Kathleen Willey was a
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every...
volunteer aide who, on March 15, 1998, alleged on the TV news program
60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American investigative television newsmagazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by long time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life,...
that
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
had
sexually assaultedSexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may be by a man on a man, woman on a man or woman on a woman. Approximately one in six American women will be a victim of a sexual assault in her lifetime...
her on November 29, 1993, during his first term as
PresidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
. She had been
subpoenaA subpoena is a writ issued by a court that commands the presence of a witness to testify, under a penalty for failure.Subpoenas are associated with common law legal systems.There are two common types of subpoena:...
ed to testify in the
Paula JonesPaula Corbin Jones is a former Arkansas state employee who sued President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment. Eventually, the court dismissed the lawsuit, before trial, on the grounds that Jones failed to demonstrate any damages...
sexual harassmentSexual harassment is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment may be illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
case.
According to Willey, during a meeting in the private study of the
Oval Office| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |}The Oval Office is the official office of the President of the United States. Created in 1909 as part of an overall expansion of the West Wing of the White House during the administration of William Howard Taft, the office was inspired by the elliptical Blue Room...
, Clinton had embraced her tightly, kissed her on the mouth, fondled her
breastThe breast is the upper ventral region of an animal’s torso, particularly that of mammals, including human beings. The breasts of a female primate’s body contain the mammary glands, which secrete milk used to feed infants....
and then placed her hand on his
penisThe penis is an external sexual organ of certain biologically male organisms, in both vertebrates and invertebrates....
.
Kathleen Willey was a
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every...
volunteer aide who, on March 15, 1998, alleged on the TV news program
60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American investigative television newsmagazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by long time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life,...
that
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
had
sexually assaultedSexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may be by a man on a man, woman on a man or woman on a woman. Approximately one in six American women will be a victim of a sexual assault in her lifetime...
her on November 29, 1993, during his first term as
PresidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
. She had been
subpoenaA subpoena is a writ issued by a court that commands the presence of a witness to testify, under a penalty for failure.Subpoenas are associated with common law legal systems.There are two common types of subpoena:...
ed to testify in the
Paula JonesPaula Corbin Jones is a former Arkansas state employee who sued President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment. Eventually, the court dismissed the lawsuit, before trial, on the grounds that Jones failed to demonstrate any damages...
sexual harassmentSexual harassment is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment may be illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
case.
Claims
According to Willey, during a meeting in the private study of the
Oval Office| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |}The Oval Office is the official office of the President of the United States. Created in 1909 as part of an overall expansion of the West Wing of the White House during the administration of William Howard Taft, the office was inspired by the elliptical Blue Room...
, Clinton had embraced her tightly, kissed her on the mouth, fondled her
breastThe breast is the upper ventral region of an animal’s torso, particularly that of mammals, including human beings. The breasts of a female primate’s body contain the mammary glands, which secrete milk used to feed infants....
and then placed her hand on his
penisThe penis is an external sexual organ of certain biologically male organisms, in both vertebrates and invertebrates....
. Clinton denied assaulting Willey.
According to
Linda TrippLinda Tripp was a central figure in the Lewinsky scandal of 1998 and 1999 that led to the impeachment and subsequent acquittal of U.S...
’s
grand juryIn the common law, a grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether there is enough evidence for a trial. Grand juries carry out this duty by examining evidence presented to them by a prosecutor and issuing indictments, or by investigating alleged crimes and issuing presentments...
testimony, she felt Willey pursued a romance with Clinton from the start of her White House affiliation. Willey had speculated with Tripp as to how she might be able to set up an assignation between herself and the president. She routinely attended events at which Clinton would be present, wearing a black dress she believed he liked. According to Tripp’s testimony, she wondered if she and Clinton could arrange to meet in a home to which she had access, on the
Chesapeake BayThe Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's watershed covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia...
.
Tripp also challenged Willey’s account of that Oval Office meeting. According to Tripp, Willey had arranged the meeting in part to see if her flirtation with Clinton might advance. After Clinton and Willey met privately, Willey rushed back to Tripp’s office to describe the meeting. According to Tripp, Willey “smiled from ear to ear the entire time” as she described the event. “She seemed almost shocked, but happy-shocked,” Tripp told the grand jury. Willey told Tripp that she and Clinton had "smooched," but made no mention of a sexual assault.
Investigation and current status
The Final Report of the U.S. Office of the Independent Counsel report noted that "Willey gave false information to the FBI about her sexual relationship with a former boyfriend, and acknowledged having lied about it when the agents confronted her with contradictory evidence. Following Willey’s acknowledgment of the lie, the Independent Counsel agreed not to prosecute her for false statements in this regard." According to Independent Counsel
Robert RayRobert William Ray is an American lawyer. As the successor to Ken Starr as the head of the Office of the Independent Counsel he investigated and issued the final reports on the Whitewater scandal, the White House travel office controversy, and the White House FBI files controversy...
