ABC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: CRISIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE: THE PRESIDENT'S TAPED TESTIMONY {TAPE 3 OF 3} (TV)
Summary
Continued from T:54897. Tape three of three. This special report, featuring the videotapes of President Bill Clinton's testimony before the Grand Jury in the Monica Lewinsky case, captures the moment at which the tapes were first released to the public. The program also includes information regarding the case and the individuals involved; pictures of Grand Jury exhibits; and commentary by Peter Jennings and the ABC News team of correspondents and analysts Ann Compton, Sam Donaldson, Linda Douglass, Jackie Judd, Cokie Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, and Jeffrey Toobin. The program continues in the middle of a conversation between Jennings and Judd. Soon, Clinton's testimony proceeds as follows: Jackie Bennett, Jr., the attorney for the Office of the Independent Counsel, asks why Clinton called secretary Betty Currie into work on her day off after the Paula Jones deposition; he also questions Clinton's definition of sexual relations; Clinton describes his distress that the Jones litigants put so much emphasis on Lewinsky; it is suggested that Clinton and White House steward Bayani Nelvis wore ties that were gifts from Lewinsky to Clinton during the Jones trial, after all the gifts exchanged between Clinton and Lewinsky were supposedly turned over to the court; the attorney and the president discuss when and where Clinton met Kathleen Willey and whether he requested her phone number and invited her to his hotel room; and Bennett asks whether Clinton made sexual advances toward Willey, an accusation Clinton denies, suggesting that the Independent Counsel's bias influences the questioning.
After a break, the testimony continues. There is discussion of Clinton's invocation of executive privilege; the Grand Jury asks whether Lewinsky performed oral sex on Clinton, and he declines to respond; Clinton examines pictures of the ties he and Nelvis wore at the Jones deposition, and he denies that they were gifts from Lewinsky; and Bennett asks Clinton why the documents regarding Willey were kept in both personal and White House files and turned over to the courts at different times, to which Clinton responds that filing the documents was not part of his job as president. The testimony ends with a discussion of the logistical arrangements of the Grand Jury testimony. After the testimony, ABC News correspondents and analysts discuss the following subjects: the likelihood that the Jones and Willey cases will be reopened; Lewinsky's semen-stained dress; the legal work done during the trial; Democratic responses to the testimony; Clinton's reception at the United Nations; and future repercussions of the Independent Counsel's investigation. Includes commercials. This program is closed-captioned.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 21, 1998 12:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:56
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:54899
- GENRE: Specials; News
- SUBJECT HEADING: Grand jury; Presidents - U S; U S - Presidency
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1998
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Advil pain reliever
CREDITS
- Peter Jennings … Anchor
- George Stephanopoulos … Commentator
- Jeffrey Toobin … Commentator
- Ann Compton … Reporter
- Sam Donaldson … Reporter
- Linda Douglass … Reporter
- Jackie Judd … Reporter
- Cokie Roberts … Reporter
- Jackie Bennett
- Bill Clinton
- Betty Currie
- Paula Jones
- Monica Lewinsky
- Bayani Nelvis
- Kathleen Willey