most ordinary Americans" would embrace this distinction ... According to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President had ten sexual encounters, eight while she worked at the White House and two thereafter. The sexual encounters gener- ally occurred in or near the private study off the Oval Office - most often in the win- dowless hallway outside the study. During many of their sexual encounters, the President stood leaning against the doorway of the bathroom across from the study, which, he told Ms. Lewinsky, eased his sore back. Ms. Lewinsky testified that her physical relationship with the President included oral sex but not sexual intercourse. According to Ms. Lewinsky, she performed oral sex on the President; he never performed oral sex on her. Initiall, according to Ms. Lewinsky, the President would not let her perform oral sex to completion. In Ms. Lewinsky's under- standing, his refusal was related to "trust and not knowing me well enough." During their last two sexual encounters, both in 1997, he did ejaculate. According to Ms. Lewinsky, she per- formed oral sex on the President on nine occasions. 04 all nine of those occasions, the President fondled and kissed her bare breasts. He touched her genitals, both through her underwear and directly, bringing her to orgasr on two occasions. On one occasion, the President inserted a cigar into her vagina. On another occasion, she and the President had brief genital-o-genital con- tact. Whereas the President testified that "what began as a friemdship came to include [inti- mate contact]," Ms. Lewinsky explained that the relationship moved in the opposite direc- tion: "[T]he emotional and friendship aspects ... devdoped after the beginning of our sexual relationship." As the relationship developed over time, Ms. Lewinsky grew emotionally attached to President Clinton. She testified: "I never expected to fall il love with the President. I was surprised that I did." Ms. Lewinsky told him of her feelings. At times, she believed that he loved her too. They were physically affectionate: "A lot of hugging, holding hands sometimes: He always used to push the hair out of my face." She called him "Handsome"; on occasion, he called her "Sweetie," "Baby'* or sometimes "Dear." He told her that he enyed talking to her -she recalled his saying that the two of them were "emotive and full cf fire," and she made him feel young. He said he wished he could spend more time with her... According to Ms. Lewinsky's friend exchanged numerous gifts. By her estimate, she gave him about 30 items, and he gave her about 18 ... On November 20 - five days after the intimate relationship began, according to Ms. Lewinsky - she gave him a nectktie .., Ms. Lewinsky gave him, among other things, six neckties, an antique paper- weight showing the White House, a silver tabletop holder for cigars or cigarettes, a pair of sunglasses, a casual shirt, a mug embla- zoned "Santa Monica," a frog figurine, a let- ter opener depicting a frog, several novels, a humorous book of quotations, and several antique books. He gave her, among other things, a hat pin, two brooches, a blanket, a marbe bear figurine, and a special edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass ... Mutual Understanding Both Ms. Lewinsky and the President tes- tified that they took steps to maintain the secrecy of the relationship. According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President from the outset stressed the importance of keeping the rela- tionship secret. In her handwritten statement to this Office, Ms. Lewinsky wrote that "the President told Ms. L to deny a relationship, if ever asked about it . . In his grand jury testimony, the President confirmed his efforts to keep their liaisons secret. He said he did not want the facts of their relationship to be disclosed "in any context," and added: "I certainly didn't want this to come out, if I could help it. And I was concerned about that. I was embarrassed about it. I knew it was wrong ..." When visiting the President while she worked at the White House, she generally planned to tell anyone who asked (including Secret Service officers and agents) that she was delivering papers to the President ... While the President did not expressly instruct her to lie, according to Ms. Lewinsky, he did suggest misleading cover stories. And. when she assured him that she planned to lie about the relationship, he responded approvingly. On the frequent occasions when Ms. Lewinsky promised that she would "always deny" the relation- ship and "always protect him," for example, the President responded. in her recollection, "'That's good' or - something affirmative. . [N]ot -'Don't deny it ..." In his grand jury testimony, the President acknowledged that he and Ms. Lewinsky "might have talked about what to do in a nonlegal context" to hide their relationship, and that he "might well have said" that Ms. Lewinsky should tell people that she was bringing letters to him or coming to visit Ms. Currie. But he also stated that "I never asked Ms. Lewinsky to lie ..." The President expressed concern about documents that might hint at an improper relationship between them, according to Ms. Lewinsky... 