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E. The U.N. Interview and Job Offer

On Friday morning, October 31, Ambassador Richardson and two of his assistants, Mona Sutphen and Rebecca Cooper, interviewed Ms. Lewinsky at the Watergate.⁽⁶⁴⁶⁾ According to Ambassador Richardson, he "listen[ed] while Mona and Rebecca were interviewing her."⁽⁶⁴⁷⁾ Neither Ambassador Richardson nor any of his staff made inquiries, before or after the interview, about Ms. Lewinsky's prior work performance.⁽⁶⁴⁸⁾

On Sunday, November 2, Ms. Lewinsky drafted a letter to Ms. Currie asking what to do in the event she received an offer from the U.N.⁽⁶⁴⁹⁾ She wrote:

I became a bit nervous this weekend when I realized that Amb. Richardson said his staff would be in touch with me this week. As you know, the UN is supposed to be my back-up, but because VJ [Vernon Jordan] has been out of town, this is my only option right now. What should I say to Richardson's people this week when they call?⁽⁶⁵⁰⁾

Ms. Lewinsky asked Ms. Currie to speak to the President about her problem: "If you feel it's appropriate, maybe you could ask 'the big guy' what he wants me to do. Ahhhhh . . . anxiety!!!!!"⁽⁶⁵¹⁾ Ms. Lewinsky also mentioned the President's promise to involve Vernon Jordan in her job search:

I don't think I told you that in my conversation last Thursday night with him that he said that he would ask you to set up a meeting between VJ and myself, once VJ got back. I assume he'll mention this to you at some point -- hopefully sooner rather than later!⁽⁶⁵²⁾

Before Ms. Lewinsky sent this letter, in her recollection, she received an offer from the U.N.⁽⁶⁵³⁾ Phone records reflect that, at 11:02 a.m. on November 3, a three-minute call was placed to Ms. Lewinsky from the U.N. line identified in State Department records as Ambassador Richardson's.⁽⁶⁵⁴⁾ Ms. Lewinsky stated that she believes she spoke to Ambassador Richardson, who extended her a job offer.⁽⁶⁵⁵⁾

According to his assistant, Ambassador Richardson made the decision to hire Ms. Lewinsky. Ms. Sutphen testified:

I said, are you sure; and he said, yeah, yeah, I'm sure, why. And I said . . . are you sure, though you don't want to talk to anyone else . . . . And he said, no, no, I think it's fine; why don't you go ahead and give her an offer?⁽⁶⁵⁶⁾

Ambassador Richardson and Ms. Sutphen both testified that Ms. Sutphen, not the Ambassador, extended the job offer to Ms. Lewinsky. They recalled that the offer was made a week or 10 days after the interview, though Ms. Sutphen, when shown the phone records, testified that the November 3 call to Ms. Lewinsky probably was the job offer.⁽⁶⁵⁷⁾

Ms. Lewinsky testified that she told Ms. Currie about the offer and she probably also told the President directly.⁽⁶⁵⁸⁾ Ms. Currie first testified that she had "probably" told the President about Ms. Lewinsky's U.N. offer, then testified that she had in fact told him, then testified that she could not remember, though she acknowledged that the President was interested in Ms.Lewinsky's getting a job.⁽⁶⁵⁹⁾

When the President was asked in the Jones deposition whether he knew that Ms.Lewinsky had received the offer of a job at the U.N., he testified: "I know that she interviewed for one. I don't know if she was offered one or not."⁽⁶⁶⁰⁾

F. The U.N. Job Offer Declined

Three weeks after she received an offer, on November 24, Ms. Lewinsky called Ms. Sutphen and asked for more time to consider the offer because she wanted to pursue possibilities in the private sector.⁽⁶⁶¹⁾ Ms. Sutphen told Ambassador Richardson, who, according to Ms. Sutphen, said the delay would be fine.⁽⁶⁶²⁾ Over a month later, on January 5, 1998, Ms. Lewinsky finally turned down the job.⁽⁶⁶³⁾

X. November 1997: Growing Frustration

Ms. Lewinsky met with Vernon Jordan, who promised to help her find a job in New York. November proved, however, to be a month of inactivity with respect to both Ms. Lewinsky's job search and her relationship with the President. Mr. Jordan did not meet with Ms. Lewinsky again, nor did he contact anyone in New York City on her behalf. Ms. Lewinsky became increasingly anxious about her inability to see the President. Except for a momentary encounter in mid-November, Ms. Lewinsky did not meet with the President between October 11 and December 5.

