Excerpts from Bill Clinton's Testimony
Used with permissionClinton's January Testimony Under Oath in Paula Jones Case
Editor's Note: Below is an excerpt from President Bill Clinton's deposition given January 17, 1998, four days before independent counsel Kenneth Starr's interest in the Lewinsky matter becams public. Clinton aswered questions from Paula Jones' lawyers at a six-hour deposition.
Q: Now, do you know a woman named Monica Lewinsky?
A: I do.
Q: How do you know her?
A: She worked in the White House for a while, first as an intern, and then in, as the, in the legislative affairs office.
Q: Do you recall when you met her for the first time?
A: It would be sometime, I'd think, in later 1995.
Q: Did you ever talk to anyone about finding a job for Monica Lewinsky?
A:When she got the job in the legislative affairs office? No.
Q: Before she got that job
A: No.
Q: Did you ever talk to anyone about the possibility of her obtaining a job in the White House?
A: She, she came there as an intern, and as several of them have, she applied for some job there apparently and got the job. I was not involved in her moving from being an intern to being a full-time employee. I had no involvement in that whatever.
Q: And you never talked to anyone about that?
A: No. I did not.
Q: Is it true that when she worked at the White House she met with you several times?
A: I don't know about several times. There was a period when the, when the Republican Congress shut the government down that the whole White House was being run by interns, and she was assigned to wrok back in the chief of staff's office, and we were all working there, and so I saw her on two or three occasions then, and then when she worked at the Whtie House, I think there was one or two other times when she brought some documents to me.
Q: At any time were you and Monica Lewinsky alone together in the Oval Office?
A:I don't recall, but as I said, when she worked at the legislative affairs office, they always had somebody there on the weekends. I typically worked some on the weekends. Sometimes they'd bring me things on the weekends. She, it seems to me, she brought things to me once or twice on the weekends. In that case, whatever time she would be there, drop it off, exchange a few words and go, she was there. I don't have any specific recollections of what the issues were, what was going on, but when the Congress is there, we're working all the time, and typically I would do some work on one of th days of the weekends in the afternoon.
Q: So I understand, your testimony is that it was possible, then that you were alone with her, but you have no specific recollection of that ever happening?
A: Yes, that's correct. It's possible that she, in, while she was working there, brought something to me and that at the time she brought it to me, she was the only person there. That's possible.
Q: Have you ever met with Monica Lewinsky in the White House between the hours of midnight and 6:00 A.M.?
A: I certainly don't think so.
Q: Have you ever met...
A: Now, let me just say, when she was working there, during, there may have been a time when we were all, we were all working late. There are lots of on any given night, when the Congress is in session, there are always several people around until late in the night, but I don't have any memory of that. I just can't say that there could have been a time when that occurred, I just - but I don't remember it.
Q: Certainly if it happened, nothing remarkable would have occurred?
A: No, nothing remarkable. I don't remember it.
Q: Has it ever happened that a White House record was created that reflected that Betty Currie was meeting with Monica Lewinsky when in fact you were meeting with Monica Lewinsky?
A: Not to my knowledge.
Q: When was the last time you spoke with Monica Lewinsky?
A: I'm trying to remember. Probably sometime before Christmas. She came by to see Betty sometime before Christmas. And she was there talking to her, and I stuck my head out and said hello to her.
Q: Stuck your head out of the Oval Office?
A: Uh-huh, Betty said she was coming by and talked to her, and I said hello to her.
Q: Was that shortly before Christmas or...
A: I'm sorry, I don't remember. Been sometime in December, I think, and I believe that may not be the last time. I think she came to one of the, one of the Christmas parties.
Q: Did she tell you she had been served with a subpoena in this case?
A:No. I don't know if she had been.
Q: Did anyone other than your attorneys ever tell you that Monica Lewinsky had been served with a subpoena in this case?
A: I don't think so.
Q: Did you ever talk with Monica Lewinsky about the possibility that she might be asked to testify in this case?
A: (Deputy White House counsel) Bruce Lindsey, I think Bruce Lindsey told me that she was, I think maybe that's the first person who told me she was. I want to be as accurate as I can...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: Well, have you ever given any gifts to Monica Lewinsky?
A:I don't recall. Do you know what they were?
Q: A hat pin?
A: I don't, I don't remember. But I certainly, I could have.
Q: 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.
Q: Do you remember giving her a gold brooch?
A: No.
Q: Do you remember giving her an item that had been puchased 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, liked that stuff and would like to have 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 go me.
Q: Has Monica Lewinsky ever given you any gifts?
A: One or twice. I think she's given me a book or two.
Q: Did she give you a silver cigar box?
A: No.
Q: Did she give you a tie?
A: Yes, she had given 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 they're given to me later, but I believe that she has given me a tie.
Q: Did you have an extra marital sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky
A: No.
Q: 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.
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.
A: I have never had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. I've never had an affair with her.
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