Hillary Clinton: Public Will Find Out President Is Innocent

Hillary Clinton at Tuesday's State of the Union address

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Jan. 28) -- First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday said she believes her husband has told her the full story of his relationship with a former White House intern and that he will not make any more public statements about the scandal in the immediate future "because there's an investigation going on."

In a television interview, Mrs. Clinton again defended her husband against allegations that he had an affair with Monica Lewinsky.

She said that truth would finally come out and that people would realize, once the due judicial process had taken its course, that the president was innocent.

Speaking on ABC's "Good Morning America" the morning after the president's State of the Union address, Mrs. Clinton said her husband had told the truth when he denied having a sexual relationship with Lewinsky.

Mrs. Clinton said the president remained focused on what was important for the American people, and she praised his efforts to further improve education, Social Security and child care.

"The people are really pleased by what the president has done in the last five years and want him to continue his agenda," she said.

Mrs. Clinton again said that she and her husband had talked about all the rumors, allegations and innuendoes involving her husband.

One day after Mrs. Clinton blamed the sex allegations against her husband on a "vast right-wing conspiracy" to undo the results of two elections, the first lady cited a saying often quoted by her husband.

"One of my husband's favorite old Southern sayings... is that if you find a turtle on a fence post, it didn't get there by accident," Mrs. Clinton said.

"And I just look at the landscape around here and I see lots of big old turtles sitting on lots of fenceposts. I think we need to find out how those old turtles got on those fenceposts," she added.

Wednesday January 28, 1998

• Clinton Takes His Message Beyond The Beltway
• Starr Gathers New Evidence, Testimony In Clinton-Lewinsky Controversy
• Charlie Trie Indicted
• Panetta Says No Knowledge Of Improper Relationship
• Hillary Clinton: Public Will Find Out President Is Innocent
• White House Scandal At A Glance
• Casino Decision OK, Lobbyist Tells Burton Panel
• President's Plane Gets Stuck In The Mud
• Report Says Arlington Allegations Untrue

Transcripts:
• Sen. Trent Lott With The GOP Response To The President's State Of The Union Address