January 27, 1999
Commentary
Ten Questions for Clinton
Text of questions submitted Monday to the president by
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and nine other
Republican senators (Orrin Hatch, Ted Stevens, Connie
Mack, John Kyl, Don Nickles, John Ashcroft, Mike DeWine,
Fred Thompson, and Judd Gregg). From the Associated
Press:
1. Charles Ruff argued that you did not commit perjury
before the Grand Jury because, inter alia, you were never
asked: "Is everything you testified to in the Jones
deposition true?"
Is everything you testified to in the Jones deposition
true? If not, what did you testify that you believe is
not truthful? Please begin your answer with a yes or no.
2. It is uncontroverted that you made the following
statements to Ms. Currie on Jan. 18: "Monica came on to
me, and I never touched her, right?" "You were always
there when Monica was there, right?" "I was never alone
with Monica, right?" "You could see and hear everything,
right?" "She wanted to have sex with me, and I cannot do
that, right?" At the time you made these statements, did
you believe them to be true? Please provide an answer
with respect to each of these statements.
3. You testified before the grand jury that if the Jones
lawyers "asked for the gifts (Ms. Lewinsky would) have to
give them whatever she had, that that's what the law
was." Do you stand by this testimony? If so, how do you
explain Ms. Lewinsky's failure to follow your advice?
4. Presidential aide Sydney Blumenthal testified before
the grand jury that President Clinton told him that "Ms.
Lewinsky came at me and made a sexual demand on me"; and
that he "rebuffed her"; and Ms. Lewinsky "was known as
the stalker." Deputy Chief of Staff John Podesta
testified before the grand jury that President Clinton
did not have sex with Ms. Lewinsky "in any way
whatsoever" and provided additional details. You
testified before the grand jury that "I said to them
things that were true about this relationship."
Are Mr. Podesta and Mr. Blumenthal's testimony concerning
their conversations with you accurate? If not, what did
you say to your aides? If these statements are accurate,
do you stand by your testimony that your statements to
them were truthful?
5. When asked why, four days after you testified under
oath in the Jones proceeding, Dick Morris conducted a
poll on whether the American people would forgive you for
committing the crimes of perjury and obstruction of
justice, your attorney, Mr. Ruff, answered, "I don't have
a clue." Since your lawyers do not have any insights,
could you explain why Dick Morris would have conducted
this poll? Who ordered and paid for this poll?
When asked by the House of Representatives about this
poll, you answered that Dick Morris "volunteered" to
conduct this poll. Could you provide additional details
as to the context in which Mr. Morris "volunteered" and
the details of any conversation you had with Mr. Morris
about conducting such a poll or the results of such a
poll?
6. Is it your position that Ms. Lewinsky was lying in her
grand jury testimony, her grand jury deposition, and her
FBI interviews, when she said you engaged in conduct with
her that constituted "sexual relations" even under your
narrow interpretation of the term in the Jones
deposition? Is it your position that she was also lying
when she gave essentially the same account
contemporaneously with the occurrence of the events to
her friends and counselors?
7. In your 2 a.m. conversation with Ms. Lewinsky about
Betty Currie's brother and the possibility of Ms.
Lewinsky filing an affidavit, did you mention the
possibility that she could say she was visiting Betty
Currie or delivering papers? Why did you mention the
possibility of filing an affidavit? How would an
affidavit from Ms. Lewinsky that disclosed the true
nature of your relationship have helped you achieve your
purported objective?
8. At the end of the Jones deposition, Judge Wright
admonished the parties that "this case is subject to a
protective order regarding all discovery and all parties
present, including the witness, are not to say anything
whatsoever about the questions they were asked, the
substance of the deposition ... any details, and this is
extremely important to the court." Within hours of Judge
Wright's admonition to all parties not to discuss details
of the deposition, did you telephone Betty Currie to ask
her to make a rare Sunday visit to the Oval Office in
which you discussed the deposition? If so, was this
consistent with Judge Wright's protective order?
9. In her interviews with the Office of the Independent
Counsel, Ms. Lewinsky stated that on Jan. 5, 1998, you
told her about the affidavit because you had seen 15
others. Did you mean that you had seen previous drafts of
Ms. Lewinsky's affidavit, or did you mean that you had
seen drafts of other affidavits that were in some way
connected to the Paula Jones matter? If you meant that
you had seen drafts of Ms. Lewinsky's affidavit, who gave
them to you to review and why were you reviewing them? If
you meant that you had seen drafts of other affidavits,
whose affidavits were they, and why were you reviewing
them? Did you either personally or through some other
person participate in any way in the preparation of
Monica Lewinsky's affidavit? If so, what did you or some
other person do? Please describe in detail.
10. When did you first learn that Ms. Lewinsky had not
turned over the gifts to the Jones lawyers? When did you
first learn that Ms. Currie was in possession of the
gifts?
--See related editorial: "Getting Serious"1
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