Name: A Timeline of the Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky Scandal
Uploaded: 2018-06-05
Duration: 4 min 56 s
Description: The affair became publicly known in 1998.

[ MUSIC ] In 1998, Americans were divided over Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern. In the 20 years since, those feelings have only grown more complicated. Monica Lewinsky, herself, has recently said that her thoughts on the affair have changed in light of the MeToo movement. As with Watergate, and the current investigations in the Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The President scandal was also complicated involving a number of players, allegations, and legal proceedings. On the 28th anniversary of the Clinton impeachment, here's a guide to how it happened. [ MUSIC ] In 1994, former Arkansas state employee sued Paula Jones sued Bill Clinton for sexual harassment, arguing that he propositioned her when he was governor. A legal group working on the case in 1998 received an anonymous tip that the president had a relationship with Lewinsky, an intern for his chief of staff. That piqued their interest since it could be used to argue this was a pattern of behavior. On January 7, 1998 Lewinsky filed a sworn affidavit in the Jones lawsuit saying she had never had a relationship with Clinton. But she did not know that a close friend, Linda Tripp, had been keeping conversations with her about the affair. Five days after the affidavit was filed Tripp gave independent council Kenneth Starr 20 hours of taped phone calls. Starr had been investigating the Clintons over a real estate venture known as Whitewater, but the recordings allowed him to get permission on January 16 to investigate whether Lewinsky had lied under oath. [ MUSIC ] In a deposition in the Jones suit the next day, Clinton denied the affair as well. This turned out to be a key moment for his presidency. That say day, online news outlet, the Drudge Report, published a story claiming that Newsweek was sitting on a story about Clinton's affair with an intern. It later published another story that Lewinsky had a blue cocktail dress with Clinton's bodily fluids on it. Clinton again denied the affair, the time on nationally broadcast television, saying- I did not have sexual relations with that woman. Miss Lewinsky. On January 27th, Hillary Clinton echoed the denial, arguing in an interview on the Today Show that the charges came from a- Vast, right- wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president. As the months drew to a close, a federal judge ruled that the Jones lawyers could not look into the Lewinsky claim as part of their lawsuit. [ MUSIC ] But the Starr investigation continued on a separate path. In early February Lewinsky's mother appeared before a grand jury. She had been suspected of encouraging her daughter to lie to Jones' lawyers. After three days of questioning, Starr granted her immunity in exchange for handing over the blue dress. As the summer began, the July issue of Vanity Fair appeared on newsstands featuring glamour shots of Lewinsky, a PR decision that was harshly criticized. On July 27, Lewinsky met with Starr's prosecutors in New York City and they announced an immunity deal for her the next day. Clinton had agreed to testify before the Grand Jury voluntarily. In August, the President provided a blood sample to compare his DNA to the stains on the blue dress. [ MUSIC ] That month, Lewinsky and Clinton testified to the grand jury, with the President's testimony taken by closed- circuit TV. He admitted to inappropriate intimate contact, but also said that he given accurate testimony previously. Famously quivering over the definition of is. Later that evening he spoke to the nation in a televised address. In a deposition in January, I was asked questions about my relationship with Monica Lewinski. While my answers were legally accurate, I did not volunteer information. Indeed, I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinski that was not appropriate. In fact It was wrong. The next month, Congress received two copies of Star's 445 page report on the investigation and supporting evidence. The Star report, along with transcripts of Lewinsky and Tripp, were later released to the public. On October 8th, the House of Representatives voted to begin an impeachment inquiry. Despite the controversy and the impeachment, President Clinton remained popular in polls, and Hillary Clinton saw her poll numbers rise as well. During the midterm elections in November, Democrats did unusually well. In mid- November Clinton settled the sexual harassment lawsuit with Jones which had kickstarted the scandal, paying her $ 850, 000 and admitting nothing. Paula, can you say anything to us? During lame duck session in Congress on December 19th, the House voted to impeach Clinton on two charges That he committed pulgary in his August 17th federal [ INAUDIBLE ] testimony and that he prevented, obstructed and impeded the administration of justice. [ MUSIC ] As 1999 opened the senate began its constitutionally mandated impeachment trial with the supreme court's chief justice preceding. At February 12th, 13 months after the scandal began, the senate voted to have quick [ INAUDIBLE ] on both charges. The respondent, William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States, is not guilty as charged. Later that day, Clinton apologized to the American pubic in an address from the White House. I want to say, again, to the American people, how profoundly sorry I am for what I said and did To trigger these events, and the great burden they have imposed on the Congress and on the American people. [ MUSIC ]

A Timeline of the Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky Scandal

The affair became publicly known in 1998.