D. The President's Grand Jury Testimony on Cover Stories
The President testified that before he knew that
Ms. Lewinsky was a witness in the Jones case, he "might well"
have told Ms. Lewinsky that she could offer the cover stories if
questioned about her presence in the West Wing and Oval Office:
Q: Did you ever say anything like that, you can
always say that you were coming to see Betty or
bringing me letters? Was that part of any kind of
a, anything you said to her or a cover story,
before you had any idea she was going to be part
of Paula Jones?
WJC: I might well have said that.
Q: Okay.
WJC: Because 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.(311)
However, no doubt aware of the significance of the question,
the President testified that he did not remember whether he had
discussed the cover stories with Ms. Lewinsky during the December
17, 1997, conversation,(312) or at any time after Ms. Lewinsky's
name appeared on the Jones witness list:
Q: Did you tell [Ms. Lewinsky] anytime in December
something to that effect: You know, you can
always say that you were coming to see Betty or
you were bringing me letters? Did you say that,
or anything like that, in December '97 or January
'98, to Monica Lewinsky?
WJC: Well, that's a very broad question. I do not
recall saying anything like that in connection
with her testimony. I could tell you what I do
remember saying, if you want to know. But I don't
-- we might have talked about what to do in a
nonlegal context at some point in the past, but I
have no specific memory of that conversation.
I do remember what I said to her about the
possible testimony.
* * * *
Q: Did you say anything like [the cover stories] once
you knew or thought she might be a witness in the
Jones case? Did you repeat the statement, or
something like it to her?
WJC: Well, again, I don't recall, and I don't recall
whether I might have done something like that, for
example, if somebody says, what if the reporters
ask me this, that or the other thing. I can tell
you this: In the context of whether she could be a
witness, I have a recollection that she asked me,
well, what do I do if I get called as a witness,
and I said, you have to get a lawyer. And that's
all I said. And I never asked her to lie.
Q: Did you tell her to tell the truth?
WJC: Well, I think the implication was she would tell the
truth.(313)
E. Summary
There is substantial and credible information that the
President and Ms. Lewinsky reached an understanding that both of
them would lie under oath when asked whether they had a sexual
relationship (a conspiracy to obstruct justice or to commit
perjury, in criminal law terms). Indeed, a tacit or express
agreement to make false statements would have been an essential
part of their December and January discussions, lest one of the
two testify truthfully in the Jones case and thereby incriminate
the other as a perjurer.
There also is substantial and credible information that
President Clinton endeavored to obstruct justice by suggesting
that Ms. Lewinsky file an affidavit to avoid her deposition,
which would "lock in" her testimony under oath, and to attempt to
avoid questions at his own deposition -- all to impede the
gathering of discoverable evidence in the Jones v. Clinton
litigation.(314)
During the course of their relationship, the President and
Ms. Lewinsky also discussed and used cover stories to justify her
presence in and around the Oval Office area. The evidence
indicates -- given Ms. Lewinsky's unambiguous testimony and the
President's lack of memory, as well as the fact that they both
planned to lie under oath -- that the President suggested the
continued use of the cover stories even after Ms. Lewinsky was
named as a potential witness in the Jones litigation. At no time
did the President tell Ms. Lewinsky to abandon these stories and
to tell the truth about her visits, nor did he ever indicate to
her that she should tell the truth under oath about the
relationship. While the President testified that he could not
remember such conversations about the cover stories, he had
repeated the substance of the cover stories in his Jones
deposition. The President's use of false cover stories in
testimony under oath in his Jones deposition strongly
corroborates Ms. Lewinsky's testimony that he suggested them to
her on December 17 as a means of avoiding disclosure of the truth
of their relationship.
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