Wednesday March 18 11:37 PM EST
Friend Says Willey Asked Her to Lie
By Randall Mikkelsen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A friend of former White House volunteer Kathleen Willey said in an affidavit released Wednesday that she had lied at Willey's request to bolster Willey's claim to have been groped by President Clinton.
Julie Hiatt Steele said in the statement dated February 13 that Willey had asked her to lie to Newsweek magazine reporter Michael Isikoff in March or April last year about Willey's statements and demeanor immediately after the November 1993 encounter with Clinton.
Steele said Willey asked her to tell Isikoff that Willey had told her, on the same day as the encounter, of being groped by Clinton and of feeling upset and harassed.
"I told Ms. Willey that I could not make such statements because she had not come to my house that day and had never told me of any sexual advances made by President Clinton," Steele said in the statement.
"She (Willey) repeatedly assured me that any discussion with Mr. Isikoff would be 'off the record' and that it would be all right if I lied to him. She told me she needed me to do this for her and that she would explain it all later," Steele said.
Steele also said she had told Isikoff of the falsehoods before Newsweek published a story on the encounter in August 1997.
"I told him that I had not seen Ms. Willey the day she claimed to have met with President Clinton and that I had never heard of any allegations of improper conduct by President Clinton until she called to tell me her story in 1997 as Mr. Isikoff was en route to my home," Steele said.
Steele's sworn statement was given to Clinton's lawyers in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case and released by her attorney.
Willey, in an appearance on CBS television's "60 Minutes" program Sunday, said Clinton had made a crude sexual advance toward her and groped her after she visited him in the White House to ask for a paid White House job.
Clinton on Monday strenuously denied that anything improper took place during the meeting.
But Willey's accusation has been seen as especially troubling for the president as he battles the Paula Jones suit and an investigation by special prosecutor Kenneth Starr into allegations that he had an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and urged her to lie about it.
Many feminists, traditional strong supporters of Clinton, who had been silent about the Lewinsky and Jones allegations, have said they viewed Willey's television appearance as compelling and disturbing.
The White House, seeking to counter the charges, has released letters written by Willey to Clinton after the incident expressing fondness and the hope for continued employment.
In the statement, Steele said Willey had told her "some time" after her meeting with Clinton that she had asked for a paid job at the White House and that she, Willey, had "never said anything" suggesting inappropriate behavior by Clinton.
But Steele said Willey called her last year and said she needed help corroborating a story told to Isikoff.
"Ms. Willey asked me to tell Mr. Isikoff that on the day she had visited with President Clinton in November 1993, she had returned to Richmond and come directly to my house (and) told me that President Clinton had made sexual advances towards her, had 'groped' her and had pulled at her clothing," Steele said.
"Ms. Willey also asked me to describe her demeanor at the time as 'upset,' 'humilitated,' 'disappointed' and 'harassed,"' she said.
Many of these details were similar to those described by Willey on Sunday.
Steele said Willey had told her later she had asked Steele to lie because Isikoff was likely to interview former White House aide Linda Tripp and Tripp was unlikely to corroborate the story.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earlier Related Stories
Willey Friend: I Lied About Clinton Incident - Wed Mar 18 9:30 pm
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous Story: Suspected Israeli Pentagon Hacker Arrested
Next Story: Group Says Chinese Sweatshops Make US Goods
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ÿ
Wed Mar 18 | Tue Mar 17 | Mon Mar 16 | Sun Mar 15 | Sat Mar 14 | Fri Mar 13 | Thu Mar 12
ÿIndexÿ
|
ÿTopÿStoriesÿ
|
ÿBusinessÿ
|
ÿTechÿ
|
ÿPoliticsÿ
|
ÿWorldÿ
|
ÿEntertainmentÿ
|
ÿSportsÿ
|
ÿHealthÿ
|
ÿLocalÿ
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions or Comments
Copyright c 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. |
