Slick Billy
York, Byron
/' / "i/ Former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson doesn't deny he offered Monica Lewinsky a job. But his testimony to Kenneth Starr's prosecutors raises questions about whether he told the...
...Okay, sir...
...The president simply didn't understand the suffering Lewinsky was enduring, both women said...
...But late Thursday night, October9—actually it was about 2:0o in themorning on Friday—her phone rang...
...e-mail obtained by Starr's prosecutors, Lewinsky remained a specific priority for Richardson...
...Tripp asked...
...I think I said thatI thought she was impressive and —you know, I, I can't remember all this stuff...
...I remember getting something to him," Currie said...
...make Lewinsky happy and ensure that she remained silent about her affair with the president...
...Bittman wanted to know...
...I thought it was time to move on...
...Of course, she would need a job there, and Lewinsky mentioned a friend who worked at the U.N...
...ambassador to the United Nations, Richardson offered Lewinsky a job just when President Clinton was struggling to find a place for his desperately unhappy former girlfriend...
...Was there any aspect of this meetingat any point that had anything to do withMonica Lewinsky," Bienert asked, "oranything even remotely attendant toMonica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, or thepresident...
...Why?' And I said, 'No, no, you know, there's no issue...
...But there is conflicting testimony over who spoke to whom...
...So now, who's on first...
...The job remained open while Lewinsky stalled, waiting for help from Jordan...
...Well, I mean, maybe someone else in the office made the call...
...It's like, wake up...
...Thecall was made from Richardson's personal extension, 44.04— there had not been a call to Lewinsky from that extension since53 the call Richardson denied making onOctober 21...
...Let me, let me talk to my—can I take a break...
...Just for purposes of the record," Bienert said, "[the document] contains eleven different phone calls...
...I don't think so," Richardson answered...
...Both Richardson and his aides testified they made no effort tocheck Lewinsky's references...
...The e-mail was dated Tuesday, December 23...
...Lewinsky on Monday, November 3rd, and you told her you were going to offer her a position...
...At 10:39 he called an official at The American Spectator • December 1998 American Express...
...He also saidhe did not know that Lewinsky livednearby in the Watergate apartments...
...And there he ran into...Monica Lewinsky...
...his schedule called for him to return to the office on Monday for three days and then fly to the Congo on Thursday the 23rd...
...How did you know that...
...The Starr papers released by Congress—morethan 8,000 pages made public so far—contain innumerableexamples of the administration's misrepresentations, half-truths, clever evasions, and outright lies...
...I certainly don't...
...At 12: 49 he called Georgescu again...
...for this, it looks like, maybe a three-day period before you left for the Congo, you had a heck of a lot of things to deal with, correct...
...Perhaps Watkins had placed the call and then patched it through to Richardson...
...I don't believe I talked to her beforeor after...
...It wasalso the Clintons' wedding anniversary, and the president hadassigned Currie to buy a present for Mrs...
...If yousay I faxed a résumé, then I did that...
...Alone with thepresident, she said she wasn't really interested in a government job...
...How often did you and Ambassador Richardson speak...
...We were sitting right near the entrance, and so he kind ofcame in and so I said, 'Ambassador Richardson, Monica Lewinsky.' He said, 'Oh, hi, how are you?' And I introduced him to mymom and to Peter [Lewis's boyfriend Peter Straus] and then hesaid something or another and said, 'Well, we're just waiting foryou...
...I am a hundred percent, absolutely sure," Richardson answered...
...The subject was the job slot that had been held open for Lewinsky...
...Between 8:3o a.m...
...Somebody—I don't know who or whom, somebody told me that John Podesta and Bill Richardson were trying to get her a job...
...Yeah...
...Because look at what happened withWebb Hubbell," Lewinsky answered...
...But I might have....Imean, what happened was, I was walking away and she yelled atme...
...Yes...
...But Richardson was vague on the matterwhen questioned by prosecutors...
...Because he just doesn't...
...No, I don't think so...
...She sent the note to Clinton on October 16, when the president was still in Latin America...
...Isabelle Watkins' line was 4492...
...Unreal," Tripp said...
...Jordan said something to me, Well, you're a friend of the President of the United States...
...Starr's prosecutors wanted to know why, since he was so busy, Richardson had the Lewinsky matter on his mind immediately after his return from Latin America...
...he asked...
...Do you see that, sir...
...Jordan asked me what I got angry at the president about, so I told him when he doesn't call me enough or see me enough...
...Since she had already decided she didn't want to work at the U.N., she was placing her hopes on Vernon Jordan's private sector job search...
...Cooper asked us to do this and do it quickly...
...That night Lewinsky wrote a letter to the pres ident...
...They madeher happy...
...job that she didn't want, Lewinsky had reason to feel confident speaking to Richardson...
...Didn't the president also suggest Ambassador Richardson, too...
...I don't think the U.N...
...Vernon's been out of town...
...He said, `Oh, that's no problem,'" Currie told Lewinsky...
...Again, Lewinsky told prosecutors that Richardson himself called...
...According to Lewinsky, Richardson told her he understood from John Podesta that she was interested in working at the U.N...
...He doesn't place his own calls...
...It is possible," Bienert asked, "that this e-mail was prompted by some comment from you to Mr...
...And I really, when I first saw her, I didn'tknow who she was...
...The two finally connected five days later, on Monday, November 24, when Lewinsky called Sutphen at her office...
...And whatever his intentions may havebeen, the fuzzy parts of Richardson's story all had the practical effectof distancing himself from Monica Lewinsky...
...Or his office called Isabelle...
...Sutphen testified that Richardson "called me and said, you know, what's the story with Monica Lewinsky...
