President Clinton and Ms. Lewinsky had additional sexual
encounters near the Oval Office in 1996. After their sixth
sexual encounter, the President and Ms. Lewinsky had their first
lengthy conversation. On President's Day, February 19, the
President terminated their sexual relationship, then revived it
on March 31.
A. January 7 Sexual Encounter
According to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President had another
sexual encounter on Sunday, January 7, 1996. Although White
House records do not indicate that Ms. Lewinsky was at the White
House that day, her testimony and other evidence indicate that
she was there.(202) The President, according to White House
records, was in the Oval Office most of the afternoon, from 2:13
to 5:49 p.m.(203)
According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President telephoned her
early that afternoon. It was the first time he had called her at
home.(204) In her recollection: "I asked him what he was doing and
he said he was going to be going into the office soon. I said,
oh, do you want some company? And he said, oh, that would be
great."(205) Ms. Lewinsky went to her office, and the President
called to arrange their rendezvous:
[W]e made an arrangement that . . . he would have the door
to his office open, and I would pass by the office with some
papers and then . . . he would sort of stop me and invite me
in. So, that was exactly what happened. I passed by and
that was actually when I saw [Secret Service Uniformed
Officer] Lew Fox who was on duty outside the Oval Office,
and stopped and spoke with Lew for a few minutes, and then
the President came out and said, oh, hey, Monica . . . come
on in . . . . And so we spoke for about 10 minutes in the
[Oval] office. We sat on the sofas. Then we went into the
back study and we were intimate in the bathroom.(206)
Ms. Lewinsky testified that during this bathroom encounter, she
and the President kissed, and he touched her bare breasts with
his hands and his mouth.(207) The President "was talking about
performing oral sex on me," according to Ms. Lewinsky.(208) But she
stopped him because she was menstruating and he did not.(209) Ms.
Lewinsky did perform oral sex on him.(210)
Afterward, she and the President moved to the Oval Office
and talked. According to Ms. Lewinsky: "[H]e was chewing on a
cigar. And then he had the cigar in his hand and he was kind of
looking at the cigar in . . . sort of a naughty way. And so
. . . I looked at the cigar and I looked at him and I said, we
can do that, too, some time."(211)
Corroborating aspects of Ms. Lewinsky's recollection,
records show that Officer Fox was posted outside the Oval Office
the afternoon of January 7.(212) Officer Fox (who is now retired)
testified that he recalled an incident with Ms. Lewinsky one
weekend afternoon when he was on duty by the Oval Office:(213)
[T]he President of the United States came out, and he asked
me, he says, "Have you seen any young congressional staff
members here today?" I said, "No, sir." He said, "Well,
I'm expecting one." He says, "Would you please let me know
when they show up?" And I said, "Yes, sir."(214)
Officer Fox construed the reference to "congressional staff
members" to mean White House staff who worked with Congress --
i.e., staff of the Legislative Affairs Office, where Ms. Lewinsky
worked.(215)
Talking with a Secret Service agent posted in the hallway,
Officer Fox speculated on whom the President was expecting: "I
described Ms. Lewinsky, without mentioning the name, in detail,
dark hair -- you know, I gave a general description of what she
looked like."(216) Officer Fox had gotten to know Ms. Lewinsky
during her tenure at the White House, and other agents had told
him that she often spent time with the President.(217)
A short time later, Ms. Lewinsky approached, greeted Officer
Fox, and said, "I have some papers for the President." Officer
Fox admitted her to the Oval Office. The President said: "You
can close the door. She'll be here for a while."(218)
B. January 21 Sexual Encounter
On Sunday, January 21, 1996, according to Ms. Lewinsky, she
and the President had another sexual encounter. Her time of
White House entry is not reflected in records. She left at 3:56
p.m.(219) The President moved from the Residence to the Oval Office
at 3:33 p.m. and remained there until 7:40 p.m.(220)
On that day, according to Ms. Lewinsky, she saw the
President in a hallway by an elevator, and he invited her to the
Oval Office.(221) According to Ms. Lewinsky:
We had . . . had phone sex for the first time the week
prior, and I was feeling a little bit insecure about whether
he had liked it or didn't like it . . . . I didn't know if
this was sort of developing into some kind of a longer-term
relationship than what I thought it initially might have
been, that maybe he had some regular girlfriend who was
furloughed . . . .(222)
According to Ms. Lewinsky, she questioned the President about his
interest in her. "I asked him why he doesn't ask me any
questions about myself, and . . . is this just about sex . . . or
do you have some interest in trying to get to know me as a
person?"(223) The President laughed and said, according to Ms.