1995: Initial Sexual Encounters Monica Lewinsky began her White House employment as an intern in the Chief of Staff's office in July 1995. At White House functions in the following months, she made eye contact with the President. During the November 1995 government shutdown, the President invited her to his private study, where they kissed. Later that evening, they had a more intimate sexual encounter. They had another sexual encounter two days later, and a third one on New Year's Eve... The month after her White House intern- ship began, Ms. Lewinsky and the President began what she characterized as "intense flirting." At departure ceremonies and other events, she made eye contact with him, shook hands, and introduced herself. When she ran into the President in the West Wing basement and introduced herself again, according to Ms. Lewinsky, he responded that he already knew who she was... In the autumn of 1995, an impasse over the budget forced the federal government to shut down for one week, from Tuesday, November 14, to Monday, November 20. Only essential federal employees were per- mitted to work during the furlough... White House interns could continue working because of their unpaid status, and they took on a wide range of additional duties. During the shutdown, Ms. Lewinsky worked in Chief of Staff Panetta's West Wing office, where she answered phones and ran errands. The President came to Mr. Panetta's office frequently because of the shutdown, and he sometimes talked with Ms. Lewinsky. She characterized these encounters as "continued flirtation." According to Ms. Lewinsky, a Senior Adviser to the Chief of Staff, Barry Toiv, remarked to her that she was getting a great deal of "face time" with the President. November 15 Sexual Encounter Ms. Lewinsky testified that Wednesday, November 15, 1995 -the second day of the government shutdown - marked the begin- The President was inside alone, and he beck- oned her to enter. She told him that she had a crush on him. He laughed, then asked if she would like to see his private office. Through a connecting door in Mr. Stephanopoulos's office, they went through the President's private dining room toward the study off the Oval Office. Ms. Lewinsky testified: "We talked briefly and sort of acknowledged that there had been a chem- istry that was there before and that we were both attracted to each other and then he asked me if he could kiss me." Ms. Lewinsky said yes. In the windowless hall- way adjacent to the study, they kissed. Before returning to her desk. Ms. Lewinsky wrote down her name and telephone number for the President. At about 10 p.m., in Ms. Lewinsky's rec- ollection, she was alone in the Chief of Staff's office and the President approached. He invited her to rendezvous again in Mr. Stephanopoulos's office in a few minutes, and she agreed... They met in Mr. Stephanopoulos's office and went again to the area of the private study. This time the lights in the study were off. According to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President kissed. She unbuttoned her jacket; either she unhooked her bra or he lifted her bra up; and he touched her breasts with his hands and mouth. Ms. Lew insky testified: "I believe he took a phone call ... and so we moved from the hallway into the back office ... [H]e put his hand down my pants and stimulated me manually in the genital area." While the President continued talking on the phone (Ms. Lewinsky understood that the caller was a Member of Congress or a Senator), she performed oral sex on him. He finished his call, and, a moment later, told Ms. Lewinsky to stop. In her recollection: "I told him that I wanted ... to complete that. And he said ... that he needed to wait until he trusted me more. And then I think he made a joke ... that he hadn't had that in a long time..." November 17 Sexual Encounter According to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President had a second sexual encounter two days later ... on Friday, November 17.... They kissed. and the President touched Ms. Lewinsky's bare breasts with his hands and mouth. At some point, Ms. Currie approached the door leading to the hallway, which was ajar, and said that the President had a telephone call. Ms. Lewinsky recalled that the caller was a Member of Congress with a nickname. While the President was on the telephone, according to Ms. Lewinsky, "he unzipped his pants and exposed himself," and she performed oral sex. Again, he stopped her before he ejacu- lated. During this visit, according to Ms. Lewinsky, the President told her that he liked her smile and her energy. He also said: "I'm usually around on weekends, no one else is around, and you can come and see me..." In his Jones deposition on January 17, 1998, President Clinton - who said he was unable to rec'all most of his encounters with Ms. Lewinsky - did remember her "back there with a pizza" during the government shutdown. He said, however, that he did not believe that the two of them were alone. Testifying before the grand jury on August 17, 1998, the President said that his first "real conversation" with Ms. Lewinsky occurred during the November 1995 fur- lough. He testified: "One night she brought me some pizza. We had some remarks" December 31 Sexual Encounter According to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President had their third sexual encounter on New Year's Eve... Sometime between noon and 1 p.m., in Ms. Lewinsky's recollection, she was in the pantry area of the President's private dining room ... According to Ms. Lewinsky, they moved to the study. "And then.. . we were kissing and he lifted my sweater and exposed my breasts and was fondling them with his hands and with his mouth."