...And she said, 'Well, you know, would the ambassador be upset if I wanted to take a little bit more time to think about it?' And I said, 'No, I don't think so'....I said 'I'm sure that would be okay, and if it's not I'll get back to you...
...Meet Me at the Watergate Lewinsky was surprised and dismayed at how rapidly Richardson was moving...
...The Ambassador Is Adamant !! During all this time, Richardson was keeping the U.N...
...He said he had been having a conversation with Rebecca Cooper about what we were going to do in terms of restructuring the office with her public affairs component...
...Richardson explained that heis in Washington at least part of eachweek, and he always stays at the Watergate, which, he says, provides him asuite at a government rate...
...That is a — the same situation...
...I think we should hire her.' And I said, `Well, let me think about it...
...Currie was very busy that day...
...And Sutphen did not immediately get in touch with Lewinsky...
...I—I need to talk to my counsel," Richardson answered...
...The inconsistencies create doubts as to whether Richardson was telling the whole truth about his role in the Lewinsky matter...
...Richardson said his staffwould be in touch with me this week," Lewinsky wrote in a letter to Currie onSunday, just two days after the interview...
...Logsdon on the 22nd or 2 3rd of December...
...to be my insurance policy....He wants me to have options...
...In some ways, the light treatment of Richardson is surprising...
...And Mr...
...The interview was set for 7:3o a.m...
...I mean, this happens...
...job open for Lewinsky— despite Sutphen's telling him in late November that Monica likely was not going to accept the offer...
...Take, for one last example, the testimony of Betty Currie when prosecutorswanted to know what she had done tohelp Lewinsky get the interview withRichardson...
...Sutphen passed the news to Richardson...
...No, I think I just asked once," Richardson said...
...I mean, I'm dealing with a national crisis...
...By her own account, Lewinsky was confrontational...
...I know...
...I don't remember," Currie said...
...Yeah...
...Jordan talk about that day...
...Okay...
...No, I think that may be possible," Richardson said...
...Ahhhhh...anxiety...
...And I don't know, maybe I said, well, you've got a very impressive daughter, or something like that...
...Bienert asked...
...She does that frequently," Richardson answered...
...In response to written questions from TAS, a spokesman forRichardson said the secretary testified "truthfully and responded to all questions" from both Starr and the Senate...
...I didn't want to sound likea fool, or—so, the president called me and we talked about someof the different issues at the U.N., and he gave me some suggestions of things I could say...
...Jordan about...
...On Saturday, November 15—Richardson's birthday—the ambassador and his wife went to dinner at "21" in New York...
...she actually called Lewinsky from a Washington hospital...
...Two days after the phone call from Richardson, Clinton called her—a conversation she later recounted in great detail during a phone session with Tripp...
...is supposed to be my back-up, but becauseVJ [Vernon Jordan] has been out oftown, this is my only option right now...
...Jordan's office went to, among others, persons at Young & Rubicam, American Express, and Revlon," prosecutor Tom Bienert asked Richardson...
...I must say that the résumé impressed me," he told prosecutors...
...Now if you notice, in terms of these eleven calls, all of them are from or to the 4402 extension, which is the one that comes back to Isabelle Watkins' name...
...This is the background image for an unknown creator of an OCR page with image plus hidden text...
...she wanted a job and she wantedto make the president pay for "f--king up my life" (by which shemeant his not taking her back into the White House...
...I remember that...
...It was from Wayne Logsdon, head of administration at the United States mission to the U.N., to Lynn Martindale, the office's personal manager...
...She was impressive in the interview," Richardson later testified...
...I don't see how that's a problem," Tripp said...
...Monica said she wouldn't be taking the job...
...Do you know if you made a call to Monica Lewinsky for five minutes and 42 seconds on that day...
...Podesta said Richardson responded "that he might have something at the U.N., thatthey had some positions in their public affairs office...
...the ambassador denied it...
...Jordan ordered sandwiches and the two had lunch together...
...Uh-huh...
...But what he also said was, 'Look, I want you to—I want you to think about it, I want you to spend some time and think about...what kinds of things you could—what you could do there.' You know, [Richardson's] a good guy, he's flexible, he's, you know, he's willing to kind of create a position...
...Didn't the president ask you to helpMonica get a job...
...Phone records obtained by Starr's investigators show that someone using Richardson's office telephone extension called Lewinsky at home that very night, October 21, at seven o'clock...
...But what about the resume...
...If Ms...
...was strengthened by advice fromher mother...
...If this name pops up on your screen, it is the one the Ambassador has in mind of bringing on board as a secretary, I believe...
...tors shows Richardson was more deeply involved in the Lewinsky job effort than has been previously understood...
...Right...
...And [the phone record] indicates that a phone call was madeat eleven in the morning from your phone extension, from number 4404...
...Somebody could construe or say, 'Well, theygave her a job to shut her up...
...I want to shift this from here to there...
...Both Richardson and Jordan testified the call was just to arrange an upcoming meeting—another "catch up" session between Jordan and Richardson...
...Exactly...
...Richardson left the room for a brief conference with his lawyer...
...Podesta, as he later remembered the conversation, told Richardson that Currie had "a friend who was moving to New York, who was a low level, entry level public affairsperson, and could he take a look at her...
...In sum, his schedule that day was a world crisis, ten members of Congress, and Monica Lewinsky...
...Also, like the call to Lewinsky on October 21, there is a disputeover who actually phoned Lewinsky to offer her the job...
...So Mr...
...But Jordan was away from Washington for much of this time period, while Richardson was a sure thing...
...This thing is over...
...The next Wednesday, November 19, Mona Sutphen called Lewinsky, but apparently did not reach her...
