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Transcripts from video deposition of Lewinsky, Jordan, and BlumenthalJump to the start of individual depositions: Lewinsky, Jordan, Blumenthal [Previous Page][Page S1214][Next Page]
Q. Did not. Did you have--did you ever get in there as an intern? A. Yes. Q. And under--under what circumstances? A. It-- Q. Did you have to be accompanied by someone, or-- A. Exactly; someone with a blue pass. Q. So how did you--once you decided you wanted to stay in Washington and find a paying job, you sought out some help from friends there, people you knew, contacts, and you were-- you did--you were successful? A. Correct. Q. And you were hired where--where in the White House? A. In Legislative Affairs. Q. Now, again, to educate me on this, in that group, in that section, department, you would have worked where, physically? A. Physically, in the East Wing. Q. Okay, and as an intern before, you worked in the Old Executive Office Building? A. Correct. Q. But you moved about and occasionally would go into the White House, if escorted? A. Correct. Q. It takes a while, but I'll get there with you; I'll catch up. When did you actually--what was your first day on the job with the Legislative Affairs, uh, group? A. Um, first day on the job was sometime after the furlough. I was hired right before the furlough, but the paperwork hadn't gone through, so first day on the job was some point after the furlough. I don't remember the exact date. Q. So you remained, uh, on as an intern during the furlough-- A. Correct. Q. --the Government shutdown period. A. Correct. Q. And that was in November of 1995, some date during that? A. Yes. Q. Okay. Um, tell me how you, um, began--I guess the--the-- we're going to talk about a relationship with the President. Uh, when you first, uh, I guess, saw him, I think there was some indication that you didn't speak to him maybe the first few times you saw him, but you had some eye contact or sort of smiles or-- A. I--I believe I've testified to that in the grand jury pretty extensively. Q. Uh-huh. A. Is--is there something more specific? Q. Well, again, I'm wanting to know times, you know, how soon that occurred and sort of what happened, you know, if you can--you know, there are going to be occasions where you--obviously, you testified extensively in the grand jury, so you're going to obviously repeat things today. We're doing the deposition for the Senators to view, we believe, so it's-- MR. CACHERIS: May I note an objection. The Senators have the complete record, as you know, Mr. Bryant, and she is standing on her testimony that she has given on the occasions that Mr. Stein alluded to at the introduction of this deposition. MR. BRYANT: Well, I appreciate that, but, uh, if this is going to be the case, we don't even need the deposition, because we're limited to the record and everything is in the record. So I think, uh, to be fair, we're--we're obviously going to have to talk about, uh, some things for 8 hours here, or else we can go home. THE WITNESS: Sounds good to me. [Laughter.] MR. BRYANT: I think we probably all would like to do that. SENATOR DeWINE: Counsel, are you objecting to the question? MR. CACHERIS: Yes. I'm objecting to him asking specific questions that are already in the record that--he has said they are limited to the record, and so we accept his, his designation. We're limited to the record. SENATOR DeWINE: We're going to go off the record for just a moment. THE VIDEOGRAPHER: We're going off the record at 9:37 a.m. [Recess.] THE VIDEOGRAPHER: We are going back on the record at 9:45 a.m. SENATOR DeWINE: We are now back on the record. The objection is noted, but it's overruled, and the witness is instructed to answer the question. Senator Leahy? SENATOR LEAHY: And I had noted during the break that obviously, the witness has 48 hours to correct her deposition, and would also note that when somebody has testified to some of these things 20 or more times that it is not unusual to have some nuances different, and that could also be reflected in time to correct her testimony. And I had also noted when we were off the record Mr. Manager Bryant's comment on January 26th, page S992 in the Congressional Record, in which he said: "If our motion is granted, I want to make this very, very clear. At no point will we ask any questions of Monica Lewinsky about her explicit sexual relationship with the President, either in deposition or, if we are permitted on the floor of the Senate, they will not be asked." And I should add also, to be fair to Mr. Bryant, another sentence in that: "That, of course, assumes that White House Counsel does not enter into that discussion, and we doubt that they would." Period, close quote. SENATOR DeWINE: Let me just add something that I stated to counsel and to Ms. Lewinsky off the record, and I think I will briefly repeat it, and that is that counsel is entitled to an answer to the question, but Ms. Lewinsky certainly can reference previous testimony if