"Starr.Remarks" - читать интересную книгу автора (impeachment)

"You were always there when she was there, right? We were never really
alone."

"You could see and hear everything."

Ms. Currie concluded that the president wanted her to agree with him
when he made these statements. Ms. Currie stated that she did in fact
indicate her agreement – although she knew that the president and
Ms. Lewinsky had been alone and that she could not hear or see them
when they were alone.

Ms. Currie further testified that the president ran through the same
basic statements with her again on January 20 or 21.

What is important with respect to these two episodes is that at the
time the president made these statements, he knew that they were
false. He knew he had been alone with Ms. Lewinsky. He knew Ms. Currie
could not see or hear everything. The president thus could not have
been trying to refresh his recollection, as he subsequently suggested.
That raises the question: Is there a legitimate explanation for the
president to have said those things in that manner to Ms. Currie? The
circumstances suggest not. The facts suggest that the president was
attempting to improperly coach Ms. Currie, at a time when he could
foresee that she was not a potential witness in Jones v. Clinton.

E. The President's Actions: Jan. 21-Aug. 17

The president's next major decision came in the days immediately after
Jan. 21. On the 21st, The Washington Post publicly reported the story
of Ms. Lewinsky's relationship with the president. After the public
disclosure of his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky and the ongoing
criminal investigation, the president faced a decision. Would he admit
the relationship publicly, correct his testimony in Ms. Jones' case,
and ask for the indulgence of the American people? Or would he
continue to deny the truth?

For this question, the president consulted others. According to Dick
Morris, the president and he talked on Jan. 21. Mr. Morris suggested
that the president publicly confess. The president replied "But what
about the legal thing? You know, the legal thing? You know. Starr and
perjury and all." Mr. Morris suggested they take a poll. The president
agreed. Mr. Morris called with the results. He stated that the
American people were willing to forgive adultery but not perjury or
obstruction of justice. The president replied, "Well, we just have to
win, then."

Over the next several months, it became apparent that the strategy to
win had many prongs. First, the president denied the truth publicly
and emphatically. Second, he publicly promised to cooperate with the
investigation. Third, the president deflected and diverted the