The Monica Lewinsky Scandal: A Timeline of Events Leading to the Impeachment of President Clinton

Strategic Insights -

Monica Lewinsky, a 21-year-old unpaid intern at the White House, began working at the White House in November 1995, allegedly starting an affair with President Clinton in the same month. She was given a full-time job in the legislative affairs office in December 1995. The scandal would eventually lead to Clinton's impeachment in 1998.

Key Takeaways:

  • Monica Lewinsky began working as an unpaid intern at the White House in November 1995 and was given a full-time job in the legislative affairs office in December 1995.
  • Lewinsky allegedly started an affair with President Clinton in November 1995, which she later discussed with Linda Tripp, a Pentagon press office employee.
  • Tripp began tape-recording conversations with Lewinsky, which revealed a growing bitterness about Clinton and concern about testifying in the Paula Jones lawsuit.
  • Lewinsky quit her $32,736 job at the Pentagon on December 24, 1997, and had a series of job interviews arranged by Clinton confidant Vernon Jordan.
  • In January 1998, Linda Tripp alerted the Whitewater special counsel Kenneth Starr to the alleged cover-up and the FBI obtained a listening device for Tripp to gather evidence of the affair.
  • Monica Lewinsky was questioned by Starr's deputies and eventually replaced her lawyer, Francis Carter, with William Ginsburg.

Statistics:

  • Lewinsky was paid $32,736 at the Pentagon.
  • She was offered a $40,000 post with a public relations firm representing Revlon, but the job offer was rescinded when the allegations of a presidential affair became public.
  • The Whitewater investigation was expanded to include the possibility of obstruction of justice and suborning perjury in the Jones case on January 16, 1998.
  • FBI agents specially equipped Tripp with a listening device on January 13, 1998.

Sources:

  • Cox News Service, Summer: Monica Lewinsky, a 21-year-old Beverly Hills native, goes to the White House as an unpaid intern.
  • The Washington Post: Fall, Lewinsky's comments, as taped by Tripp, indicate a growing bitterness about Clinton, whom she begins to call ''the creep.''
  • The Washington Post: December 24, Lewinsky quits her $32,736 job at the Pentagon.
  • Cox News Service: January 12, Tripp calls Whitewater special counsel Kenneth Starr to alert him that Lewinsky had said Jordan and the president were urging her to hide the affair.
  • The Washington Post: January 17, Clinton answers questions under oath in the Jones lawsuit and denies having an affair with Lewinsky.