In his grand jury appearance, however, President Clinton testified that Mr. Jordan informed "us" on January 7 that Ms. Lewinsky had signed an affidavit to be used in connection with the Jones case.(964) The President defended his deposition testimony by stating: [M]y impression was that, at the time, I was focused on the meetings. I believe the meetings he had were meetings about her moving to New York and getting a job. I knew at some point that she had told him that she needed some help, because she had gotten a subpoena. I'm not sure I know whether she did that in a meeting or a phone call. And I was not, I was not focused on that. I know that, I know Vernon helped her get a lawyer, Mr. Carter. And I, I believe that he did it after she had called him, but I'm not sure. But I knew that the main source of their meetings was about her move to New York and her getting a job.(965) E. January 8: The Perelman Call The day after she signed the affidavit, January 8, 1998, Ms. Lewinsky interviewed in New York with Jaymie Durnan, Senior Vice President and Special Assistant to the Chairman at MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc. (MFH).(966) Mr. Durnan testified that, although impressive, Ms. Lewinsky was not suited for any MFH opening.(967) He told her that he would pass on her resume to Revlon, an MFH company.(968) Ms. Lewinsky called Mr. Jordan and reported that she felt that the interview had gone "very poorly."(969) Mr. Jordan indicated in response that "he'd call the chairman."(970) At 4:54 p.m., Mr. Jordan called Ronald Perelman, chairman and chief executive officer of MFH.(971) Mr. Jordan told the grand jury with respect to Mr. Perelman, one "[c]an't get any higher -- or any richer."(972) Asked why he chose to call Mr. Perelman, Mr. Jordan responded: "I have spent a good part of my life learning institutions and people, and, in that process, I have learned how to make things happen. And the call to Ronald Perelman was a call to make things happen, if they could happen."(973) According to Mr. Perelman, Mr. Jordan spoke of "this bright young girl, who I think is terrific," and said that he wanted "to make sure somebody takes a look at her."(977) Mr. Perelman testified that, in the roughly twelve years that Mr. Jordan had been on Revlon's Board of Directors, he did not recall Mr. Jordan ever calling to recommend someone.(978) After he spoke with Mr. Perelman, Mr. Jordan telephoned Ms. Lewinsky and told her, "I'm doing the best I can to help you out."(982) Ms. Lewinsky soon received a call from Revlon, inviting her to another interview.(984) Over the course of January 8, Mr. Jordan placed three calls to the White House -- twice to a number at the White House Counsel's Office, once to the main White House number.(985) As to the Counsel's Office calls, Mr. Jordan speculated that he was trying to reach Cheryl Mills, Deputy White House Counsel, to express his "frustration" about Ms. Lewinsky.(986) According to Mr. Jordan, Ms. Mills knew who Ms. Lewinsky was: "[T]hat was no secret, I don't think, around the White House, that I was helping Monica Lewinsky."(987) F. January 9: "Mission Accomplished" On the morning of Friday, January 9, 1998, Ms. Lewinsky interviewed with Allyn Seidman, Senior Vice President of MFH, and two individuals at Revlon.(988) Ms. Lewinsky testified that the interviews went well and that Ms. Seidman called her back that day and "informally offered [her] a position, and [she] informally accepted."(989) Ms. Lewinsky then called Mr. Jordan and relayed the good news.(990) When shown records of a seven-minute call at 4:14 p.m., Mr. Jordan testified: "I have to assume that if she got the job and we have a seven-minute conversation and the day before I had talked to the chairman [Ronald Perelman], I have to assume the Jordan magic worked."(991) According to Mr. Jordan, he believed that he notified Ms. Currie and the President as soon as he learned that Ms. Lewinsky had obtained an offer: "I am certain that at some point in time I told Betty Currie, 'Mission accomplished.'"(992) Mr. Jordan testified that he also told the President directly that, "'Monica Lewinsky's going to work for Revlon,' and his response was, 'Thank you very much.'"(993) G. January 12: Pre-Trial Hearing in Jones Case On January 12, 1998, Judge Wright held a hearing in the Jones case to discuss pre-trial issues, including the President's upcoming deposition.