’s report, "Willey’s [Paula] Jones
depositionIn law, a deposition is witness's out of court testimony that is reduced to writing for later use in court or for discovery purposes Black's Law Dictionary. In many countries, depositions are given in courtrooms. In the United States, they are usually taken elsewhere...
testimony differed from her grand jury testimony on material aspects of the alleged incident."
According to a book critical of Clinton by Candice E. Jackson, Tripp told
Larry KingLawrence Harvey Zeiger , better known by his stage name Larry King, is an American television and radio host.He is recognized in the United States as one of the premier broadcast interviewers. King has conducted some 40,000 interviews with politicians, athletes, entertainers, and other newsmakers...
in
February 1999February 1999 was a month with twenty-eight days and no full moon.The following events also occurred during the month:...
that Willey is "an honest person" who was "telling the truth" about having been sexually assaulted by Clinton. However, Tripp's grand jury testimony differs from Willey's claims regarding inappropriate sexual advances.
Willey has a history of controversial claims including telling the FBI she was pregnant and she had a
miscarriageMiscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
when she did not.
In March 2000, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that President Clinton had "committed a criminal violation" of the
Privacy ActThe Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, Public Law No. 93-579, establishes a code of fair information practice that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies...
by releasing
letters from Willey to the President that were written even after the alleged incident. A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals later criticized this ruling, though Willey subsequently filed
suit against the White House, over this issue.
On November 6, 2007, her book
Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton was published by World Ahead Media. In her book, Willey claimed that on
Labor DayLabor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September .The holiday originated in Canada out of labor disputes first in Hamilton, then in Toronto, Canada in the 1870s, which resulted in a Trade Union Act which legalized and protected union activity in 1872 in Canada...
weekend 2007, her house was burglarized, with the only thing stolen being a manuscript of her book. Willey stated that she believes individuals with ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton are responsible for the break-in. She also filed a police report.
Media MattersMedia Matters can refer to:* Media Matters , media relations and PR firm in Kansas City, Missouri* Media Matters for America, media and information center founded by author David Brock...
reported that, in a November 7 interview with Fox News personality
Sean HannitySean Patrick Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. His nationally syndicated radio program, The Sean Hannity Show, airs throughout the United States on Citadel Media...
, she contradicted information from her own book. Willey had alleged that, two days before her deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case, Cody Shearer, the brother of a Clinton White House aide, had confronted her, hurt her cat, and threatened her children. During an interview on
The Sean Hannity ShowThe Sean Hannity Show is a talk radio show hosted by Sean Hannity on Citadel Media and Premiere Radio Networks. The program is broadcast live every weekday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m...
, Willey stated, "[the] FBI checked it out, and they found his excuse to be, for not being there, his alibi, was uncheckable, not so much ironclad as uncheckable." However, in her book she had written, "I was told that Shearer had an 'airtight' and 'ironclad' alibi, but another source told me that it was 'uncheckable.'"
On September 22, 2009, it was revealed that Willey was a Level 2 processor for a company involved with the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) also known as "Cash For Clunkers". The report indicated that, for a week's assignment, she actually worked 14 hours. However, she was paid for 37 1/2 hours. Her experience was recounted for an article in World Net Daily. She said that Level 1 processors weren't paying attention to what they were doing and were rejecting a high number of dealer applications, sometimes sending them back several times.
Personal life
Willey's second husband,
Edward E. Willey Jr.Edward E. Willey Jr. was a lawyer and real estate investor based in Richmond, Virginia.-Father:Edward E. Willey Jr. was the son of Edward E...
, committed
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
on November 29, 1993 — the same day that she had claimed Clinton's sexual misconduct took place.
Willey remarried in November 1999 to Bill Schwicker. Now
divorceDivorce or dissolution of marriage is the final termination of a marriage, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between two persons...
d, she works and resides in
Powhatan County, VirginiaPowhatan County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is named for the most prominent local leader of the Native Americans at the time the British Colony of Virginia was established at Jamestown in 1607...
.
External links
- Key Player: Kathleen Willey. Special Report: Clinton Accused. Washington Post, Updated 1998-10-02
- Excerpt From Kathleen Willey's Deposition to Paula Jones' Lawyers, Coffee Shop Times
- Excerpt From President Clinton's Deposition to Paula Jones' Lawyers Regarding Willey, Coffee Shop Times
- Willey's involvement was life-altering USA Today
- Slick Willey Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online magazine, with content updated each weekday. American liberal politics is its major focus, but it covers a range of issues. Reviews and articles about music, books and films are also a prominent feature of the site....
, 1998-03-18
- Kathleen Willey and Anita Hill Creators Syndicate, 1998-03-18
- Willey and the Beast Albion Monitor, 1998-03-31
- Tripp's testimony (600 page pdf).
- Starr and Willey: The Untold Story, The Nation, May 17, 1999
- Stalking the president Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online magazine, with content updated each weekday. American liberal politics is its major focus, but it covers a range of issues. Reviews and articles about music, books and films are also a prominent feature of the site....
, 1999-01-22.
- "Kathleen's crusade" The Hook, 2008-02-21