Death of American Virtue - Ken Gormley [353]
Monica felt that she had somehow become a player in a strange tragicomic production, the absurdity of which was beginning to overwhelm her. She would say, years later, “I’m sorry, you just have to stop and laugh for a second when you kind of look at the whole scope of this thing. And you stop and say, ‘What is probably one of the most bizarre things that’s going to happen?’ And you say, ‘Okay, let’s go to Starr’s grandmother’s apartment.’ I’m sorry. That’s kind of funny. Sidebar.”
That muggy Monday morning, July 27, Monica and her attorneys arrived by cab. FBI agents escorted them up to the thirty-third floor. It was a nicely furnished getaway with a breathtaking view of the Chrysler Building, of the Empire State Building, and, in a third direction, of the East River.
Cacheris and Stein began by making clear that they were only interested in going forward if the final deal involved immunity for Monica’s whole family. “The joke,” Cacheris later deadpanned, “was that anybody named Lewinsky got immunity.” With that understanding reached, the parties gathered at the dining room table. OIC was represented by Bob Bittman, Sol Wisenberg, Mary Anne Wirth (added to supply a woman’s touch), and several FBI agents. Sam Dash lounged in an easy chair in an adjoining room, out of sight, like the Wizard of Oz.
Monica began by disclosing that she had been taking two antidepressants—Effexor and Serzone—since early February 1995, and that these medications sometimes created “an inability to think of certain words during conversation.” With that disclaimer on the table, her lawyers led her through a vivid account of her extramarital involvement with the president, including precise times and dates of their clandestine encounters and specific events taking place in the White House. OIC’s official summary of the meeting recorded: “The relationship [between the president and Lewinsky] then blossomed and eventually included 14 sexual encounters. Sexual encounters included one or more of the following: kissing, hugging, touch, and oral sex on the person of the President.” The transcription of Monica’s extraordinary session also revealed that there were “about 50 telephone calls, with the majority of them being between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.,” about fifteen of which turned into a form of “phone sex.”
OIC was intrigued but not sold. As Bob Bittman would recall, “Monica was pretty open, but emotionally fragile. She broke down or was on the cusp of breaking down several times.” He and his fellow prosecutors wondered how much of this might be playacting. “We did not believe she was totally forthcoming with everything she knew,” Bittman said.
Monica’s lawyers were surprised that Bittman and Wisenberg seemed to be vying for control as if they were in some rough competition. One prosecutor would ask a question; the other would cut in brusquely and ask, “Are you through now?” Although Cacheris had a great deal of respect for Starr, he was not particularly impressed with his underlings. At one point when Bittman tried to quiz Monica about the blue dress, Cacheris decided to cut the young deputy off at the knees: “Look, when we have a deal, we’ll talk about dresses. But we’re not talking about it now.”
After a lunch of tuna fish sandwiches and sparkling water, questioning resumed for two hours, until Cacheris announced with an abrupt wave of the hand that it was time for his group to catch a four o’clock flight home. He declared that the OIC prosecutors had interrogated Monica long enough. Now it was time for them to decide if they wanted to play ball.
The OIC lawyers hurriedly caucused. Bittman straightened his tie, reporting that they were generally pleased—but he would like to have Monica return for one more session. At this, Cacheris motioned for his group to stand up. He announced, “If you don’t have it now, you’ll never have it. We’re getting out of here.”
Truth be told, Starr’s team had concluded that Monica’s story, although a bizarre assortment of puzzle pieces, was generally credible. Bittman recalled,