Clinton, Bill

The Lewinsky Scandal Unfolds

Lewinsky confided in White House colleague and friend Linda Tripp about her relationship with the president. Tripp secretly recorded phone conversations between Clinton and Lewinsky, which would eventually be used as evidence to prove that the president was engaging in an illicit affair with the White House intern. These exchanges included statements of how Lewinsky believed that Clinton had a problem with women, but she hoped that their relationship would never publicly surface so that his presidency would not be compromised. Lewinsky admitted that her biggest fear was not a plagued career because of her actions, but the threat of Tripp divulging information about the affair.

At the same time that Clinton was participating in an extramarital affair with Lewinsky, he was being investigated for involvement in another sexual harassment scandal involving Arkansas state employee Paula Jones. His deposition in this case included a denial of having relations with Lewinsky, which contradicted the phone conversations that were recorded by Tripp. This information was brought to the attention of Kenneth Starr, who was investigating the president and his administration on several matters, such as alleged illegal real estate investments by the Clinton family, improper access to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) security documents, and the improper firing of White House travel officials. Tripp revealed the recorded phone conversations to Starr in exchange for immunity from prosecution for concealing the Clinton-Lewinsky relationship.

After an extensive investigation, Starr had enough evidence to confirm Clinton's infidelity. The American press broke the news of Clinton's affair, with the first report appearing in the Drudge Report on January 17, 1998. Nine days later, on January 26, the president vehemently denied any involvement in a statement that led to criticisms [Page 153]of paltering because he inserted a critical pause between “woman” and “Miss Lewinsky”:

President Bill Clinton (right), daughter Chelsea Clinton (center), and First Lady Hillary Clinton (left) stroll on the South Lawn of the White House, July 24, 1998, supporting the illusion that all was well in the family circle when, in fact, impeachment over Clinton's perjury and obstruction of justice charges was just months away.