...I don't believe that I had a three minute conversation with Vernon Jordan," Watkins answered (the phone records indicated the call lasted three minutes and 12 seconds...
...But it illustrates the frustrationsprosecutors encountered as they tried to determine the facts of thepresident's effort to find Lewinsky a job...
...Did he know that...
...Lewinsky said she told Clinton about the U.N...
...She seemed poised, professional...
...You'll note that the phone records at least indicate that the calls from Mr...
...Despite his earlier statement that the Iraqi situation "really exploded" when he returned from the Congo, Richardson made room for Monica on his second day back: the job interview was set for Friday morning, October 31...
...Lewinsky at some point in the time frame of, after receiving the résumé on the zest...
...If he—if he got the package and then he gaveme the résumé from the package, that could have happened...
...And—" "Because the Ambassador was on the phone...
...She didn't want to turn him down flat, but she didn't want to say yes, either...
...At 5:0 3, the office dialed Monica Lewinsky's office at the Pentagon, a call that lasted just i8 seconds...
...Lewinsky rushed over to the White House...
...Tripp said she had spoken to a friend at the National Security Council, where Lewinsky had applied for a job...
...This is just—I'm going to vomit," she told Tripp...
...In one conversation, Tripp commiserated with an obviously tearful Lewinsky...
...In addition, transcripts of phone calls between Lewinsky and Tripp support the idea that Lewinsky talked directly to Richardson...
...I want it to begiven to me...
...At 12:51 he called Gittis again...
...As a result of whathappened in April '96[when she was removed from the WhiteHouse], I have already spent a year and a half at an agency in whichI have no interest...
...That's what I'm going to do...
...is the right place for me...
...According to phone records subpoenaed by Starr, there was another call between Jordan and Richardson's office a week and a half later, on December 22...
...Bienert asked...
...I just, I didn't, I didn't want to make anyone look bad...
...Just to make sure the personnel department knew exactly what he was talking about, Logsdon sent another e-mail just 15 minutes later...
...Might that have been what happened...
...They were lists of all the calls placed between Watkins' extension and Lewinsky's home and office...
...To Monica Lewinsky's work number...
...And at 11:17, right in the middle of all those Lewinsky phone calls, Jordan dialed Bill Richardson...
...Clinton was furious...
...Even though Starr ran into brick walls during theinvestigation, journalists now have an unprecedented opportunity to peer inside the most explosive political corruption case ina generation...
...At 9:45 a.m., Jordan called Peter Georgescu, chairman and CEO of the Young & Rubicam advertising agency...
...It wasn't the ambassador if it wasn't me...
...I don't remember him saying anything," Currie responded...
...I don't remember...
...I think I got a good sense of Lewinsky...
...Once again, 4404,that is, in fact, the extension of thephone in your office, correct...
...Right...
...Each time Richardson'smemory failed him, each time it was contradicted by other evidence, made it more difficult for Starr's investigators to learn precisely what was going on...
...Whoever made the call, the evidence shows that Richardson tried to set up the interview as quickly as possible, perhaps even for the next day, which would have been the eve of his trip to the Congo...
...If it is, in fact, true that you did ask Ms...
...They questioned Richardson about the issue during a videotaped deposition in April...
...BY BYRON YORK Of all the central characters in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, only Bill Richardson has emerged with his reputation virtually untonched...
...She'd like to call sometime this week to thank you in person...
...By that time, Lewinsky had been subpoenaed as a witness in the Paula Jones case...
...Okay," Bienert said...
...We had not sort of done our business and we were doing our business...
...But in September, the House Judiciary Committee released thousands of pages of grand jury testimony, depositions, letters, phone records, and other evidence that sheds new light on Richardson's actions...
...As she wrote, she talked eachline over with Tripp...
...Bienert produced more phone records from Richardson's office...
...Richardson said he discussed Lewinsky with Sutphen andCooper as they drove to Capitol Hill for the fast track meetings...
...Yeah...
...Did he understand about your not wanting to go to the U.N...
...Then, on December 11, the two job efforts— Richardson on the government side and Jordan in private business — crossed paths...
...She remained hopeful until the morning of October 6, 1997, when she had a conversation with her friend Linda Tripp that in retrospect proved to be a turning point in the scandal...
...Phone records obtained from Jordan's office told Starr's prosecutors that Jordan met with Lewinsky after a morning on the phone with Monica's potential employers...
...Do you remember how you got Monica's résum...
...He didn't know, but I'm not—I think—he had put—he kind of had put Podesta on it...
...Now do you know why...
...And I went over...
...So I told [him] the story of Richardson...
...This is the background image for an unknown creator of an OCR page with image plus hidden text...
...What did the president tell you after he got this package...
...But Starr's prosecutors were skeptical...
...big57...
...And I remarked that I didn't—I didn't really look at him as the president, that I saw him more as a man and reacted to him more as a man and got angry at him like a man and just a regular person...
...A few weeks later, when Starr's prosecutors questioned Watkins, she also testified that she used her own 4 402 line and Richardson's 4404 line interchangeably...
...I — Okay, no, but yeah," Lewinsky said...
...This was about when are we going to get together....This was not about Monica Lewinsky...
...Now, you knew that Monica Lewinsky, among others, was speaking to Ambassador Richardson about a job, correct...
...I mean, it could be that I said, yeah, Wayne, you know, what's going on here...
...When he returned, he explained that the time period in question was "busy, but it was not the most intensive period...
...It could be that I mentioned it to Wayne, too...
...Just staying in touch...
...Lewinsky said to Tripp as she recounted thestory...
...I became a bitnervous this weekend when I realizedthat Amb...
...I mean, Isabelle would set up the meeting...
