D. President's Day (February 19) Break-up
According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President terminated their
relationship (only temporarily, as it happened), on Monday,
February 19, 1996 -- President's Day. The President was in
the
Oval Office from 11 a.m. to 2:01 p.m. that day.(242) He
had no
telephone calls between 12:19 and 12:42 p.m.(243) Records
do not
reflect Ms. Lewinsky's presence at the White House.
In Ms. Lewinsky's recollection, the President telephoned
her at
her Watergate apartment that day. From the tone of his
voice,
she could tell something was wrong. She asked to come see
him,
but he said he did not know how long he would be
there.(244) Ms.
Lewinsky went to the White House, then walked to the Oval
Office
sometime between noon and 2 p.m. (the only time she ever
went to
the Oval Office uninvited).(245) Ms. Lewinsky recalled
that she
was admitted by a tall, slender, Hispanic plainclothes
agent on
duty near the door.(246)
The President told her that he no longer felt right about
their
intimate relationship, and he had to put a stop to
it.(247) Ms.
Lewinsky was welcome to continue coming to visit him, but
only
as a friend. He hugged her but would not kiss her.(248) At
one
point during their conversation, the President had a call
from a
sugar grower in Florida whose name, according to Ms.
Lewinsky,
was something like "Fanuli." In Ms. Lewinsky's
recollection, the
President may have taken or returned the call just as she
was
leaving.(249)
Ms. Lewinsky's account is corroborated in two respects.
First,
Nelson U. Garabito, a plainclothes Secret Service agent,
testified that, on a weekend or holiday while Ms. Lewinsky
worked at the White House (most likely in the early spring
of
1996), Ms. Lewinsky appeared in the area of the Oval Office
carrying a folder and said, "I have these papers for the
President."(250) After knocking, Agent Garabito opened the
Oval
Office door, told the President he had a visitor, ushered
Ms.
Lewinsky in, and closed the door behind her.(251) When
Agent
Garabito's shift ended a few minutes later, Ms. Lewinsky
was
still in the Oval Office.(252)
Second, concerning Ms. Lewinsky's recollection of a call
from a
sugar grower named "Fanuli," the President talked with
Alfonso
Fanjul of Palm Beach, Florida, from 12:42 to 1:04
p.m.(253) Mr.
Fanjul had telephoned a few minutes earlier, at 12:24
p.m.(254)
The Fanjuls are prominent sugar growers in Florida.(255)
E. Continuing Contacts
After the break-up on February 19, 1996, according to Ms.
Lewinsky, "there continued to sort of be this flirtation .
. .
when we'd see each other."(256) After passing Ms. Lewinsky
in a
hallway one night in late February or March, the President
telephoned her at home and said he was disappointed that,
because she had already left the White House for the
evening,
they could not get together. Ms. Lewinsky testified that
the
call "sort of implied to me that he was interested in
starting
up again."(257) On March 10, 1996, Ms. Lewinsky took a
visiting
friend, Natalie Ungvari, to the White House. They bumped
into
the President, who said to Ms. Ungvari when Ms. Lewinsky
introduced them: "You must be her friend from
California."(258)
Ms. Ungvari was "shocked" that the President knew where
she was
from.(259)
Ms. Lewinsky testified that on Friday, March 29, 1996, she
was
walking down a hallway when she passed the President, who
was
wearing the first necktie she had given him. She asked
where he
had gotten the tie, and he replied: "Some girl with style
gave
it to me."(260) Later, he telephoned her at her desk and
asked if
she would like to see a movie. His plan was that she would
position herself in the hallway by the White House Theater
at a
certain time, and he would invite her to join him and a
group of
guests as they entered. Ms. Lewinsky responded that she
did not
want people to think she was lurking around the West Wing
uninvited.(261) She asked if they could arrange a
rendezvous over
the weekend instead, and he said he would try.(262) Records
confirm that the President spent the evening of March 29
in the
White House Theater.(263) Mrs. Clinton was in Athens,
Greece.(264)
F. March 31 Sexual Encounter
On Sunday, March 31, 1996, according to Ms. Lewinsky, she
and
the President resumed their sexual contact.(265) Ms.
Lewinsky was
at the White House from 10:21 a.m. to 4:27 p.m. on that
day.(266)
The President was in the Oval Office from 3:00 to 5:46
p.m.(267)
His only call while in the Oval Office was from 3:06 to
3:07
p.m.(268) Mrs. Clinton was in Ireland.(269)
According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President telephoned her at
her
desk and suggested that she come to the Oval Office on the
pretext of delivering papers to him.(270) She went to the
Oval
Office and was admitted by a plainclothes Secret Service
agent.(271) In her folder was a gift for the President, a
Hugo
Boss necktie.(272)
In the hallway by the study, the President and Ms. Lewinsky
kissed. On this occasion, according to Ms. Lewinsky, "he
focused
on me pretty exclusively," kissing her bare breasts and
fondling
her genitals.(273) At one point, the President inserted a
cigar
into Ms. Lewinsky's vagina, then put the cigar in his
mouth and
said: "It tastes good."(274) After they were finished, Ms.
Lewinsky left the Oval Office and walked through the Rose
Garden.(275)