Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Explicit sex questions Brett Kavanaugh wanted to force Bill Clinton to answer about Monica Lewinsky revealed

Supreme Court nominee suggested a number of sexually explicit questions for former president 

Chris Riotta
New York
Monday 20 August 2018 21:00 BST
Comments
Republicans are attempting to push a vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh before Democrats can review his bevy of writings from his tenure as George W Bush's staff secretary
Republicans are attempting to push a vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh before Democrats can review his bevy of writings from his tenure as George W Bush's staff secretary

If confirmed to as a Supreme Court judge, Brett Kavanaugh has sai​d he would put the "final nail in the coffin" for independent counsels investigating sitting presidents.

But when Bill Clinton came under scrutiny for his sexual behaviour with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, appeared to be one of the most ardent supporters of a deeply comprehensive investigation into the former president.

A memo written by Donald Trump's nominee for the nation's top court when he was working on the investigation into whether Mr Clinton perjured himself has revealed the strength of his feelings at the time.

Mr Kavanaugh, who at the time was an an associate counsel for Ken Starr, the man leading the probe, wrote he was "strongly opposed to giving the President any 'break'" in questioning unless he "resigns" or "confesses perjury".

Entitled "Slack for the President?", the memo dated 15 August 1998, he wrote: "The President has disgraced his Office, the legal system, and the American people by having sex with a 22-year-old intern and turning her life into a shambles — callous and disgusting behaviour that has somehow gotten lost in the shuffle."

He added: "He should be forced to account for all of that and to defend his actions. It may not be our job to impose sanctions on him, but it is our job to make his pattern of revolting behaviour clear — piece by painful piece."

He went on to recommend 10 questions he wanted posed to Mr Clinton, suggesting the then president would be required to answer them "to make his pattern of revolting behaviour clear".

Donald Trump reveals Supreme Court justice choice Brett Kavanaugh

Some of the questions asked for explicit sexual details.

One read: "If Monica Lewinsky says that you inserted a cigar into her vagina while you were in the Oval Office area, would she be lying?"

Another asked: "If Monica Lewinsky says that on several occasions you had her give her oral sex, made her stop, and then ejaculated into the sink in the bathroom off the Oval Office, would she be lying?"

The nature of the questions Mr Kavanaugh proposed to Mr Starr’s office related to details Ms Lewinsky had stated about her affair with the president.

Another question asked: "Did you tell Monica Lewinsky that she should deny the nature of the relationship you and she had?"

As a result, some have drawn parallels between Mr Clinton’s situation and that of his successor. During the 2016 presidential election, Mr Trump is alleged to have arranged payments to a number of women who claimed to have had affairs with him.

The memo has emerged as Mr Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination is scrutinised by politicians.

Democrats have demanded a trove of notes and paperwork Mr Kavanaugh filed while he worked as former President George W Bush’s staff secretary.

Republicans have pushed back, ignoring precedent for Supreme Court nominees and pushing for a vote before the National Archive is able to release the information.

The 1998 memo — which parts of had been previously reported in a book detailing Mr Clinton and Ms Lewinsky’s affair — was obtained by the Washington Post through a Freedom of Information Act request to the National Archives.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in