...Richardson had made room forLewinsky in a very tight schedule...
...Or do you not know...
...Later, under pointed questioning, Jordan admitted that the president himself had told Jordan that Podesta and Richardson were on the Monica case...
...I explained that Ms...
...Nothing much happened for the rest of November...
...The next day, Richardson started offthe morning with a breakfast with Vernon Jordan at Richardson's home in theWaldorfAstoria Towers...
...Lewinsky's resolve to say no to theU.N...
...The American Spectator December 1998But in fact Richardson acted muchmore quickly than that...
...He said, `Oh, one more thing that I talked to [White House Chief ofStaff] Erskine [Bowles] about was trying to get John Hilley togive you either a written recommendation or a verbal recommendation so that, you know, he'll give you a good recommendation for your work here.'" Although one might expect Lewinsky to be heartened by thepresident's response, it in fact made her terribly nervous...
...For nearly two weeks after the job offer, there was no contactbetween Lewinsky and Richardson...
...The president's words seemed to reassure Lewinsky...
...And, and that was the purpose of the meeting...
...Yeah...
...And he asked me, 'Well, why...
...Likereally weird...
...Ambassador Bill Richardson doesn't deny he offered Monica Lewinsky a job...
...At the time U.S...
...They didn't know what yet, andthey wanted to talk with me further...
...Both men denied that the call had anything to do with Lewinsky...
...She told him she hadn't, and he asked her to get in touch with Podesta's office to see what was going on...
...I'mgoing to tell him that I don't think Erskine should have anythingto do with this," Lewinsky told Tripp thatnight...
...At the same time he took decisive steps to keep the position open for Lewinsky, Richardson made inquiries about what she intended to do...
...By 6:30, he was supposed to be at CNN's New York studios for a live interview aboutIraq...
...I want to hire you...
...I justdon't know how I got it...
...Depressed, Lewinsky told presidential secretary Betty Currie that she might give up and move to New York...
...You know what I know," LogsDecember 1998 The American Spectator don responded...
...Back home, Lewinsky was preparing to send Clintona "wish list" of jobs she would be willing to accept in New York (she visiteda local Barnes & Noble for a book ofjob-hunting suggestions...
...Richardson and Watkins both maintained that Watkins occasionally made calls from Richardson's extension, which they said must have happened in this case...
...What do you think?' And I said, 'Oh, you know, that'sfine.' I said, 'Are you sure?' And he said 'Yeah, yeah, I'm sure...
...We were sort of bantering back and forth about that...
...You know, you never know the real truth...
...Sutphen told investigators...that that is what she saidto you, do you believe that it was said...
...workfree from continuing questions about the job offer...
...Bienert asked...
...It had been more than three weeks since the interview...
...And he said, 'Well, you know, we have to find out what the story is, because you know, it's been a long time and she has to make her decision ....Call her and find out, you know, she can't have any more time, she has to let us know what she's going to do.'" Monica Says No Richardson went on vacation for the holidays...
...She was surprised that Richardson was calling...
...Idon't know...
...That you should contact AmbassadorRichardson...
...a search of the Washington Post and New York Times reveals Jordan's role has been mentioned five times more often than Richardson's in the months since the story broke...
...Currie herself sent it to the U.N...
...That is my extension...
...After the interview withRichardson, Marcia Lewis and Lewinsky's aunt Debra Finerman visited theUnited Nations building in New York...
...and 12:30 p.m...
...Records obtained by Starr show it was faxed a little after three o'clock in the afternoon on Tuesday, October 21...
...You mean me calling her...
...Lewinsky was right to be nervous...
...It was titled "Re: Monica Lewinsky...
...I mean, I talk to him a lot about personnel...
...Okay," Richardson said...
...Prosecutors posed the question to Isabelle Watkins...
...There was no, there was no interest on his part, and very few people — I mean, his time is just too tight for us to do that...
...He had a oneo'clock p.m...
...But youknow," Lewinsky answered, "maybe I'mbeing an idiot...
...54 December 1998 • The American Spectator This is the background image for an unknown creator of an OCR page with image plus hidden text...
...Jordan was doing on the days Mr...
...Vernon and Bill Lewinsky was looking forward to the nth...
...Is it accurate that Ms...
...But more than six months had passed with no White House job...
...I don't want to have towork for this position...
...And she said, these are myparents, or this is my mother...
...That is not my, that is not my recollection whatsoever...
...Stewing at home, she made a decision: she was going to forget the White House, leave Washington, and get a job in New York...
...A family member was ill...
...The American Spectator • December 1998Indeed, a close look at Richardson'sstory leads to an unavoidable question: IfStan's prosecutors couldn't find out whathappened in a single episode of theLewinsky scandal, how could they everlearn the whole story of what Bill Clintonand his top aides did in their effort tokeep Monica happy and quiet...
...But Riehardson's role in the scandal seemed less suspicious because--again unlike Jordan-he spoke openly to the press, insisting he did not offer Lewinsky any special treatment...
...said to him, 'Why don't I have Betty get you a résumé of the young woman?'" With that, Richardson began a series of rapid—almost rushed— moves to accommodate Lewinsky's job wishes...
...As Podesta later testified, Currie "reminded me who Miss Lewinsky was...that shewanted to move to New York...
...It worked...
...Lewis told Monica there were a lot ofArabs there, and besides, the buildingwas too far from the city's main business district...
...Finally, the spokesmancharacterized the Wayne Logsdon e-mails as "routine communication among [Richardson's] staff...
...I said yes, of course...
...That didn't work out, and on Thursday the 2 3rd, Richardson left the country, not to return until the next Wednesday, October 29...