... She performed oral sex ... Once again, he stopped her before he ejaculated because, Ms. Lewinsky testified, "he didn't know me well enough or he didn't trust me yet:' January-March 1996: Continued Sexual Encounters President Clinton and Ms. Lewinsky had additional sexual encounters near the Oval Office in 1996 ...On President's Day, February 19, the President terminated their sexual relationship, then revived it on March 31. According to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President had another sexual encounter on Sunday, January 7, 1996 ... [W]e made an arrangement that ... he would have the door to his office open, and I would pass by the office with some papers and then ... he would sort of stop me and invite me in. So, according to Ms. Lewinsky But she stopped him because she was menstruating and he did not. Ms. Lewinsky did perform oral sex .on him. Afterward, she and the President moved to the Oval Office and talked. According to Ms. Lewinsky: "[Hie was chewing on a cigar. And then he had the cigar in his hand and he was kind of looking at the cigar in ... sort of a naughty way. And so. . . I looked 'at the cigar and I looked at him and I said, we can do that, too, some time..." On Sunday, February 4, according to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President had thei sixth sexual encounter and their first lengthy and personal conversation ... She was wear- ing a long dress that buttoned from the neck to the ankles. "And he unbuttoned my dress and he unhooked my bra, and sort of took the dress off my shoulders and ...moved the bra ... [H]e was looking at me and touching me and telling me how beautiful I was." He touched her breasts with his hands and his mouth, and touched her genitals, first through underwear and then directly. She performed oral sex on him. After the break-up on February 19, 1996,@ according to Ms. Lewinsky, "there contin- ued to sort of be this flirtation ... On Sunday, March 31, 1996, according to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President resumed their sexual contact... In the hallway by the study, the President and Ms. Lewinsky kissed. On this occasion, according to Ms. Lewinsky, "he focused on me pretty exclusively," kissing her bare breasts and fondling her genitals. At one point, the President inserted a cigar into Ms. Lewinsky's vagina, then put the cigar in hi mouth and said: "It tastes good ..." Deeming her frequent visits to the Oval Office area a "nuisance," one Secret Service Officer complained to Evelyn Lieberman, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations . Ms. Lieberman testified that, because Ms Lewinsky was so persistent in her efforts to be near the President, "I decided to get rid of her ..." Easter Telephone Conversations and Sexual 0 Encounter On Easter Sunday, April 7, 1996, Ms. Lewinsky told the President of her dismissal and they had a sexual encounter... According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President seemed troubled about her upcoming depar- ture from the White House... He ... indicated that she could have any job she wanted after the election... When asked if he had promised to get Ms. Lewinsky another White House job, th President told the grand jury: "... I did nr tell her I would order someone to hire her... After this Easter Sunday conversation, the President and Ms. Lewinsky had a sexual encounter in the hallway, according to Ms. Lewinsky... During this encounter, someone called out from the Oval Office that the President had a phone call. He went back to the Oval Office for a moment, then took the call in the study. The President indicated that M1 Lewinsky should perform oral sex while he talked on the phone, and she obliged. The telephone conversation was about politics, and Ms. Lewinsky thought the caller might be Dick Morris. White House records con- firm that the President had one telephone call during Ms. Lewinsky's visit: from "Mr. Richard Morris... April-December 1996: No Private Meetings After Ms. Lewinsky began her Pentago job on April 16, 19%, she had no further physical contact with the President for the remainder of the year. She and the President spoke by phone (and had phone sex) but saw each other only at public functions . Early 1997: Resumption of Sexual Encounters In 1997, President Clinton and Ms. Lewinsky had further private meetings which now were arranged by Betty Curril the President's secretary. After the taping of the President's weekly radio address on February 28, the President and Ms. Lewinsky had a sexual encounter. On March 24, they had what proved to be their final sexual encountet In 1997, with the presidential election past, Ms. Lewinsky and the President resumed their one-on-one meetings and sex- ual encounters. The President's secretary, Betty Currie, acted as intermediary... Wearing a navy blue dress from the Gai Ms. Lewinsky attended the radio address at the President's invitation (relayed by Ms. Currie), then had her photo taken with the President ... Ms. Lewinsky,testified that "after the President gave her ... gifts, they had a sexu- al encounter ... When Ms. Lewinsky next took the navy blue Gap dress from her clos- et to wear it, she noticed stains near one hip and on the chest. FBI Laboratory tes revealed that the stains are the President) semen... In his grand jury testimony, the President ... testified: I was sick after it was over and I, I was pleased at that time that it had been nearly a year since any inappropriate contact had nrrnrrM witoA~.Ah Mft Lein kv F nnmised4 purposes of thsi'r ual relations On anur was quetined udr tionships wit o~e place, th Preside about hi rcaia Lewinsky, by tlei Wite H- ~uci and Pentaon epo the presence olJn denied that hhac affair, a seulel relation." iM. also staetha ea of havnen ait that he remmerd1 they migt haekc " .. , thet r "sex- .n non w en intework- ! n , The n~rneton uestions ~hpit liMoenica 2 crod former 1a ar oahand in r., hPrerident r' edi a "sexual r sexual winakv. t ePrsident no pee amemory ~wriresofa gits ani'd ad inicaed that no one ecptisarnyhdkept him infored ol vicisys satus as a potential wins nte oe ae On Januar 121 dtiOfie reeived information ls attemptoint ol one of the wie Je on and that Ms. Li isyhrefwspepared to provide fas omto ne oa in dhat lawsuit. The (Cwsaoiarmd that Ms. Lewinsky had sn nt h rsdent and the Presidet' Ci~ icdVron Jordan