Lewinsky, that "he cherishes the time that he had with me."(224)
She considered it "a little bit odd" for him to speak of
cherishing their time together "when I felt like he didn't really
even know me yet."(225)
They continued talking as they went to the hallway by the
study. Then, with Ms. Lewinsky in mid-sentence, "he just started
kissing me."(226) He lifted her top and touched her breasts with
his hands and mouth.(227) According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President
"unzipped his pants and sort of exposed himself," and she
performed oral sex.(228)
At one point during the encounter, someone entered the Oval
Office. In Ms. Lewinsky's recollection, "[The President] zipped
up real quickly and went out and came back in . . . . I just
remember laughing because he had walked out there and he was
visibly aroused, and I just thought it was funny."(229)
A short time later, the President got word that his next
appointment, a friend from Arkansas, had arrived.(230) He took Ms.
Lewinsky out through the Oval Office into Ms. Hernreich's office,
where he kissed her goodbye.(231)
C. February 4 Sexual Encounter and Subsequent Phone Calls
On Sunday, February 4, according to Ms. Lewinsky, she and
the President had their sixth sexual encounter and their first
lengthy and personal conversation. The President was in the Oval
Office from 3:36 to 7:05 p.m.(232) He had no telephone calls in the
Oval Office before 4:45 p.m.(233) Records do not show Ms.
Lewinsky's entry or exit.
According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President telephoned her at
her desk and they planned their rendezvous. At her suggestion,
they bumped into each other in the hallway, "because when it
happened accidentally, that seemed to work really well," then
walked together to the area of the private study.(234)
There, according to Ms. Lewinsky, they kissed. She was
wearing a long dress that buttoned from the neck to the ankles.
"And he unbuttoned my dress and he unhooked my bra, and sort of
took the dress off my shoulders and . . . moved the bra . . . .
[H]e was looking at me and touching me and telling me how
beautiful I was."(235) He touched her breasts with his hands and
his mouth, and touched her genitals, first through underwear and
then directly.(236) She performed oral sex on him.(237)
After their sexual encounter, the President and Ms. Lewinsky
sat and talked in the Oval Office for about 45 minutes. Ms.
Lewinsky thought the President might be responding to her
suggestion during their previous meeting about "trying to get to
know me."(238) It was during that conversation on February 4,
according to Ms. Lewinsky, that their friendship started to
blossom.(239)
When she prepared to depart, according to Ms. Lewinsky, the
President "kissed my arm and told me he'd call me, and then I
said, yeah, well, what's my phone number? And so he recited both
my home number and my office number off the top of his head."(240)
The President called her at her desk later that afternoon and
said he had enjoyed their time together.(241)
D. President's Day (February 19) Break-up
According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President terminated their
relationship (only temporarily, as it happened), on Monday,
February 19, 1996 -- President's Day. The President was in the
Oval Office from 11 a.m. to 2:01 p.m. that day.(242) He had no
telephone calls between 12:19 and 12:42 p.m.(243) Records do not
reflect Ms. Lewinsky's presence at the White House.
In Ms. Lewinsky's recollection, the President telephoned her
at her Watergate apartment that day. From the tone of his voice,
she could tell something was wrong. She asked to come see him,
but he said he did not know how long he would be there.(244) Ms.
Lewinsky went to the White House, then walked to the Oval Office
sometime between noon and 2 p.m. (the only time she ever went to
the Oval Office uninvited).(245) Ms. Lewinsky recalled that she was
admitted by a tall, slender, Hispanic plainclothes agent on duty
near the door.(246)
The President told her that he no longer felt right about
their intimate relationship, and he had to put a stop to it.(247)
Ms. Lewinsky was welcome to continue coming to visit him, but
only as a friend. He hugged her but would not kiss her.(248) At
one point during their conversation, the President had a call
from a sugar grower in Florida whose name, according to Ms.