...We look bad waffling on these issues," Wayne Logsdon wrote in an email on Monday morning...
...In addition, late on Tuesday night, the day after the job offer, Lewinsky sentan e-mail to her friend Catherine Allday Davis, who at the time was living inJapan...
...Watkins told us that she recalls that you asked about it once, and then asked to keep an eye out for it roughly, and then a few days later asked her if she had gotten it and when she said no, asked her to call Podesta's office about the matter, do you believe that that is inaccurate...
...I'm going to call Betty and I'm going to tell her to go f--k herself...
...I'd like to ask youto secure a position for me," Lewinskyread aloud...
...For the most part, reporters have accepted Richardson's word, and as the scandal dragged on, no evidence emerged to cast doubt on his account of events...
...Yes," Currie said...
...At the bottom of the listshe added a final note: I do not have any interest in working [at the U.N...
...Richardson went even further when Bienert asked, "Are you absolutely one hundred percent sure in your testimony that at no time did Vernon Jordan ever, whether it was a call, a written communication, or anything in person, communicate anything to you that related to Monica Lewinsky or the Paula Jones case...
...on the 22nd, Lewinsky again met with Jordan, who took her to meet an attorney, Francis Carter, who had been retained by Jordan to represent Lewinsky...
...Richardson told Stan's prosecutors that "I think that it took meabout a week or ten days to decide" to hire Lewinsky...
...In addition, the crisis over Saddam Hussein's refusal to allow full freedom to United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq was beginning to make significant demands on his time...
...But he denied it had anything to do with Lewinsky...
...Bittman asked...
...And she was going to make Bill Clinton find her one...
...I hadn't seen him in a while...
...Do you see that, sir...
...Right...
...I want a job where I feel challenged, engaged andinterested...
...Currie quickly passed Lewinsky's comments on to the president—and then she passed his answer back to Lewinsky...
...Yeah, it could be," Richardson answered...
...He told prosecutors that at some point in late December he told Sutphen to get in touch with Lewinsky, that it was time for Monica to "fish or cut bait...
...Lewinsky was so upset by the conversation that she called insick on Friday, spending much of the day talking to Tripp...
...The records show that at 4:59 in the afternoon, Jordan's office called the White House operator, a call that lasted a little more than two minutes...
...Or maybe he put Betty...
...And my question to you is, what did you and Mr...
...Very busy," Richardson said...
...And 11/3/97, if we look at your calendar, that would be theMonday, the first working day back after you interviewed Ms...
...Do you believe, sir," Bienert asked Richardson, "that you would have called Ms...
...Watkins about the matter, that perhaps a day or two later you would have asked her again about the matter...
...shuttle...
...And now hehas moved on...
...Yeah," Richardson responded...
...But they would meet again, this time by accident...
...Okay...
...job machinery in motion...
...but if not, then I'll call you in another couple of weeks and we can set something up then...
...After press attention turned toother aspects of the scandal, he was able to go about his U.N...
...She said she doesn't care whether your connections are, you know, huge," Tripp told Lewinsky, recounting her friend's words (and recording the conversation...
...I just don't know...
...I probably was just following up," Sutphen told prosecutors, saying she wanted to keep in touch with Lewinsky while Monica was considering the job offer...
...Like That" The United Nations made its first, brief, appearance in the Lewinsky saga in July 1 997 . At the time, Lewinsky was hoping to return to work at the White House...
...And I must say after theinterview, I was impressed with her...
...i/ Former U.N...
...I don't remember that," Currieanswered...
...You know what...
...Monica] was effusive, thankedme, said to thank the ambassador," Sutphen said of Lewinsky'sreaction...
...Monica later told Starr's investigatorsthat her mother didn't like the place...
...At 1:96 he called American Express again...
...o unlike Jordan's job search, his actions represented an attempt by the Clinton administration to arrange a taxpayer-fimded job to BYRONYORKis an investigative writer with TAS...
...In a memo to Richardson, Sutphen wrote that Lewinsky has declined the position in the hopes of going private sector (e.g., Burson-Marsteller or the like...
...She sent word through Currie that she needed to talk to the president...
...When you say it wasn't the ambassador, how do you know...
...No," Watkins said...
...Lewinsky was so upset she left work for the day...
...prosecutor RobertBittman asked...
...Richardson was unanimously confirmed...
...Well, it has to be me," Watkins answered...
...But by then it was too late...
...Do you think that you mighthave said something to her," Bienert asked, "in the presence ofthe other people there, like, hey, the ball's in your court, or wordsto that effect...
...onthat Friday, he was scheduled to meetseparately, in quick succession, with tenmembers of Congress to discuss pendingfast track trade legislation...
...Watkins upon returning to your office after the South America trip, words to the effect of, to keep an eye out for a résumé coming from Podesta's office on an applicant...
...I think, you know, we were pretty busy then...
...I think so...
...The spokesman also said Richardson neverdiscussed Lewinsky with Vernon Jordan and "is not aware ofwhat else Mr...
...And I said, 'Oh, because I think she's looking for something in the private sector.' And he said, limmm.' And I said, 'But she asked for some more time, you know, is that okay?' And he said, 'Yeah, yeah, that's fine...
...I don't remember...
...Well," Lewinsky answered, "I remember because I was shocked and I was, I was very nervous...
...Sutphen saidRichardson agreed and suggested Rebecca Cooper should beflown up from Washington to be there, too...
...He just yelled at me," Lewinsky toldTripp the next day...
...Prosecutor Bienert wanted an explanation...
...You knew that one of the things that she had kicking around out there was a possible chance to work at the United Nations, correct...
...There's a lot tobe learned—for those curious enough to look...
...It wasCurrie, who said Clinton wanted Monica to come to the WhiteHouse...