A. Interrogatories Answered

On November 3, 1997, the President answered Paula Jones's Second Set of Interrogatories. Two of those interrogatories asked the President to list any woman other than his wife with whom he had "had," "proposed having," or "sought to have" sexual relations during the time that he was Attorney General of Arkansas, Governor of Arkansas, and President of the United States.⁽⁶⁶⁴⁾ President Clinton objected to the scope and relevance of both interrogatories and refused to answer them.⁽⁶⁶⁵⁾

B. First Vernon Jordan Meeting

In mid-October, the President had agreed to involve Vernon Jordan in Ms. Lewinsky's job search.⁽⁶⁶⁶⁾ In a draft letter to Ms. Currie dated November 2, Ms. Lewinsky wrote that the President had "said he would ask you to set up a meeting between VJ and myself."⁽⁶⁶⁷⁾ According to Ms. Lewinsky, on November 3 or November 4, Ms. Currie told her to call Vernon Jordan's secretary to arrange a meeting.⁽⁶⁶⁸⁾ Ms. Currie said she had spoken with Mr. Jordan and he was expecting Ms. Lewinsky's call.⁽⁶⁶⁹⁾ In Ms. Lewinsky's account, Ms. Currie sought Mr. Jordan's aid at the President's direction.⁽⁶⁷⁰⁾ Mr. Jordan likewise testified that, in his understanding, the President was behind Ms. Currie's request.⁽⁶⁷¹⁾

Ms. Currie testified at various points that she contacted Mr. Jordan on her own initiative; that the President "probably" talked with her about Ms. Lewinsky's New York job hunt; and that she could not recall whether the President was involved.⁽⁶⁷²⁾ In his Jones deposition, the President was asked whether he did anything to facilitate a meeting between Mr. Jordan and Ms. Lewinsky. He testified:

I can tell you what my memory is. My memory is that Vernon said something to me about her coming in, Betty had called and asked if he [Mr. Jordan] would see her [Ms. Lewinsky]... . I'm sure if he said something to me about it I said something positive about it. I wouldn't have said anything negative about it.⁽⁶⁷³⁾

When pressed, the President testified that he did not think that he was the "precipitating force" in arranging the meeting between Mr. Jordan and Ms. Lewinsky.⁽⁶⁷⁴⁾

At 8:50 a.m. on November 5, Mr. Jordan spoke with the President by telephone for five minutes.⁽⁶⁷⁵⁾ Later that morning, Mr. Jordan and Ms. Lewinsky met in his office for about twenty minutes.⁽⁶⁷⁶⁾ She told him that she intended to move to New York, and she named several companies where she hoped to work.⁽⁶⁷⁷⁾ She showed him the "wish list" that she had sent the President on October 16.⁽⁶⁷⁸⁾ Mr. Jordan said that he had spoken with the President about her and that she came "highly recommended."⁽⁶⁷⁹⁾ Concerning her job search, Mr. Jordan said: "We're in business."⁽⁶⁸¹⁾

In the course of the day, Mr. Jordan placed four calls to Ms. Hernreich (whom he acknowledged calling when he wished to speak to the President⁽⁶⁸²⁾) and one to Ms. Currie.⁽⁶⁸³⁾ Mr. Jordan testified that he could not remember the calls, but "[i]t is entirely possible" that they concerned Monica Lewinsky.⁽⁶⁸⁴⁾

Mr. Jordan also visited the White House and met with the President at 2:00 p.m. that day.⁽⁶⁸⁵⁾ Again, Mr. Jordan testified that he had "no recollection" of the substance of his conversation with the President.⁽⁶⁸⁶⁾

On November 6, the day after meeting with Mr. Jordan, Ms. Lewinsky wrote him a thank-you letter: "It made me happy to know that our friend has such a wonderful confidant in you."⁽⁶⁸⁷⁾ Also on November 6, Ms. Lewinsky wrote in an email to a friend that she expected to hear from Mr. Jordan "later next week."⁽⁶⁸⁸⁾ The evidence indicates, though, that Mr. Jordan took no steps to help Ms. Lewinsky until early December, after she appeared on the witness list in the Jones case.