Lewinsky, was something like "Fanuli." In Ms. Lewinsky's
recollection, the President may have taken or returned the call
just as she was leaving.(249)
Ms. Lewinsky's account is corroborated in two respects.
First, Nelson U. Garabito, a plainclothes Secret Service agent,
testified that, on a weekend or holiday while Ms. Lewinsky worked
at the White House (most likely in the early spring of 1996), Ms.
Lewinsky appeared in the area of the Oval Office carrying a
folder and said, "I have these papers for the President."(250)
After knocking, Agent Garabito opened the Oval Office door, told
the President he had a visitor, ushered Ms. Lewinsky in, and
closed the door behind her.(251) When Agent Garabito's shift ended
a few minutes later, Ms. Lewinsky was still in the Oval Office.(252)
Second, concerning Ms. Lewinsky's recollection of a call
from a sugar grower named "Fanuli," the President talked with
Alfonso Fanjul of Palm Beach, Florida, from 12:42 to 1:04 p.m.(253)
Mr. Fanjul had telephoned a few minutes earlier, at 12:24 p.m.(254)
The Fanjuls are prominent sugar growers in Florida.(255)
E. Continuing Contacts
After the break-up on February 19, 1996, according to Ms.
Lewinsky, "there continued to sort of be this flirtation . . .
when we'd see each other."(256) After passing Ms. Lewinsky in a
hallway one night in late February or March, the President
telephoned her at home and said he was disappointed that, because
she had already left the White House for the evening, they could
not get together. Ms. Lewinsky testified that the call "sort of
implied to me that he was interested in starting up again."(257) On
March 10, 1996, Ms. Lewinsky took a visiting friend, Natalie
Ungvari, to the White House. They bumped into the President, who
said to Ms. Ungvari when Ms. Lewinsky introduced them: "You must
be her friend from California."(258) Ms. Ungvari was "shocked" that
the President knew where she was from.(259)
Ms. Lewinsky testified that on Friday, March 29, 1996, she
was walking down a hallway when she passed the President, who was
wearing the first necktie she had given him. She asked where he
had gotten the tie, and he replied: "Some girl with style gave
it to me."(260) Later, he telephoned her at her desk and asked if
she would like to see a movie. His plan was that she would
position herself in the hallway by the White House Theater at a
certain time, and he would invite her to join him and a group of
guests as they entered. Ms. Lewinsky responded that she did not
want people to think she was lurking around the West Wing
uninvited.(261) She asked if they could arrange a rendezvous over
the weekend instead, and he said he would try.(262) Records confirm
that the President spent the evening of March 29 in the White
House Theater.(263) Mrs. Clinton was in Athens, Greece.(264)
F. March 31 Sexual Encounter
On Sunday, March 31, 1996, according to Ms. Lewinsky, she
and the President resumed their sexual contact.(265) Ms. Lewinsky
was at the White House from 10:21 a.m. to 4:27 p.m. on that
day.(266) The President was in the Oval Office from 3:00 to 5:46
p.m.(267) His only call while in the Oval Office was from 3:06 to
3:07 p.m.(268) Mrs. Clinton was in Ireland.(269)
According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President telephoned her at
her desk and suggested that she come to the Oval Office on the
pretext of delivering papers to him.(270) She went to the Oval
Office and was admitted by a plainclothes Secret Service agent.(271)
In her folder was a gift for the President, a Hugo Boss
necktie.(272)
In the hallway by the study, the President and Ms. Lewinsky
kissed. On this occasion, according to Ms. Lewinsky, "he focused
on me pretty exclusively," kissing her bare breasts and fondling
her genitals.(273) At one point, the President inserted a cigar
into Ms. Lewinsky's vagina, then put the cigar in his mouth and
said: "It tastes good."(274) After they were finished, Ms.
Lewinsky left the Oval Office and walked through the Rose
Garden.(275)