Description

Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal: Timeline and Key Figures

Timeline of Main Events (Based on the Source)

Prior to September 1997: Monica Lewinsky engages in a sexual relationship with President Bill Clinton.
September 1997: Linda Tripp begins secretly recording her telephone conversations with Monica Lewinsky, in which Lewinsky discusses her relationship with President Clinton.
January 1998: Monica Lewinsky submits an affidavit in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit denying any physical relationship with President Clinton.
January 13, 1998: Linda Tripp, wearing an FBI body wire, records a conversation with Monica Lewinsky at the Ritz Carlton in Arlington, Virginia.
January 1998 (Ongoing): Monica Lewinsky attempts to persuade Linda Tripp to lie under oath in the Paula Jones case.
Sometime in 1998: Linda Tripp gives the tapes of her conversations with Monica Lewinsky to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr.
September 1998: Independent Counsel Ken Starr prepares and submits the Starr Report to the House Judiciary Committee. This report details his findings regarding President Clinton’s conduct, including his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and his attempts to conceal it.
October 8, 1998: The United States House of Representatives votes to commence impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” specifically lying under oath and obstruction of justice. These charges stem from his denial of a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky in the Paula Jones lawsuit and related actions.
Late 1998 – Early 1999: The House of Representatives drafts and approves Articles of Impeachment against President Clinton.
December 8 & 9 (Year unspecified, likely late 1998 or early 1999): Presentations are made on behalf of President Clinton before the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment process.
1999 (Specific dates not provided in the source): The impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton takes place in the United States Senate.
During the Senate Trial: Dale Bumpers, a retired Senator and friend of President Clinton, acts as a defense attorney and delivers a closing argument.

Cast of Characters

Bill Clinton: The 42nd President of the United States. The impeachment proceedings were initiated against him for lying under oath and obstruction of justice related to his denial of a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky in the Paula Jones lawsuit.
Monica Lewinsky: A former White House intern who had a sexual relationship with President Bill Clinton. Her discussions about this relationship with Linda Tripp, which were secretly recorded, formed a key part of the evidence in the impeachment proceedings. She submitted an affidavit in the Paula Jones case denying the relationship and allegedly attempted to persuade Tripp to lie as well.
Linda Tripp: A friend and colleague of Monica Lewinsky who secretly recorded their telephone conversations detailing Lewinsky’s relationship with President Clinton. She later provided these tapes and information to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, playing a significant role in the unfolding of the Lewinsky scandal and the subsequent impeachment proceedings.
Kenneth Starr: The Independent Counsel who was initially investigating the Whitewater controversy but whose jurisdiction expanded to include the allegations regarding President Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky. He prepared the Starr Report, which detailed his findings and served as the catalyst for the impeachment proceedings.
Paula Jones: The plaintiff in a sexual harassment lawsuit against Bill Clinton, which ultimately led to questions about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky during the discovery phase of the case.
Brett Kavanaugh: An Associate Independent Counsel within the Office of Independent Counsel during the investigation of President Bill Clinton. His files, included in the collection, suggest he advocated for aggressive questioning of the President. He later became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Dale Bumpers: A retired United States Senator and a self-declared close friend of President Bill Clinton. He served as one of Clinton’s defense attorneys during his impeachment trial in the Senate and delivered the closing defense arguments.
Sidney Blumenthal: Mentioned as one of the individuals interviewed by the Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI. He was a long-time advisor and aide to President Clinton.
Betty Currie: Mentioned as one of the individuals interviewed by the Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI. She served as President Clinton’s personal secretary.
Catherine Allday Davis: Mentioned as one of the individuals interviewed by the Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI. Her specific role is not detailed in the source.
Lucy Goldberg: Mentioned as one of the individuals interviewed by the Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI. Her specific role is not detailed in the source.
Harold Ickes: Mentioned as one of the individuals interviewed by the Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI. He was a Deputy Chief of Staff in the Clinton administration.
Vernon E. Jordan Jr.: Mentioned as one of the individuals interviewed by the Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI. He was a close friend and advisor to President Clinton who helped Monica Lewinsky find a job.
Bruce Lindsey: Mentioned as one of the individuals interviewed by the Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI. He was a Deputy White House Counsel and a close advisor to President Clinton.
Dick Morris: Mentioned as one of the individuals interviewed by the Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI. He was a political consultant to President Clinton.
Leon Panetta: Mentioned as one of the individuals interviewed by the Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI. He served as White House Chief of Staff during part of Clinton’s presidency.
Ronald Perelman: Mentioned as one of the individuals interviewed by the Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI. He is a businessman whose connection to the events is not detailed in the source.
John Podesta: Mentioned as one of the individuals interviewed by the Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI. He served as White House Chief of Staff towards the end of Clinton’s presidency.
George Stephanopoulos: Mentioned as one of the individuals interviewed by the Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI. He served as White House Communications Director and Senior Advisor during Clinton’s first term.
Vincent Foster: Deputy White House Counsel whose death was also part of the Office of Independent Counsel’s purview, and Brett Kavanaugh’s files include work on this investigation.
Hillary Rodham Clinton: First Lady of the United States during Bill Clinton’s presidency. The Independent Counsel’s investigation also included scrutiny of her activities

President William J. Clinton Impeachment – Lewinsky Matter Documents & Audio Recordings

40,905 pages of documents from the Office of Independent Counsel, House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, FBI, Grand Jury, President Clinton Administration White House, Historical and Legal Analysis of Impeachment and surreptitious audio recordings.