...Richardson testified that he neverknew Jordan was helping Lewinskyfind work...
...At 10:59 he called American Express again...
...Although Richardson said he spoke only briefly toLewinsky and left most of the questioning to Sutphen and another top assistant, Rebecca Cooper, he clearly liked what he saw...
...It was mainly totalk about, you know, career moves," Richardson told prosecutors...
...Meet Me at "21" At the end of her conversation witheither Richardson or Sutphen, Lewinskysaid she needed some time to considerthe job offer...
...But why, Bienert wanted to know, would she have called on 4404 as opposed to her own line...
...Lewinsky, correct...
...The ball's in your court...
...No, I really don't...
...EarlySaturday morning, October II, Lewinsky's phone rang...
...This was a catch up call...
...After a five minute break, Bienert asked the question again: "Sir, is it accurate that you called Ms...
...Hold for Ambassador Richardson" Richardson examined Lewinsky's résumé the same afternoon it appeared on the fax machine...
...As frustrating as such exchanges were to prosecutors, the newsisn't all bad...
...I mean, it would have been me...
...And it raises questions about Richardson's testimony in the case...
...No, not at all," Richardson said...
...According to Podesta, Currieasked "whether I could give her any referrals of any people shecould talk to about getting a job in New York...
...John's an old friend of mine...
...This—I think he called Isabelle...
...Meanwhile, back at the personnel department, confusion reigned...
...They are, in short, a veritableencyclopedia of Clinton scandal management...
...For his part, Clinton feared Lewinsky might one day reveal their sexual relationship...
...Yeah," Richardson said...
...In her own deposition, Mona Sutphen supported Richardson'saccount of events...
...Are you sure, though, you don't want to talk to anybody else, you don't want tointerview anybody else?' And he said, 'No, no, I think it's fine...
...Right," Tripp responded...
...And I think it's relating to the— I wanted to see him, and we were trying to schedule it...
...And I'm not kidding you ....I mean, Linda, he got somad at me, he must have been purple...
...This conversation on this day between Ambassador Richardson and myself had nothing to do with Monica Lewinsky," he told Bienert...
...Richardson's office saidthat was OK...
...The Iraqi crisis was building, he said, but "it wasn't until I got back from the Congo that it really exploded...
...I don't think it's the case, because Isabelle sets up my meetings...
...Yeah," Richardson said...
...He didn't know what she was going through, Tripp told Lewinsky...
...We did not talk about Monica Lewinsky, counsel...
...She got the job...
...In any event, is it accurate that at whatever time that conversation was had, you had concluded that you weren't going tointerview other people, but you were going to hire Ms...
...personnel chief Lynn Martindale replied...
...Jordan supposedly called his office in December...
...Thespokesman reiterated Richardson's position that he did not speakto Lewinsky on the phone on either October zi or the day Lewinsky was offered a job...
...Clinton, enraged, told her "it's illegal to threaten the president of theUnited States...
...She said it was very nice that we had offered her the joband she was very excited...
...At 3:3op.m.,heattended a meeting of the permanentfive members of the United NationsSecurity Council on the Iraq issue...
...Why do—" "Because there was no reason for him to talk with her," Watkins continued...
...That's all I can tell you...
...Although she was apprehensive about moving forward onthe U.N...
...During a long flight aboard Air ForceOne, Podesta brought up the topic of Lewinsky with the U.N...
...And I will represent to you that we have looked over all the phone records we have, and we did not see any records during this time frame, namely between after the call on the 21st until the 3oth, we did not see any other calls from the 4404 extension...
...There was an open-endedness toit because it was a new position," Sutphen told prosecutors...
...at four o'clock he was due ata meeting with the full Security Council...
...Do you remember speaking with Vernon Jordan on December nth of last year...
...You know, 'Maybe he might be able to create a position, what you want to do...
...Right," Jordan said...
...Mona said, 'I'm impressed," Richardson recalled...
...But I do not believe I talked by phone atall with Monica Lewinsky...
...Lewinsky arrived right on time and wasgreeted by one of Richardson's topaides, a woman named Mona Sutphen, who took her to meet the ambassador...
...The night before, she had arrangedthrough Currie for Clinton to call her with some presidentialpointers on what she should say during the interview...
...Well, I don't think I talked to him," Richardson answered...
...The call to Lewinsky's apartment was made from the 4404 extension...
...Do you want her to call or should I tell her to send you a note...
...I don't...
...And he wants the U.N...
...in June the president nominated him to becomeSecretary of Energy...
...I was really nervous about my interview and meeting with AmbassadorRichardson," Lewinsky told Starr's prosecutors...
...I don't think anybody who worksthere should...
...Sir, is it accurate that you did call her on that day and offeredher a position...
...If Monica sent me the résumé herself, me directly, because I'm working on her behalf, I don't know that either...
...She wrote that she wanted to be anassistant producer at any of the networks, do news/politicalsegments at MTV, work at one of several public relations firms, or do "anything at George magazine...
...He returned from Latin America on October 19, a Sunday...
...We can show you a fax cover sheetthat you faxed Monica's résumé to Ambassador Richardson," hetold Currie...
...More to come as I know it...
...Atii o'clock Monday morning, the firstbusiness day after the Friday interview, the phone at her Pentagon desk rang...
...Of course, Lewinsky hadno intention of accepting the position, but she wanted to keep it on the tablewhile she waited to see what Jordancould come up with...
...After it arrived, Richardson started moving even faster...
...She did not remember making the call to Lewinsky—but seemed absolutely certain it was not made by Richardson...
...And so I sort ofjust 'yessed' him along and thankedhim profusely, and I told him I wasexcited about it...