Mr. Jordan initially testified that he had "no recollection of having met with Ms. Lewinsky on November 5."⁽⁶⁸⁹⁾ When shown documentary evidence demonstrating that his first meeting with Ms. Lewinsky occurred in early November, he acknowledged that an early November meeting was "entirely possible."⁽⁶⁹⁰⁾ Mr. Jordan's failure to remember his November meeting with Ms. Lewinsky may indicate the low priority he attached to it at the time.

C. November 13: The Zedillo Visit

On Thursday, November 13, while Ernesto Zedillo, the President of Mexico, was in the White House, Ms. Lewinsky met very briefly with President Clinton in the private study.⁽⁶⁹¹⁾ Ms. Lewinsky's visit, which she described in an email as a "hysterical escapade," was the culmination of days of phone calls and notes to Ms. Currie and the President.⁽⁶⁹²⁾

Over the course of the week that preceded November 13, Ms. Lewinsky made several attempts to arrange a visit with the President. On Monday, November 10, in addition to making frequent calls to Ms. Currie, she sent the President a note asking for a meeting.⁽⁶⁹³⁾

She hoped to see him on Tuesday, November 11 (Veterans Day), but he did not respond.⁽⁶⁹⁴⁾ By courier,⁽⁶⁹⁵⁾ she sent the President another note:

I asked you three weeks ago to please be sensitive to what I am going through right now and to keep in contact with me, and yet I'm still left writing notes in vain. I am not a moron. I know that what is going on in the world takes precedence, but I don't think what I have asked you for is unreasonable.⁽⁶⁹⁶⁾

She added: "This is so hard for me. I am trying to deal with so much emotionally, and I have nobody to talk to about it. I need you right now not as president, but as a man. PLEASE be my friend."⁽⁶⁹⁷⁾

That evening, November 12, according to Ms. Lewinsky, the President called and invited her to the White House the following day.⁽⁶⁹⁸⁾ In an email to a friend, Ms. Lewinsky wrote that she and the President "talked for almost an hour."⁽⁶⁹⁹⁾ She added: "[H]e thought [N]ancy [Hernreich] (one of the meanies) would be out for a few hours on Thursday and I could come see him then."⁽⁷⁰⁰⁾

The following morning, November 13, Ms. Lewinsky tried to arrange a visit with the President. She called repeatedly but suspected that Ms. Currie was not telling the President of her calls.⁽⁷⁰¹⁾ Around noon, Ms. Currie told Ms. Lewinsky that the President had left to play golf. Ms. Lewinsky, in her own words, "went ballistic."⁽⁷⁰²⁾

After the President returned from the Army-Navy Golf Course in the late afternoon, Ms. Lewinsky told Ms. Currie that she was coming to the White House to give him some gifts.⁽⁷⁰³⁾ Ms. Currie suggested that Ms. Lewinsky wait in Ms. Currie's car in the White House parking lot. Ms. Lewinsky went to the White House only to find that the doors to Ms. Currie's car were locked. Ms. Lewinsky waited in the rain.⁽⁷⁰⁴⁾

Ms. Currie eventually met her in the parking lot, and, in Ms. Lewinsky's words, they made a "bee-line" into the White House, sneaking up the back stairs to avoid other White House employees, particularly Presidential aide Stephen Goodin.⁽⁷⁰⁵⁾ Ms. Lewinsky left two small gifts for the President with Ms. Currie, then waited alone for about half an hour in the Oval Office study.⁽⁷⁰⁶⁾ In the study, Ms. Lewinsky saw several gifts she had given the President, including Oy Vey! The Things They Say: A Guide to Jewish Wit, Nicholson Baker's novel Vox, and a letter opener decorated with a frog.⁽⁷⁰⁷⁾

The President finally joined Ms. Lewinsky in the study, where they were alone for only a minute or two.⁽⁷⁰⁸⁾ Ms. Lewinsky gave him an antique paperweight in the shape of the White House.⁽⁷⁰⁹⁾ She also showed him an email describing the effect of chewing Altoid mints before performing oral sex. Ms. Lewinsky was chewing Altoids at the time, but the President replied that he did not have enough time for oral sex.⁽⁷¹⁰⁾ They kissed, and the President rushed off for a State Dinner with President Zedillo.⁽⁷¹¹⁾