The impeachment of President Bill Clinton was initiated on October 8, 1998, when the United States House of Representatives voted to commence impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, for “high crimes and misdemeanors”. The specific charges against Clinton were lying under oath and obstruction of justice. The charges stemmed from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Clinton by Paula Jones and from Clinton’s testimony denying that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The catalyst for the president’s impeachment was the Starr Report, a September 1998 report prepared by Independent Counsel Ken Starr for the House Judiciary Committee.

Document highlights include:

Rebuttal Documents Submitted by the Clinton Administration

Table of Monica Lewinsky White House Visits

Table of Contacts between Monica Lewinsky and the President

Brett Kavanaugh Independent Counsel Files

Audio of Phone Calls between Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinsky

FBI Body Wire Recording Audio

Monica Lewinsky E-mails regarding issues related to her relationship with the President

Materials and handwritten notes relating to the OIC’s discussions with the Justice Department concerning its expansion of jurisdiction of the Whitewater probe to include the allegations relating to Lewinsky

Grand Jury Testimony Transcripts

Sections of this collection includes:

Congressional Documents

7,150 pages of House and Senate documents chronicling the process of impeachment of President Clinton, the addressing of Constitutional issues and analysis of the history of the application of the impeachment process.

Brett M. Kavanaugh Associate Independent Counsel Files

10,210 pages of files from the Brett M. Kavanaugh Associate Independent Counsel Files.

Brett M. Kavanaugh, who would later become an Associate Justice of Supreme Court of the United States, was an associate counsel with the Office of Independent Counsel during its investigation of President Bill Clinton. Kavanaugh advocated aggressive questioning of President Clinton when Clinton would be called to testify in front of a grand jury. These files cover various aspects of his work on the Independent Counsel’s investigations into the activities of President William Jefferson Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. The files also include Kavanaugh’s work on other issues within OIC’s purview, particularly the investigation of the death of Deputy White House Counsel Vincent Foster.

Linda Tripp Tapes of Phone Conversations with Monica Lewinsky

Transcripts of all tapes turned over to the OIC and audio of five of the recordings. Lewinsky told her friend Linda Tripp about her relationship with Clinton, and Tripp began secretly recording their telephone conversations beginning in September 1997. Lewinsky submitted an affidavit in the Paula Jones case in January 1998 denying any physical relationship with Clinton, and she attempted to persuade Tripp to lie under oath in that case. Tripp gave the tapes to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr.

FBI Body Wire Worn by Linda Tripp Recording January 13, 1998

FBI tape audio and transcript from a body wire worn by Linda Tripp of a conversation between Tripp and Monica Lewinsky on January 13, 1998, at the Ritz Carlton in Arlington, Virginia.

Office of Independent Counsel Interviews – Grand Jury Testimony Transcripts – FBI Interviews

4,382 pages of interviews conducted by Office of Independent Counsel and the FBI of various individuals including Sidney Blumenthal, Betty Currie, Catherine Allday Davis, Lucy Goldberg, Harold Ickes, Vernon E. Jordan Jr., Bruce Lindsey, Dick Morris, Leon Panetta, Ronald Perelman, John Podesta, George Stephanopoulos and Linda Tripp.

Appendices to the Independent Counsel’s Submission to the House of Representative

3,202 pages of appendices including: Statement of the OIC’s Jurisdiction, Order Permitting Disclosure of Grand Jury Material, Procedural History and Background of Jones v. Clinton, Map of White House West Wing, Table of Monica Lewinsky White House Visits, Table of Contacts between Monica Lewinsky and the President, Tables of Phone Conversations, Litigation History and Monica Lewinsky Immunity Agreement.

Clinton White House Exponent Documents

Materials produced to defend against charges President Clinton. Materials include: Answer of President William Jefferson Clinton to the Articles of Impeachment and Transcripts of the Presentation on Behalf of the President Hearing Before The Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives December 8 & 9.

Senate Trial of President Clinton Transcripts

This document contains 3,197 pages recording the full record of the United States Senate proceedings in the impeachment trial of President William Jefferson Clinton

Audio of Dale Bumpers Closing Defense Arguments in the Impeachment Trial of William J. Clinton

After his retirement from the Senate, Bumpers, a self-declared close friend of President Clinton, acted as defense attorney during Clinton’s impeachment trial. He gave an impassioned closing argument during the Senate trial.