Whitewater Trials and Impeachment of a President: 1994-99

On January 21, 1998, the Washington Post reported that Starr had expanded his Whitewater investigation into an examination of whether the president and his friend Vernon Jordan had encouraged Lewinsky to hide from Paula Jones's lawyers the truth about whether she had had an affair with Clinton. Starr's objective, said pundits, was to learn whether the president had conspired to suborn perjury, make false statements, and obstruct justice.

On January 26, Clinton faced the TV cameras. "I want you to listen to me," he said. "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time—never. These allegations are false."