...Lewinsky went to Jordan's office around one in the afternoon...
...I don't care anymore...
...But his actions attracted far less public scrutiny than those of Clinton friend Vernon Jordan, who arranged a job for Lewinsky in private business...
...In August, when prosecutors questioned Lewinsky under oath, they asked, "How do you know that you actually spoke with him...
...At 12:4 7 he called American Express again...
...And the last thing on earth that they want is her in this White House.'" Lewinsky was stunned...
...It was not about Monica Lewinsky...
...Since he had been in the United Nations, we had not had a chance to catch up," Jordan said—which suggests that the two had not spoken in nearly a year...
...In New York...
...Watkins would choose to use your extension versus her own...
...We can place her in the U.N...
...But his testimony to Kenneth Starr's prosecutors raises questions about whether he told the whole truth...
...Logsdon complied...
...Bienert asked...
...Bittman continued...
...No," Richardson answered...
...Podesta...
...I just think Vernon is a lotsafer....There's a big difference I thinksomebody could construe, okay...
...in your mind is there any rhyme or reason to when Ms...
...Whatever happened, Watkins, at Richardson's instruction, arranged for the résumé to be faxed—it was sent by Betty CurThe American Spectator • December 1998 rie herself—to the United Nations office...
...Do you adamantly believeit was not said...
...at the Watergate Hotel in WashDecember 1998 • The American Spectator ington...
...She frequently uses my extension, you know...
...It was officially known as a Schedule C secretarial position, meaning it was reserved for political appointees and not career staffers...
...The politics of the administration, his relationship with the Secretary of State...
...It was so weird," Lewinsky continued...
...In his own grand jury testimony, Jordan conceded that the two men spoke on December 11...
...Okay," Bittman said...
...No, she might have said it," Richardson said...
...And at the time you had this what's-been-going-on call with Ambassador Richardson, you were specifically dealing that day with things related to Monica Lewinsky, correct...
...At 1:07 he called Richard Halperin of MacAndrews & Forbes, the parent company of Revlon...
...She has heard that you will not be placed over there...And she said, 'I promise you that if they wanted to have her placed, they would have done it by now...
...At Senate confirmation hearings in July, Richardson again faced inquiries about his actions on behalf ofLewinsky, but Republican senators, with no knowledge of the evidence Starr was gathering, asked mostly general and unenlightening questions...
...And I50 December 19 98 • The American Spectator This is the background image for an unknown creator of an OCR page with image plus hidden text...
...Richardson's extension was 4404...
...Right, right...
...Marcia Lewis told prosecutors she remembered the "ball's inyour court" comment...
...Yesterday Richardson called meat work and told me they were going tooffer me a position," Lewinsky wroteDavis...
...Whydon't you go ahead and give her an offer.'" Sutphen testified shethen suggested bringing Lewinsky to New York to go into moredetail about what she would actually be doing...
...Richardson scrawled his response: "Have her send note...
...She told prosecutors that she had placed thecall to Lewinsky, although she could not explain how she cameto use Richardson's phone line...
...You don'twant to go through the whole interviewprocess...
...Right," Lewinsky said...
...As you know, the U.N...
...Do you know why, do you have any information or knowledge as to why Vernon Jordan and Ambassador Richardson would have been speaking around December uth of last year...
...after nine months of investigation, the answer is still not clear...
...Shortly before leaving for Latin America, the president toldCurrie to have a chat with John Podesta, at the time a top Clinton aide and now White House chief of staff...
...Lewinsky sent her letter to Clinton bycourier the next day...
...Let's put it off...
...Yeah...
...Isn't that weird...
...on several key points, his account of events is contradicted by other evidence...
...They didn't contact anyone at theWhite House, anyone at the Pentagon, anyone at her college oranywhere else...
...Rebecca Cooper, Richardson's chief of staff, apparently believing that Lewinsky was no longer interested, had told Logsdon to start the paperwork to change it to a career Foreign Service position...
...Sutphen, who handled several of the contacts with Lewinsky through theentire employment process, also testified she believed it tookseven to ten days to make the decision...
...Now the investigation is over...
...It's over...
...But he was still moving quickly on Lewinsky...
...I mean I don't remember on the 15th saying to her, the offer, the ball's in your court," Richardson continued...
...I know that the paperwork has gone through already and that we are scouring the landscape for someone in the Foreign Service to fill the slot...
...Rebecca Cooper still wanted the Monica slot changed to a Foreign Service position—even though Richardson had nixed that in favor of keeping the job open for Lewinsky...
...Prosecutor Bienert brought up the conversation duringRichardson's testimony...
...She worked in the Department of Defense ....She had worked in the White House in legislative affairs...As a former congressman, I thought that was impressive...
...Clinton...
...Idon't know...
...I don't remember that...
...speaking engagement atthe National Press Club and was scheduled to fly back to New York on the twoo'clock p.m...
...Or how about, 'Help mesecure?'" Tripp thought "help meobtain" might be better...
...And again Richardson denied it...
...Itwas Richardson's office...
...I don't remember how we got to this point," Lewinsky testified, "but Mr...
...Sutphen recalled...
...Mona Sutphen testified that Richardson "called me into the office and said, `You know, I've decided to hire MonicaLewinsky...
...As it turned out, Podesta was traveling with the president, aswas Bill Richardson...
...It was really weird...
...Lewinsky told Starr's prosecutors that she specifically remembered the phone ringing and a secretary telling her, "Hold for Ambassador Richardson...
...Instead, she and Clinton talked about having Vernon Jordan help her get a job (a topic she had also brought upthe night they had their big fight on the phone...
