WASHINGTON WAITS FOR WILLEY; 'I COULD NOT BELIEVE THE RECKLESSNESS OF THAT ACT,' SHE TELLS 60 MINUTES
XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX 09:58:33 PST SUN MAR 15 1998 XXXXX
Kathleen Willey tells a national television audience tonight that the president groped her just outside the Oval Office. "I could not believe the recklessness of that act," she tells Ed Bradley on 60 MINUTES.
National Organization for Women president Patricia Ireland took off the gloves on CNN Sunday morning, calling Willey's allegations, if true, "sexual assault in the workplace."
Just as supporters of President Clinton feverishly engage in damage control, saying Mrs. Willey's account is disputed by others and flatly denied by the president.
Willey's associate Julie Steele, speaking through her lawyer, tells TIME magazine, hitting stands on Monday, that she didn't learn of Willey's meeting with Clinton until weeks after the fact and that Willey didn't describe it as sexual or anything upsetting.
TIME has learned that last Tuesday, the day Willey appeared before Starr's grand jury in Washington, two FBI agents appeared at Steele's home. Starr's agents didn't appear to be interested in quizzing Steele about Willey's credibility. Instead, sources familiar with the interview tell TIME, they spent much of three hours putting Steele on the defensive. Though they did inquire whether Willey had ever asked her to lie for her before, they showed little interest when Steele described two instances in which Willey asked her to do just that in connection with Willey's romantic liaisons.
People who know Willey have told TIME that her calm demeanor masks a surprising volatility. She can be a difficult friend, they say, because one never knows when she may decide to end the friendship over some perceived slight. She is described as smart, funny and attractive, but also unpredictable. In an amended deposition, Willey testified that longtime Democratic activist Nathan Landow had discussed her story with her. Landow told TIME that "in no way did I ever attempt to persuade or influence Ms. Willey to lie in her testimony or to avoid testifying. She was distraught and in pain. She told me she did not want to testify. My only comment to her about that was that she should do what she felt was best for her"...
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