B. The President's Grand Jury Testimony
The President admitted to the grand jury that, after the
allegations were publicly reported, he made "misleading"
statements to particular aides whom he knew would likely be
called to testify before the grand jury. The President testified
as follows:
Q: Do you recall denying any sexual relationship with
Monica Lewinsky to the following people: Harry
Thomasson, Erskine Bowles, Harold Ickes,
Mr. Podesta, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Jordan, Ms. Betty
Currie? Do you recall denying any sexual
relationship with Monica Lewinsky to those
individuals?
WJC: I recall telling a number of those people that I
didn't have, either I didn't have an affair with
Monica Lewinsky or didn't have sex with her. And
I believe, sir, that -- you'll have to ask them
what they thought. But I was using those terms in
the normal way people use them. You'll have to
ask them what they thought I was saying.
Q: If they testified that you denied sexual
relationship with Monica Lewinsky, or if they told
us that you denied that, do you have any reason to
doubt them, in the days after the story broke; do
you have any reason to doubt them?
WJC: No.
The President then was specifically asked whether he knew
that his aides were likely to be called before the grand jury.
Q: It may have been misleading, sir, and you knew
though, after January 21st when the Post article
broke and said that Judge Starr was looking into
this, you knew that they might be witnesses. You
knew that they might be called into a grand jury,
didn't you?
WJC: That's right. I think I was quite careful what I
said after that. I may have said something to all
these people to that effect, but I'll also --
whenever anybody asked me any details, I said,
look, I don't want you to be a witness or I turn
you into a witness or give you information that
would get you in trouble. I just wouldn't talk.
I, by and large, didn't talk to people about this.
Q: If all of these people -- let's leave out Mrs.
Currie for a minute. Vernon Jordan, Sid
Blumenthal, John Podesta, Harold Ickes, Erskine
Bowles, Harry Thomasson, after the story broke,
after Judge Starr's involvement was known on
January 21st, have said that you denied a sexual
relationship with them. Are you denying that?
WJC: No.
Q: And you've told us that you --
WJC: I'm just telling you what I meant by it. I told
you what I meant by it when they started this
deposition.
Q: You've told us now that you were being careful,
but that it might have been misleading. Is that
correct?
419. Currie 5/7/98 GJ at 99-100. Ms. Lewinsky called Betty
Currie shortly after 10:00 p.m., but told Ms. Currie that she
could not talk to her that night. Id. at 101.
420. GJ Exhibit BC 3-12, V006-DC-00002068 (call log). The
call lasted approximately one minute.
421. Currie 5/7/98 GJ at 102.
422. 831-DC-00000009 (Lewinsky pager records). As the
records reflect, Betty Currie used the name Kay or Kate when
paging Monica Lewinsky. Lewinsky 8/6/98 GJ at 215-17; Currie
7/22/98 GJ at 148-49.
423. V006-DC-00002069; V006-DC-00002070 (White House
telephone records). Ms. Currie testified that she probably
called the President to tell him that she had not yet spoken to
Ms. Lewinsky. Ms. Currie does not remember the substance of the
conversations with the President for either of the calls that he
made to her. Currie 5/7/98 GJ at 106-07. The phone calls from
the President were approximately one and two minutes in length.
That Monday, January 19, was a holiday, and Ms. Currie was not at
work.
424. Currie 1/27/98 GJ at 80-82 (emphasis added).
425. Clinton 8/17/98 GJ at 56-57 (emphasis added). See also
id. at 131-32 (Q: "You said that you spoke to her in an attempt
to refresh your own recollection about the events involving
Monica Lewinsky, is that right?" WJC: "Yes.").
426. Id. at 132-34 (emphasis added).
427. Id. at 134.
428. Id. at 134-35 (emphasis added).
429. Id. at 136-37.
430. The President is referring to the statement he read at
the beginning of his grand jury appearance.
431. Id. at 139-40 (emphasis added).
432. Id. at 141-42.
433. Two federal criminal statutes, Sections 1512 and 1503 of
Title 18 of the United States Code, prohibit misleading potential
witnesses with the intent to influence their grand jury
testimony. Section 1512 provides that whoever "corruptly . . .
engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with intent
to -- (1) influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any
person in an official proceeding . . . shall be fined under this
title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both." 18 U.S.C.
§ 1512(b). It is no defense to a charge of witness tampering
that the official proceeding had not yet begun, nor is it a
defense that the testimony sought to be influenced turned out to
be inadmissible or subject to a claim of privilege. 18 U.S.C. §
1512(e).
Section 1503 provides that whoever "corruptly or by threats
or force . . . influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to
influence, obstruct, or impede the due administration of justice"
has committed a felony. 18 U.S.C. § 1503(a)-(b).
The Governor of Guam was convicted of witness tampering for
lying to a potential witness "intending that [the witness] would
offer [the Governor's] explanation concerning the [illegally
used] funds to the FBI." United States v. Bordallo, 857 F.2d
519, 525 (9th Cir. 1988), amended on other grounds, 872 F.2d 334
(9th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 818 (1989).
434. Podesta 2/5/98 GJ at 13. Mr. Podesta has served as
Deputy Chief of Staff since January 1997, and previously served
as Staff Secretary for the Clinton Administration from 1993
through 1995. Podesta 2/5/98 GJ at 9-10.
435. Podesta 6/16/98 GJ at 84-85.
436. Id. at 85.
437. Id.
438. Id. at 92 (emphasis added).
439. Mr. Podesta dated this conversation as perhaps taking
place on January 23, 1998. Podesta 6/16/98 GJ at 88.
440. Id. at 88.
441. Mr. Podesta testified that he was "sensitive about not
exchanging information because I knew I was a potential witness."(442)
442. Podesta 6/23/98 GJ at 79.
443. Podesta 6/16/98 GJ at 94; see also Podesta 6/23/98 GJ at
79.
444. See id. at 79 (emphasis added).
445. Podesta 6/23/98 GJ at 77-78.
446. Bowles 4/2/98 GJ at 12. Mr. Bowles has been the Chief
of Staff for President Clinton since January 20, 1997. Id.
447. Id. at 83-84 (emphasis added).
448. Id. at 91.
449. Blumenthal 2/26/98 GJ at 4-5.
450. Blumenthal 6/4/98 GJ at 46-53. (451)
451. Blumenthal GJ 6/4/98 at 48-49. [we should question
Morris abt this]
452. Blumenthal 6/4/98 GJ at 49 (emphasis added).
453. Blumenthal 6/25/98 GJ at 41.
454. Blumenthal 6/4/98 GJ at 50.
455. Blumenthal 6/25/98 GJ at 27.
456. Blumenthal 6/4/98 GJ at 52 (emphasis added).
457. Blumenthal 6/25/98 GJ at 17. See also Blumenthal
6/25/98 GJ at 26 ("My understanding was that the accusations
against him which appeared in the press that day were false, that
he had not done anything wrong").
458. Ickes 7/23/98 GJ at 8. Mr. Ickes worked as Deputy Chief
of Staff for President Clinton from early 1994 through January
1997.(459)
459. Ickes 7/23/98 GJ at 8.
460. Ickes 6/10/98 GJ at 21-22, 66 (meeting occurred on
Monday following the week that the media first reported the
Lewinsky story).
461. Ickes 6/10/98 GJ at 73 (emphasis added). See also Ickes
8/5/98 GJ at 88 ("[H]e denied to me that he had had a sexual
relationship. I don't know the exact phrase, but the word
'sexual' was there. And he denied any obstruction of justice").
462. Ickes 6/10/98 GJ at 73.
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