...Nevertheless, when Richardson got to work on Monday, October 20, he told his long-time assistant, Isabelle Watkins, to "keep an eye out" for a résumé coming from Podesta's office...
...Watkins a second time to check in on the résumé and to actually call Podesta's office about it, why do you think you would have done that...
...How sure are you that you were the person who even would have made the call on that date...
...Lewinsky testified she remembered"that I did speak with the ambassador, that he was the one who, who extended the offer to me, because I remember being nervous and not knowingwhat to say to him, because I didn'treally want the job...
...Starr's prosecutors wanted to know why Richardson had such a strong opinion about a single Schedule C secretarial position...
...Somebody told me," Jordan answered...
...Watkins told investigators that sometime later, perhaps the next day, Richardson asked if she had received the résum...
...situation...
...And do you believe it's accurate," sir, that after not hearing anything from Ms...
...Rather, on Monday January 5, at about 11: 30 in the morning, phone records show that Lewinsky called Sutphen...
...Do you see that listed...
...Do you believe, sir," prosecutor Tom Bienert asked, "that you might have told Ms...
...That's Monday, right...
...We Can Place Her in the U.N...
...At 11:12 he called Howard Gittis of Revlon...
...She was going to have her second meeting with Jordan, and he was to give her the names of people she could contact at several New York companies —places where she was guaranteed to get a friendly reception after a recommendation from Vernon Jordan...
...She also told him she had the impression that Lewinsky probably wasn't going to take the job...
...Are you absolutely certain about that...
...a few months earlier, at a time she was similarly angryabout her job prospects, she had hinted she might tell others...
...Jordan said to me, Well, you know what your problem is?' And I said, 'What?' He said, 'Don't deny it.' And he said, 'You're in love, that's what your problem is.' So I think I just—probably blushed or giggled, something like that...
...Clinton, apparently disregarding Lewinsky's statement that she did notwant to work in government, had already set the U.N...
...However, he is adamant about keeping it a Schedule C-type position...
...And at the time when you were in the U.S...
...The simple answer is, they couldn't...
...I don't care...
...Richardson then kept the position open for an extraordinarily long period while Lewinsky made up her mind...
...And Cooper said, 'I'm impressed...
...After Lewinsky's call, the change was finally made, and theMonica job was reclassified...
...Somehow, in the course of a conversation about jobs and companies and résumés, the talk turned to Lewinsky's relationship with the president...
...My, my extension is used intermittently by all kinds of people...
...Then, asLewinsky recounted the story to Tripp, the president kissed heron the head and said he had something else to tell her...
...I don't remember...
...Bienert—knowing what Watkins had told investigators — asked, "If Ms...
...And he works for the government and shouldn't have done that.'" Bill and Johnand Betty and MonicaOn Sunday, October 12, the presidentflew to Venezuela, the start of a weeklong visit to Latin America...
...Tell me about the first conversation you had with Ms...
...I don't remember him saying that, either," Currie said...
...Just career advice," Richardson said...
...Let's go through the details of this," he said to Richardson...
...the president had promised she could come back after he was re-elected...
...But Jordan continued to deny talking about it with Richardson...
...And then at 5:04, Jordan's secretary called Richardson's office...
...He said he only learned thatin late January, when the storyappeared in the press...
...And what was it that you needed to speak to Mr...
...If Monica Lewinsky represented to other persons at the time that you personally called her on or about the 21st of October, do you believe that might be true, is absolutely not true, or that it is true...
...I don't remember that," Richardson answered...
...I guess that does lead me to the question that I would have, which is, it was a busy time for you, correct...
...Phone records subpoenaed from Richardson's office appear to support Lewinsky's contention that she talked to Richardson...
...It was an extremely busy time...
...What should I say to Richardson's people this week when they call?...If youfeel it's appropriate, maybe you couldask 'the big guy' what he wants me to do...
...Lewinsky testified that she spoke to Richardson himself...
...For example, "He doesn't know that you received a personal [censored] phone call from the ambassador to the U.N.," Tripp said— while Lewinsky sobbed in agreement...
...It was a check-in call...
...That's right...
...like that.'" But Lewinsky still clung to hope that she might be given a job at the White House...
...I remember I was starting to hit 5o and I wanted toask him some advice about what hethought I might do in the future...
...I said, 'Well, do you want to know what happened on Tuesday [the 21st]?'" Lewinsky said she told the president...
...Didn't the president suggest thatyou go to Mr...
...She thanked you again for giving her the option to come to USUN...
...Fortunately for her, there was no time limit on Richardson'soffer...
...Smooth SailingRichardson easily weathered the initial period of public interestin his role in the Lewinsky affair...
...Sutphen toldyou at that point words to the effect of, are you sure you don't wantto interview any other people...
...What did it have to do with...
...She asked me whether or not she could be honest with me," Sutphen recalled...
...I really don't remember exactly, other than I was trying to schedule a meeting for her with the ambassador...
...According to notes of a Lewinsky interview with prosecutors, she "was upset because [she] did not want to work at the United Nations, no one had called her to tell her Richardson would be calling, and she did not want to get stuck working there with no other opportunities...
...Do you remember doing that...
...Nearly two months had passed since the interview, but, according to an internal U.N...
...She didn't hearback from the president that day or thenext...
...He testified that he told Watkins to set up an interview with Lewinsky...
...Taken as a whole, the material gathered by Kenneth Starr's prosecu48 December i998 " The American Spectator This is the background image for an unknown creator of an OCR page with image plus hidden text...
...Yes he did...
...But on the 23rd, he emphatically reversed course: I have just been instructed by Ambassador Richardson personally not/not to change the secretarial position to Foreign Service...
Vol. 31 • December 1998 • No. 12
