Death of American Virtue - Ken Gormley [230]
Linda Tripp, erstwhile friend and confidante of Monica Lewinsky, speaks to the press outside her home in Columbia, Maryland, on January 22, 1998, shortly after the story of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair exploded like a bombshell. Tripp had tape-recorded conversations with Lewinsky, contacted Ken Starr’s office, and ultimately allowed herself to be wired by FBI agents in order to capture Monica’s story for federal authorities. AP Photo/Roberto Borea
Monica Lewinsky is escorted out of the federal building in Los Angeles on May 28, 1998, flanked by police, FBI agents, and her attorney Bill Ginsburg (with bow tie), after she was fingerprinted and gave handwriting samples in connection with Ken Starr’s investigation of her relationship with the president. AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
President Clinton pauses after a White House program on after-school child care to deliver an emphatic denial of any impropriety in the Lewinsky matter. The president wagged his finger in the air and declared: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman … Ms. Lewinsky.” AP Photo/Greg Gibson
First Lady Hillary Clinton appears on the Today show with host Matt Lauer, on January 27, 1998, just days after the Lewinsky story explodes in the media, defending her husband, denying that he had engaged in an affair with the young intern, and insisting that he was the victim of a “vast right-wing conspiracy.” William J. Clinton Presidential Library
Lewinsky’s mother, Marcia Lewis, leaves the D.C. federal courthouse looking pale and emotionally distraught, after breaking down during her second day of grand jury testimony relating to her daughter’s affair with President Clinton. Her lawyer, prominent Washington criminal defense attorney Billy Martin, accompanies his client. AP Photo/Stephan Savoia
President Clinton stares into the camera during his testimony transmitted by live feed from the White House Map Room to the Starr grand jury several blocks away During this closed-door session on August 17, 1998, Clinton first admitted to an “inappropriate relationship” with Monica Lewinsky. The president turned in a masterful performance in front of the grand jury, causing the Starr prosecutors to fret that he might skate away unscathed. AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Chelsea Clinton links hands with her mother and father as the First Family walks soberly to Marine One, en route to a family vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, the day after Bill Clinton admitted to a sexual affair with a former intern barely older than his daughter. Only the presidential dog, Buddy, seems to display any affection for the president. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
THE next morning at 8:30, Janet Reno convened a meeting of her own top brass. Chairs creaked; a dozen of the Justice Department’s top lawyers sat back apprehensively. Only a small group within the department had been invited to this highly sensitive briefing. Reno and Holder knew that if the story leaked, DOJ would be accused of “trying to tip off the White House.” Their own reputations were on the line.
Kevin Ohlson, who served as chief of staff to Eric Holder, recalled the mood inside the gathering: “It was excitement in terms of elevated blood pressure and heart rate and so forth. Just wondering what this was going to mean—not to sound melodramatic—but for the country.”
Never one for small talk, Reno launched directly into her analysis of DOJ’s options. She folded her arms soberly and stated: “All right, Starr’s people have asked that we permit him to pursue this matter. How should we proceed?” One of the Justice Department lawyers, Josh Hochberg, had already visited Starr’s office to listen to the tapes. The recordings were “of pretty good quality.” The startling Lewinsky-Tripp banter confirmed the gist of what Jackie Bennett had conveyed to DOJ the previous night. Michael Isikoff was going to run with the story in thirty-six hours. Even if that didn’t happen, the story