Bill Clinton

==Sexual assault and misconduct allegations==

{{Main|Bill Clinton sexual assault and misconduct allegations}}
[[File:Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky on February 28, 1997 A3e06420664168d9466c84c3e31ccc2f.jpg|thumb|Clinton and [[Monica Lewinsky]] on February 28, 1997]]

Several women have publicly accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct, including rape, harassment, and sexual assault. Additionally, some commentators have characterized Clinton's sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky as predatory or non-consensual, despite the fact that Lewinsky called the relationship consensual at the time. These allegations have been revisited and lent more credence in 2018, in light of the [[Me Too movement|#MeToo movement]], with many commentators and Democratic leaders now saying Clinton should have been compelled to resign after the Lewinsky affair.<ref name="hallmark1">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/abuse-allegations-have-revived-scrutiny-of-bill-clinton--and-divided-democrats/2017/11/17/3d1711c8-cba4-11e7-b244-2d22ac912500_story.html|title=Abuse allegations have revived scrutiny of Bill Clinton—and divided Democrats|first1=Karen|last1=Tumulty|first2=Katie|last2=Mettler|date=November 17, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=November 19, 2017 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119050428/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/abuse-allegations-have-revived-scrutiny-of-bill-clinton--and-divided-democrats/2017/11/17/3d1711c8-cba4-11e7-b244-2d22ac912500_story.html|archive-date=November 19, 2017}}</ref><ref name="mccoy1">{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/11/reckoning-with-bill-clintons-sex-crimes/545729|title=Bill Clinton: A Reckoning|first=Caitlin|last=Flanagan|website=The Atlantic|date=November 13, 2017|access-date=November 19, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118231945/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/11/reckoning-with-bill-clintons-sex-crimes/545729/|archive-date=November 18, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/17/politics/kirsten-gillibrand-bill-clinton-democrats/index.html|title=Should Democrats turn their backs on Bill Clinton?|first=Z. Byron|last=Wolf|work=CNN|date=November 17, 2017|access-date=November 19, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119055217/https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/11/17/politics/kirsten-gillibrand-bill-clinton-democrats/index.html|archive-date=November 19, 2017}}</ref>

In 1994, [[Paula Jones]] initiated a [[Clinton v. Jones|sexual harassment lawsuit]] against Clinton, claiming he had made unwanted advances towards her in 1991; Clinton denied the allegations. In April 1998, the case was initially dismissed by Judge [[Susan Webber Wright]] on the grounds that it lacked legal merit.<ref name="JO#$">{{Cite news | url=https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/04/02/clinton.jones.reax/ | title=Clinton Welcomes Jones Decision; Appeal Likely | date=April 2, 1998 | work=CNN | access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref> Jones appealed Webber Wright's ruling, and her suit gained traction following Clinton's admission to having an affair with Monica Lewinsky in August 1998.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/jonesappeal073198.htm | title=Text of Jones's Appeal |date = July 31, 1998 | newspaper=The Washington Post | access-date=August 25, 2010}}</ref> In 1998, lawyers for Paula Jones released court documents that alleged a pattern of sexual harassment by Clinton when he was Governor of Arkansas. [[Robert S. Bennett]], Clinton's main lawyer for the case, called the filing "a pack of lies" and "an organized campaign to smear the President of the United States" funded by Clinton's political enemies.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Francis X. | last=Clines | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/14/us/testing-president-accuser-jones-lawyers-issue-files-alleging-clinton-pattern.html | title=Testing of a President: The Accuser; Jones Lawyers Issue Files Alleging Clinton Pattern of Harassment of Women | work=The New York Times | date=March 14, 1998 | access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> In October 1998, Clinton's attorneys tentatively offered $700,000 to settle the case, which was then the $800,000 which Jones' lawyers sought.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-oct-17-mn-33462-story.html|title=Paula Jones to Get $200,000 of Settlement|first=Robert L.|last=Jackson|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=October 17, 1998|accessdate=March 31, 2024}}</ref> Clinton later agreed to an out-of-court settlement and paid Jones $850,000.<ref name="CO">{{Cite news | url=https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/11/18/jones/ | title=Appeals court ponders Paula Jones settlement | date=November 18, 1998 | work=CNN | access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref> Bennett said the president made the settlement only so he could end the lawsuit for good and move on with his life.<ref name=clqc>{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Baker | title=Clinton Settles Paula Jones Lawsuit for $850,000 | date=November 14, 1998 | url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/jones111498.htm | newspaper =The Washington Post | access-date = October 27, 2011}}</ref> During the deposition for the Jones lawsuit, which was held at the White House,<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/03/13/jones.v.clinton.docs/clinton | title=Deposition of William Jefferson Clinton, January 17, 1998 | work=CNN | date=March 13, 1998 | access-date=September 11, 2011}}</ref> Clinton [[Clinton–Lewinsky scandal|denied having sexual relations]] with Monica Lewinsky—a denial that became the basis for an impeachment charge of perjury.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | chapter=Lewinsky scandal | title=The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | publisher=Columbia University Press | year=2008 | chapter-url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Lewinsky_scandal.aspx | access-date=February 9, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618062707/http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Lewinsky_scandal.aspx | archive-date=June 18, 2009 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

