New Details Of Clinton's Jones Deposition Leaked

President reacts critically while his lawyers threaten legal action

By John King/CNN

WASHINGTON (March 5) -- New details from President Bill Clinton's deposition in the Paula Jones lawsuit show Monica Lewinsky featured prominently in the questioning of the president. The leaked information has angered the White House, and Clinton's personal lawyers are threatening legal action.

Sources close to the White House legal team confirm to CNN that during his sworn testimony, Clinton acknowledged he was aware of efforts by his friend Vernon Jordan to find Lewinsky a private sector job and that he had a relationship with her that included gift exchanges and possibly some meetings alone.

The president also acknowledged he had at least one conversation with Lewinsky about the Jones case.

But these sources say the president ruled out any sexual relationship with Lewinsky, and that his denial was based on a written definition of sexual relations provided to him by attorneys for Jones near the outset of the deposition.

The Washington Post reported in detail on Clinton's deposition in Thursday's editions, and CNN confirmed much of the report in two subsequent conversations with sources close to the White House legal team.

One of these sources said administration officials were "stunned" that such a detailed accounting of the deposition was made public and suggested the initial leak must have come from either the office of Independent Counsel Ken Starr or the Jones legal team.

Starr denied that his office was responsible for leaks in a statement Thursday. "This office has received questions about whether we were the source of today's Washington Post story. We categorically deny that we were either directly or indirectly the source of the story," the statement said.

Clinton neither confirmed or denied the reported details of his testimony, but reacted angrily to the violation of Judge Susan Webber Wright's gag order. "The court has made it absolutely clear that it is illegal to leak or to discuss it," the president told reporters Thursday afternoon. (288K wav sound)

Clinton said he had not read the Post article, so could not comment on its accuracy. "Whether it is [accurate] or not, it is against the law. The judge has ordered us neither to release such materials or discuss them. Somebody in this case ought to follow the law. I intend to be that person, so that I can go back to work," Clinton said. (352K wav sound)

The president's private attorneys are threatening legal action against those responsible. "We intend to seek appropriate judicial relief," attorneys Robert Bennett, David Kendall and Mickey Kantor said in a joint statement.

Clinton's attorneys intend to file formal complaints with the judges overseeing the Jones case as well as the Lewinsky grand jury investigation over the leaked report.

"The leaking of the President's sealed deposition, obviously by antagonists of the President, is a reprehensible and unethical act," they said. "It is disrespectful to Judge Wright who placed the deposition under seal because she is trying to conduct a fair proceeding and protect the impartiality of the jury. It also interferes with the ability of Chief Judge [Norma Holloway] Johnson to maintain the requisite secrecy of grand jury matters."

The president's lawyers deny they were the source of the leaked story. "We are obviously not the source either directly or indirectly of today's Washington Post story," they said. "We have and will continue to reject the requests for a copy of Paula Jones's deposition because we respect the wishes of the courts and play by the rules."

Jones attorney David Pyke also denied being the source. "We did not release any portion of the president's deposition and tire of these continued unfounded accusations," Pyke told CNN.

Bennett admitted that tracing the source of a leak is difficult. "As all of you know, it is almost impossible to determine how these things get leaked but there can be doubt that the antagonists of the president -- those who want to hurt him and hurt him badly -- have done this," the president's attorney told reporters while leaving the federal courthouse Thursday afternoon on unrelated business.

White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said he had no knowledge of the source of the leaks, but Clinton's response was appropriate.

Deposition details leaked

The detailed accounting of Clinton's testimony is not inconsistent in any major way with previously known details of the Lewinsky investigation. But it paints a vivid picture of how questioning about Lewinsky was a major, if not dominant topic, of the president's extraordinary sworn testimony in the Jones case.

It also points up how Jones' lawyers were able to question the president in detail because of their meeting the night before with Lewinsky's Pentagon co-worker, Linda Tripp.

Among the details included in the Post account and confirmed by CNN:

Clinton testified that Jordan kept him informed of his efforts to help Lewinsky find a job, an account consistent, sources tell CNN, with Jordan's grand jury testimony. But Clinton said Jordan's efforts were initiated by his White House secretary, Betty Currie, who had befriended Lewinsky. Jordan has told associates he inferred that Clinton asked Currie to seek his help.

Clinton testified that Lewinsky on several occasions sent him gifts and notes through Currie, including a tie and at least one book, and he reciprocated by sending her gifts, possibly including a hat pin, brooch and other items, among them a book of Walt Whitman poetry that White House sources previously have said was also sent to other White House workers.

Clinton flatly denied having any sexual relationship with Lewinsky but said he recalled meeting her on a handful of occasions and that it was possible they were alone a few times, though Currie or others were nearby.

Near the outset of the deposition, as has been previously reported, Jones' lawyers provided Clinton with a written definition of what they would consider sexual relations for the context of the deposition. It included fondling, oral sex and physical contact designed to cause sexual arousal, but not kissing or hugging.

That definition was used not only in regard to Lewinsky; Clinton also denied any sexual relationship with Shelia Lawrence, the widow of former ambassador and Democratic fund-raiser Larry Lawrence.

As previously reported, Clinton acknowledged a sexual encounter with Gennifer Flowers in the late 1970s but denied her allegations of a 12-year relationship. Clinton also denied groping former White House aide Kathleen Willey, who has given a sworn statement in the Jones case.

Sources tell CNN Clinton's account confirms a chronology of events that shows he discussed with Lewinsky in late December the possibility she might be called as a witness in the Jones case. One of the sources confirmed the Post account that Clinton testified he was first told of that possibility by confidant Bruce Lindsey. The president testified that his conversation with Lewinsky about testifying was brief and in the presence of Currie.

The Post said Clinton recalled that his last meeting with Lewinsky was just before Christmas, while sources have told CNN and other news outlets they met on Dec. 28. One of the sources contacted by CNN early Thursday said "the president has subsequently seen the records and had his memory refreshed.It was an innocent mistake over a couple of days."

CNN's Wolf Blitzer contributed to this report.

Thursday March 5, 1998

• Lewinsky Lawyers, Starr Argue Over Immunity Agreement
• Thompson Committee Wraps Up Its Work
• Democratic Fund-Raiser Johnny Chung Agrees To Plead Guilty
• Clinton Codefendant Says Jones Has No Case
• Democratic Fund-Raiser Arrested
• White House Scandal At A Glance
• Judges To Hear Ethics Complaints Against Starr
• New Details Of Clinton's Jones Deposition Leaked