she wishes to do that. But counsel is entitled to a new explanation of--of what occurred. Counsel, you may--why don't you re-ask the question, and we will proceed. MR. BRYANT: May I, before I do that, ask a procedural question in terms of timekeeping? SENATOR DeWINE: The time is not counted--any of the time that you have--once there is an objection, none of the time is counted until we rule on the objection and until you then have the opportunity to ask the question again. So the time will start now. MR. BRYANT: Very good. BY MR. BRYANT: Q. Ms. Lewinsky, again, let me--I know this is difficult, but let me apologize that, uh, that it is going to be necessary that I ask you these questions because we're limited to the record and if we--we can't ask you any new questions outside that record, so I have to talk about what's in the record. And I realize you've answered all these questions several times before, but it's, uh--I'm sincere that we really wouldn't need to take your deposition if we couldn't ask you those kinds of questions. So it's not motivated to cause you uncomfort or to make you sit here in Washington when you'd rather be in California. We'll try to get through this as quickly as we can. But we were talking about when you were first assigned there at the White House and those initial contacts, and I mean, again, when you were--you would see the President. I think you've mentioned you would--there was some mild flirting going on; you would smile or you would make eye contact. It was something of this nature? A. Yes. Q. And the first--was the first time you actually spoke to the President or he spoke to you, other than perhaps a hello in the hallway, was that on November the 15th, 1995? A. Yes. Q. And that was--that was the day, uh, of the first so- called salacious encounter, the same day? A. Yes. Q. Now, when the President gave a statement testifying before the grand jury, he--he described that relationship as what I considered sort of an evolving one. He says: "I regret that what began as a friendship came to include this conduct." And he goes on to take full responsibility for his actions. But that almost sounds as if this was an evolving-- something from a friendship evolving over time to a sexual relationship. That was not the case, was it? A. I--I can't really comment on how he perceived it. My perception was different. Q. Okay-- A. But I--I--I mean, I don't feel comfortable saying that he didn't, that he didn't see it that way, or that's wrong; that's how he saw it. I-- Q. But you saw it a different way? A. Yes. Q. Now, on November the 15th, had you already accepted this job with Legislative Affairs? A. Yes. Q. And, uh, was--that was during the shutdown, so you had no job to go to because the Government was shut down. A. No. I accepted it on the Friday before the furlough. Q. And that-- A. But the paperwork hadn't gone through. Q. Okay. Did, uh--when you first met with the President on November the 15th, did he say anything to you that would indicate that he knew you were an intern? A. No. Q. Did he make a comment about your, your pink security badge? A. Can I ask my counsel a question real quickly, please? [Witness conferring with counsel.] MR. CACHERIS: Okay, Mr Bryant. THE WITNESS: Sorry. It was--that occurred in the second encounter of that evening. BY MR. BRYANT: Q. Okay. On November-- A. So, not the first encounter. Q. On November the 15th, 1995? A. Correct. Q. What--do you recall what he said or what he did in regard to the intern pass? A. He tugged on my pass and said: "This is going to be a problem." Q. And what did, uh--did he say anything else about what he meant by "problem"? A. No. Q. Tell me about your job at Legislative Affairs. Did that involve going into the White House itself? A. Yes. My job was in the White House. Q. You were in one wing, but did that involve going--did it give you access-- A. Yes. Q. --pretty well throughout the White House? A. Yes. Q. What did you do primarily? A. I worked under Jocelyn Jolly, who supervised the letters that came from the Hill; so the opening of those letters and reading them and vetting them and preparing responses for the President's signature--responding. Q. Now, you've indicated through counsel at the beginning that you are willing to affirm, otherwise adopt, your sworn testimony of August the 6th and August the 20th, I think, which would be grand jury, and the deposition of August the 26th, 1998. A. Correct. [[Page S1214]]
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MORE STORIES:Friday, February 5, 1999
• Transcript highlights from the witness depositions • Bipartisan group moves to open Senate deliberations • Straw poll focuses attention on potential women candidates • Secret Service concerned over Chelsea Clinton cover story • GOP told to develop post-impeachment message • Starr lawyers discuss impeachment • President to establish race relations office • Is Chelsea Clinton a valid journalistic subject? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
