Lewinsky's Leap From 'Nobody' To News Headlines

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Jan. 22) -- Monica Lewinsky is said to be hiding out in her mother's apartment in the Watergate building in an effort to dodge the national spotlight.

Lewinsky, 24, is the former White House intern caught up in a national scandal over allegations that she had an affair with President Bill Clinton.

The startling allegations, first reported Wednesday, prompted Revlon Corp. to withdraw a job offer to Lewinsky, which she allegedly won through her White House connections.

Revlon said she had been recommended to the company by Clinton's close friend and advisor, Vernon Jordan, who is on the company's board.

But who is this woman who, until now, lived in obscurity?

Lewinsky grew up in a wealthy Los Angeles home, the daughter of a respected doctor who specializes in cancer treatments. She went to Beverly Hills High School, but left in 1990, at age 16, to attend the exclusive Bel Air Preparatory School, since renamed Pacific Hills.

"She was a nice young lady," recalled her prep school principal, Rich Makoff. "She had a good singing voice. She was in our chorus."

After graduating, she attended Santa Monica City College before going to Portland, Ore., to attend Lewis & Clark College.

Lewinsky lived off campus during her two years in Portland. Neighbors of the group house where she lived described her as a "hippyish" girl who baby-sat for pocket money and welcomed elderly neighbors to her parties.

Working in the West Wing

In May 1995, at age 21, Lewinsky graduated with a degree in psychology.

A month later, she went to work as a White House intern, one of about 1,000 such unpaid jobs sought by thousands of young people every year.

Sources described Lewinsky as overly eager, saying she often brought coffee to staffers who didn't ask for any.

The also say she brought gifts to Clinton, after befriending him during her routine work-related trips to the Oval Office.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Clinton also acknowledged giving Lewinsky gifts.

At some point in 1995, Lewinsky and Clinton began a sexual relationship, according to taped conversations between Lewinsky and Linda Tripp, a White House co-worker and friend to Lewinsky.

One source told CNN that Lewinsky was "mesmerized" by the president and would often hang out in the West Wing area so that "she would bump into him and other important people."

The source went on to say: "They clearly knew each other and there was some form of a relationship, but you shouldn't rule out an innocent relationship that she then blew up or exaggerated."

By October, Lewinsky was working in a paid position in the Office of Legislative Affairs, handling letters from members of Congress. She frequently ferried mail to the Oval Office.

One woman, who spoke to CNN and asked not to be named, said in January 1996 she attended a party where Lewinsky told her she was having an affair with an older, married man. The woman said she told Lewinsky the affair was a bad idea.

"I know that," the woman says Lewinsky told her. "But it's a very complicated situation."

Reportedly relocated by nervous aides

The Associated Press reported that in April 1996, Clinton aides were nervous, and they had Lewinsky transferred to the Defense Department with a promise she could return to the White House after Clinton clinched his re-election.

At the Pentagon, Lewinsky worked as a secretary, earning a starting salary of $30,658, for spokesman Kenneth Bacon. She took phone messages and transcribed interviews.

Her former co-workers call Monica Lewinsky "a hard worker" and "professional."

Stunned by the story that has overwhelmed the nation's capital, one person who worked with Lewinsky in the public affairs operation at the Pentagon told CNN, "When we turn on CNN and see her picture, it's really hard to believe she's at the center of all this because ... that's just Monica."

Although some in the Pentagon thought her to be young for her job, Lewinsky's performance at the Defense Department is described as "unremarkable."

"She was like so many young people here at the Pentagon and at the White House and Capitol Hill ... working long hours for not that much money." Lewinsky was described as a hard worker who would "be at her desk at 7:30 in the morning and she'd still be there late into the evening."

Sources tell CNN they did see her occasionally with Linda Tripp, "The only person I ever saw her with was Linda ... I'd see them having coffee once in a while."

Lewinsky sought out her friend Tripp, who had also been transferred to the Pentagon, and allegedly began confiding in Tripp about her relationship with Clinton.

Tripp had previously alleged the president had made sexual advances toward another White House co-worker, but officials brushed her off as a "loose cannon."

Tripp eventually began taping her conversations with Lewinsky, and took her evidence to Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr.

On one of the tapes, Lewinsky allegedly says Jordan and Clinton urged her to lie about her relationship with the president if she were questioned by attorneys for Paula Jones. Jones, a former state employee in Arkansas, is suing Clinton for civil-rights violations.

But are the allegations plausible?

In a sworn affidavit, Lewinsky has denied having sex with the president or agreeing to lie about an affair. She is scheduled to give a deposition to Jones' lawyers on Friday but is expected to refuse to answer questions, exercising her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

And, according to Newsweek, one tape has Lewinsky talking about keeping the affair secret. "I have lied my entire life," she reportedly told Tripp.

Her work experience

Monica Lewinsky's resume, released Thursday by the Pentagon, shows most her previous jobs were on the West Coast prior to her graduation from Lewis & Clark College.

Below is a quick breakdown, based on her resume, of her positions before her recent Pentagon job in the office of public affairs.

• White House, Summer Intern, Office of the Chief of Staff summer 1995
• Metropolitan Public Defenders, Alternatives Staff, Portland, Oregon, February to May 1995
• Southeast Mental Health Network, Socialization Staff Assistant, Portland, Oregon, January to June 1994
• Knot Shop, Sales Associate, Portland, Oregon, 1991 to 1995
• Assistant to the Costume Designer, Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Hills, California, September 1992 to June 1993

• Proficient in Macintosh for Microsoft Word 6.0 and Excel, WordPerfect Windows 5.2, Infosys
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong organizational and detail-oriented skills
• Exceptional creative abilities

Thursday Jan. 22, 1998

• Firestorm Consumes White House
• Sonny Bono's Widow To Seek His Congressional Seat
• Gore Seeks Consensus In Abortion Debate
• Justice, Microsoft Settle Contempt Dispute
• Tripp: No Stranger To Controversy
• Editor: Lewinsky Tapes Don't Confirm Affair
• Strategist Urges GOP To Stay Away From Latest Clinton Scandal
• Lewinsky's Leap From 'Nobody' To News Headlines
• Vernon Jordan A Quintessential 'FOB'
• White House Scandal At A Glance
• Sources: Clinton Admits Sexual Affair With Flowers

Analysis:
• Clinton Faces His Most Serious Crisis

Transcripts:
• Kenneth Starr's Comments