(994) At that hearing, Judge Wright required Ms. Jones's counsel to list all the witnesses that they planned to call at trial. Ms. Jones's witness list named many women, among them Ms. Lewinsky, to support her theory that the President had a pattern of rewarding women based on their willingness to engage in sexual relations with him. At the hearing, Judge Wright indicated that she would permit Ms. Jones to call as witnesses some of the women she listed in support of her case. H. January 13: References from the White House On Tuesday, January 13, 1998, Jennifer Sheldon, Manager of Corporate Staffing of Revlon, called Ms. Lewinsky and formally extended her a position as a public relations administrator. Asked whether this was a relatively quick hiring process, Ms. Sheldon responded, "In totality of how long open positions normally stay open, yes. This was pretty fast."(995) Ms. Sheldon told Ms. Lewinsky that she needed to send her some references.(996) According to Ms. Lewinsky, she then called Ms. Currie because she was "concerned that if I put [Mr. Hilley] down as a reference, he might not say flattering things about me."(997) At 11:11 a.m. on January 13, Ms. Currie paged Ms. Lewinsky and left the following message: "Will know something this afternoon. Kay."(998) That day, January 13, the President talked with Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles about a reference for Ms. Lewinsky.(999) The President told Mr. Bowles that Ms. Lewinsky "had found a job in the . . . private sector, and she had listed John Hilley as a reference, and could we see if he could recommend her, if asked." Mr. Bowles assured the President that Mr. Hilley would give Ms. Lewinsky a recommendation commensurate with her job performance.(1000) Thereafter, Mr. Bowles took the President's request to Mr. Podesta, the Deputy Chief of Staff, who in turn spoke with Mr. Hilley.(1001) Mr. Hilley responded that, because he did not know Ms. Lewinsky personally, he would have his office write a recommendation.(1002) It would be a generic letter, simply confirming the dates of employment, because of the less than favorable circumstances surrounding Ms. Lewinsky's departure from the White House.(1003) Ms. Lewinsky testified that Ms. Currie called later that day and told her that "Mr. Podesta took care of it and everything would be fine with Mr. Hilley."(1004) At 11:17 a.m. the next day, Wednesday, January 14, Ms. Lewinsky faxed her acceptance to Revlon and listed John Hilley and her Defense Department supervisor as references.(1006) The President was asked in the grand jury whether he ever spoke to Mr. Bowles about obtaining a reference from Mr. Hilley for Ms. Lewinsky. He testified that he did, at Ms. Lewinsky's request, although he thought he had done so earlier than January 13 or 14.(1007) I. January 13: Final Jordan Meeting According to Ms. Lewinsky, on Tuesday, January 13, she stopped by Mr. Jordan's office to drop off some thank-you gifts for helping her find a job. Ms. Lewinsky offered to show him a copy of her signed affidavit in the Jones case, but he indicated that he did not need to see it.(1008) J. January 13-14: Lewinsky-Tripp Conversation and Talking Points In a face-to-face conversation on January 13, Ms. Lewinsky told Linda Tripp: "This is what my lawyer taught me. You really don't -- you don't very often say 'no' unless you really need to. The best is, 'Well, not that I recall, not that I really remember. Might have, but I don't really remember.'"(1009) Ms. Lewinsky said that, if asked in a deposition, "Were you ever alone with the President?" she could say, "Um, it's possible I may have taken a letter on the weekend, but, you know -- I might have, but I don't really. . . ."(1010) Ms. Lewinsky and Ms. Tripp then discussed the situation: Ms. Lewinsky: I don't think the way that man thinks, I don't think he thinks of lying under oath. . . . Ms. Tripp: Yes, he is because he's the one who said, "Deny, deny, deny." Of course he knows. Ms. Lewinsky: Right. But it's -- hard to explain this. It's like -- (sigh) Ms. Tripp: You know what I mean. I mean, I don't know -- do I think he is consciously -- Ms. Lewinsky: If-- if -- if I said, if somebody said to him, "Is Monica lying under oath," he would say yes. But when he on his own thinks about it, he doesn't think about it in those terms. Okay? Ms. Tripp: Probably. Ms. Lewinsky: Okay? He thinks of it as, "We're safe. We're being smart." Okay? "We're being smart, we're being safe, it's good for everybody."(1011) On January 14, Ms. Lewinsky gave Ms. Tripp a three-page document regarding "points to make in [Ms. Tripp's] affidavit."(1012) Ms. Lewinsky testified that she wrote the document herself, although some of the ideas may have been inspired by conversations with Ms. Tripp.(1013) Continue