In 1998, [[Kathleen Willey]] alleged that Clinton had [[groping|groped]] her in a hallway in 1993. An independent counsel determined Willey gave "false information" to the FBI, inconsistent with sworn testimony related to the Jones allegation.<ref name=wilo9r>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/03/23/time/willey.html | title=The Lives Of Kathleen Willey | work=CNN | date= March 30, 1998 | access-date =September 11, 2011}}</ref> On March 19, 1998, Julie Hiatt Steele, a friend of Willey, released an [[affidavit]], accusing the former White House aide of asking her to lie to corroborate Ms. Willey's account of being sexually groped by Clinton in the Oval Office.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/19/us/friend-accuses-willey-of-plea-for-her-to-lie.html | title=Friend Accuses Willey for Plea to her to Lie | author=John M. Broder | work=The New York Times | date=March 19, 1998 | access-date=February 15, 2014}}</ref> An attempt by Kenneth Starr to prosecute Steele for making false statements and obstructing justice ended in a mistrial and Starr declined to seek a retrial after Steele sought an investigation against the former independent counsel for prosecutorial misconduct.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofcl00levy| url-access=registration| title=Encyclopedia of the Clinton Presidency | first=Peter | last=Levy | pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofcl00levy/page/328 328]–329 | date=November 30, 2001 | publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group | isbn=978-0-313-31294-6}}</ref>

Also in 1998, [[Juanita Broaddrick]] alleged that Clinton had raped her in the spring of 1978, although she said she did not remember the exact date.<ref name=CapitalHillBlueWebArchive1>{{cite web | url=http://www.capitolhillblue.com/Feb1999/022599/datelinetranscript022599.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216043650/http://www.capitolhillblue.com/Feb1999/022599/datelinetranscript022599.htm | archive-date=February 16, 2006 | title=Full Transcript of NBC Dateline report on Juanita Broaddrick | date=February 1999}}</ref> To support her charge, Broaddrick notes that she told multiple witnesses in 1978 she had been raped by Clinton, something these witnesses also state in interviews to the press.<ref name="vox.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2016/1/6/10722580/bill-clinton-juanita-broaddrick|title=The rape allegation against Bill Clinton, explained|first=Dylan|last=Matthews|work=Vox|date=January 6, 2016}}</ref> Broaddrick had earlier filed an affidavit denying any "unwelcome sexual advances" and later repeated the denial in a sworn deposition.<ref name="CapitalHillBlueWebArchive1"/> In a 1998 NBC interview wherein she detailed the alleged rape, Broaddrick said she had denied (under oath) being raped only to avoid testifying about the ordeal publicly.<ref name="CapitalHillBlueWebArchive1"/>

The Lewinsky scandal has had an enduring impact on Clinton's legacy, beyond his impeachment in 1998.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/02/us/politics/bill-clinton-elections-democrats.html|title = No One Wants to Campaign With Bill Clinton Anymore|date = November 2, 2018|work = [[The New York Times]]|last = Lerer|first = Lisa}}</ref> In the wake of the #MeToo movement (which shed light on the widespread prevalence of [[sexual assault]] and [[Sexual harassment|harassment]], especially in the workplace), various commentators and Democratic political leaders, as well as Lewinsky herself, have revisited their view that the Lewinsky affair was consensual, and instead characterized it as an abuse of power or harassment, in light of the power differential between a president and a 22-year old intern. In 2018, Clinton was asked in several interviews about whether he should have resigned, and he said he had made the right decision in not resigning.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/clinton-i-wouldn-t-have-done-anything-differently-lewinsky-affair-n879721|title=Bill Clinton: I wouldn't have done anything differently with Lewinsky affair|work=NBC News|first=Adam|last=Edelman|date=June 4, 2018|access-date=June 4, 2018}}</ref> During the [[2018 U.S. election|2018 Congressional elections]], ''The New York Times'' alleged that having no Democratic candidate for office asking Clinton to campaign with them was a change that attributed to the revised understanding of the Lewinsky scandal.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> However, former DNC interim chair [[Donna Brazile]] previously urged Clinton in November 2017 to campaign during the 2018 midterm elections, in spite of New York U.S. senator [[Kirsten Gillibrand]]'s recent criticism of the Lewinsky scandal.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://theintercept.com/2017/11/22/donna-brazile-bill-clinton-campaign-trail-democrats/|title=Donna Brazile: Bill Clinton Should Hit The Campaign Trail For Democrats In 2018|first=Nicholas|last=Ballasy|publisher=The Intercept|date=November 27, 2017|access-date=December 25, 2020}}</ref>

=== Alleged affairs ===
Clinton admitted to having extramarital affairs with singer [[Gennifer Flowers]] and [[Monica Lewinsky]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Here's a guide to the sex allegations that Donald Trump may raise in the presidential debate|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Glenn|last=Kessler|date=October 9, 2016|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/10/09/heres-a-guide-to-the-sex-allegations-that-donald-trump-may-raise-in-the-presidential-debate/|access-date=January 8, 2022|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Actress [[Elizabeth Gracen]],<ref>{{Cite news|title=Actress Admits Affair With Clinton|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/actress-admits-affair-with-clinton/|access-date=January 8, 2022|agency=CBS News|date=March 31, 1998}}</ref> Miss Arkansas winner [[Sally Perdue]],<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Plotz|first=David|date=January 29, 1998|title=All the President's Women|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/1998/01/all-the-president-s-women.html|access-date=January 8, 2022|magazine=Slate}}</ref> and Dolly Kyle Browning<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bradner|first=Eric|date=January 8, 2016|title=Bill Clinton's alleged sexual misconduct: Who you need to know|url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/07/politics/bill-clinton-history-2016-election/index.html|access-date=January 8, 2022|agency=CNN}}</ref> all claimed that they had affairs with Clinton during his time as governor of Arkansas. Browning later sued Clinton, [[Bruce Lindsey]], [[Robert S. Bennett]], and [[Jane Mayer]], alleging they engaged in a conspiracy to attempt to block her from publishing a book loosely based on her relationship with Clinton and tried to defame him. However, Browning's lawsuit was dismissed.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Clinton Sex Allegation Lawsuit Dropped|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=94016&page=1|access-date=January 8, 2022|agency=ABC News|first=Josh|last=Gerstein|date=February 22, 2001}}</ref>