D. November 14-December 4: Inability to See the President

After this brief November 13 meeting, Ms. Lewinsky did not see the President again until the first week in December. Hoping to arrange a longer rendezvous, she sent the President several notes, as well as a cassette on which she recorded a message.⁽⁷¹²⁾

Along with her chagrin over not seeing the President, Ms. Lewinsky was frustrated that her job search had apparently stalled. A few days before Thanksgiving, she complained to Ms. Currie that she had not heard from Mr. Jordan.⁽⁷¹³⁾ Ms. Currie arranged for her to speak with him "before Thanksgiving," while Ms. Lewinsky was in Los Angeles. Mr. Jordan told her to call him the following week to arrange another meeting.⁽⁷¹⁴⁾

In draft letters to the President, which were recovered from her Pentagon computer, Ms. Lewinsky reflected on the change in their relationship: "[B]oth professionally and personally, . . . our personal relationship changing has caused me more pain. Do you realize that?"⁽⁷¹⁵⁾ She asked for the President's understanding: "I don't want you to think that I am not grateful for what you are doing for me now -- I'd probably be in a mental institute without it -- but I am consumed with this disappointment, frustration, and anger." Ms. Lewinsky rued the brevity of her November 13 visit with the President: "All you ... . ever have to do to pacify me is see me and hold me," she wrote. "Maybe that's asking too much."⁽⁷¹⁶⁾

XI. December 5-18, 1997:

The Witness List and Job Search

On Friday, December 5, Paula Jones's attorneys faxed a list of their potential witnesses -- including Ms. Lewinsky -- to the President's personal attorneys. The following day, President Clinton saw Ms. Lewinsky in an unscheduled visit and then discussed the Jones case with his attorneys and Deputy White House Counsel Bruce Lindsey. A few days later, Ms. Lewinsky met with Mr. Jordan at his office, and he arranged interviews for Ms. Lewinsky at three companies. In the middle of the night on December 17, the President called and informed Ms. Lewinsky that she was on the witness list and that she might have to testify under oath in the Jones case.

A. December 5: The Witness List

On Friday December 5, 1997, attorneys for Paula Jones identified Ms. Lewinsky as a potential witness in Ms. Jones's sexual harassment case.⁽⁷¹⁷⁾ At 5:40 p.m., they faxed their witness list to the President's attorney, Robert Bennett.⁽⁷¹⁸⁾ Ms. Lewinsky, however, would not learn of her potential involvement in the Jones case for twelve more days, when the President informed her.⁽⁷¹⁹⁾

President Clinton was asked in the grand jury when he learned that Ms. Lewinsky's name was on the witness list. The President responded: "I believe that I found out late in the afternoon on the sixth."⁽⁷²⁰⁾

B. December 5: Christmas Party at the White House

On Friday, December 5, Ms. Lewinsky returned from Department of Defense travel in Europe.⁽⁷²¹⁾ She asked Ms. Currie if the President could see her the next day, but Ms. Currie said he was busy meeting with his lawyers.⁽⁷²²⁾ In the late afternoon, she attended a Christmas party at the White House with a Defense Department colleague.⁽⁷²³⁾ Ms. Lewinsky exchanged a few words with the President in the reception line.⁽⁷²⁴⁾

The Christmas reception encounter heightened Ms. Lewinsky's frustration. On the evening of December 5, she drafted an anguished letter to the President.⁽⁷²⁵⁾ "[Y]ou want me out of your life," she wrote. "I guess the signs have been made clear for awhile -- not wanting to see me and rarely calling. I used to think it was you putting up walls."⁽⁷²⁷⁾ She had purchased several gifts for him, and, she wrote, "I wanted to give them to you in person, but that is obviously not going to happen."⁽⁷²⁸⁾ Ms. Lewinsky reminded the President of his words during their October 10 telephone argument:

I will never forget what you said that night we fought on the phone -- if you had known what I was really like you would never have gotten involved with me. I'm sure you're not the first person to have felt that way about me. I am sorry that this has been such a bad experience.⁽⁷²⁹⁾

She concluded the letter: "I knew it would hurt to say goodbye to you; I just never thought it would have to be on paper. Take care."⁽⁷³⁰⁾

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