Clintons’s Speech

Clinton's Speech	The Translation of Clinton's Speech
Good evening. This afternoon in this room, from this chair, I testified before the Office of Independent Counsel and the grand jury.	Good evening. This afternoon, after declining six separate invitations to testify voluntarily, and after being the first President of the United States to receive a subpoena to appear before a Federal Grand Jury investigating my own illegal activities, I was forced to testify before the Office of Independent Counsel and the grand jury.
I answered their questions truthfully, including questions about my private life, questions no American citizen would ever want to answer.	I want you to believe that I have answered all of their questions truthfully, even though I have lied to you on numerous occasions. I want you to believe that I testified for many hours about questions concerning my private life; however, only the last 30 minutes of my testimony concerned these subjects. Therefore, regardless of the comments just made by my lawyer, David Kendall, you can conclude that the previous four hours of testimony were spent testifying about matters not concerning my private life. During the last 30 minutes of my testimony, I was asked questions about my private life – questions that no American citizen would ever want to answer. After 30 minutes or so, I walked out of the meeting, and I refused to answer any more questions. . I’ve spent my entire life evading questions about many of my indiscretions and lapses of judgement; therefore, I have no intentions of starting to answer these questions now.
Still, I must take complete responsibility for all my actions, both public and private. And that is why I am speaking to you tonight.	In a few moments, I’m going to blame all of this on Kenneth Starr. But for now, I want you to think that I must take complete responsibility for all my actions, both public and private. And that is why I am speaking to you tonight.
As you know, in a deposition in January, I was asked questions about my relationship with Monica Lewinsky. While my answers were legally accurate, I did not volunteer information. Indeed, I did have a relationship with Ms. Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong. It constituted a critical lapse in judgment and a personal failure on my part for which I am solely and completely responsible.	As you know, because my staff leaked my deposition and framed the leak on Ken Starr, I was asked questions about my relationship with Monica Lewinsky. In order for you to believe that my answers were legally correct, I’m asking you to believe that my receipt of sexual relations did not fulfill the definition of sexual relations during the deposition. Please ignore all of the legal rhetoric that you have heard – especially when you hear the legal definition of sexual relations that included the words "any person." I want you to believe me when I say that I answered truthfully. Indeed, I did have a relationship with Ms. Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong. We used to sit up all night playing Scrabble and Strip Poker when Hillary was out of town. I admit that this constituted a critical lapse in judgment and a personal failure on my part for which I am solely and completely responsible.
But I told the grand jury today and I say to you now that at no time did I ask anyone to lie, to hide or destroy evidence or to take any other unlawful action.	But I told the grand jury today and I say to you now that at no time did I ask anyone to lie, to hide or destroy evidence or to take any other unlawful action. When my staff appeared on all of those TV shows for the past four years, I knew they were telling lies on my behalf. My chief of staff directed these people to the TV shows. Therefore, I never asked them to lie. When I asked Bettie to gather all of the gifts from Monica, I never asked her to hide or destroy them…I simply asked her to gather them up, and take them home. Therefore, I can say with complete conviction that I never asked anybody to take any unlawful actions.
I know that my public comments and my silence about this matter gave a false impression. I misled people, including even my wife. I deeply regret that.	I know that my public comments and my silence about this matter gave a false impression. I misled people, including even my wife. I’ve always told you the truth; I’ve never lied to you. Heck, one of the three articles of impeachment drawn up against Richard Nixon was his lying to the American People in statements not made under oath. Therefore I must say that I was telling you the truth even when I said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky." It’s your own fault if you didn’t know what I meant. I deeply regret it, if you were too dumb to know the difference.
I can only tell you I was motivated by many factors. First, by a desire to protect myself from the embarrassment of my own conduct. I was also very concerned about protecting my family. The fact that these questions were being asked in a politically inspired lawsuit, which has since been dismissed, was a consideration, too. In addition, I had real and serious concerns about an independent counsel investigation that began with private business dealings 20 years ago, dealings, I might add, about which an independent federal agency found no evidence of any wrongdoing by me or my wife over two years ago. The independent counsel investigation moved on to my staff and friends, then into my private life. And now the investigation itself is under investigation.	I can only tell you I was motivated by many factors. First, I wanted to protect Hillary’s ride on AirForce-One. I was also very concerned about protecting my family. By that, I don’t mean Hillary and Chelsea. Heck, they know all about my behavior. I meant, you, the American People…my extended family. The fact that these questions were being asked in a lawsuit that I tried to settle because I didn’t want any of this stuff to come out, which luckily has since been dismissed, was a consideration, too. In addition, I had real and serious concerns about an independent counsel investigation that began with private business dealings 20 years ago, tried and convicted 13 out of 15 of my closest friends, including my Lieutenant Governor and almost my Counsigliari Bruce Lindsey. Hillary and me, we’ve done our best to put off this investigation as long as possible, including hiding all of the documents that had been under subpoena for 2 ½ years. Because of our expertise in obstructing justice, an independent federal agency found no evidence of any wrongdoing by my wife or me over two years ago. After all, most of the pertinent evidence didn’t get discovered until after this federal agency was done. As new illegal activities were discovered, the independent counsel investigation moved on to those new areas; which included my staff, my friends, then into the perjuries, obstruction of justices, and other crimes that I committed. And now, because we leaked enough stories to look like they came from Ken Starr, the investigation itself is under investigation.
This has gone on too long, cost too much and hurt too many innocent people.	I stonewalled the Whitewater investigation for three years, and I tried to stonewall this investigation for seven months. But every time I would fight Ken Starr in court, he would win. In fact, he won 18 out of 20 court cases; and it looks like he’s going to win the two that are still remaining. Because of my stonewalling, this has cost too much. Heck, Newt had to pay a $300,000 fine to reimburse congress for an investigation that he could have avoided by simply telling the truth; I hope congress doesn’t want to charge me the bulk of the $40,000,000 that I’ve cost the American taxpayers. In any event, this has hurt too many innocent people. That darn Linda Tripp, if she would have just agreed to perjure herself; she’s an innocent victim. Ken Starr; we vilified him at taxpayer expense; he’s an innocent victim. And all of those other men and women that we smeared and destroyed; they’re all innocent victims too. But don’t you start feeling sorry for all of my friends and aids that had to spend their own money to hire lawyers to appear at the Grand Jury. Heck, if they’re dumb enough to believe me, then they deserve to pay those costs. Besides, who needs to hire a lawyer to tell the truth?
Now, this matter is between me, the two people I love most -- my wife and our daughter -- and our God. I must put it right, and I am prepared to do whatever it takes to do so. Nothing is more important to me personally. But it is private, and I intend to reclaim my family life for my family. It's nobody's business but ours. Even presidents have private lives. It is time to stop the pursuit of personal destruction and the prying into private lives and get on with our national life.	Now, I’ve got to say the ubiquitous phrases meant to pacify you and get you back on my side – that this matter is between me, the two people I love most -- my wife and our daughter -- and our God. . I must put it right, and I am prepared to do whatever it takes to do so within my own selfish desires. But don’t expect me to actually do the right thing – that is, resign, I mean. I don’t have enough character to do that. Nothing is more important to me personally, than my own personal desires. But those desires are private. It's nobody's business but ours. Even presidents have private lives. It is time to stop the pursuit of my legal destruction by convincing you that Ken Starr’s investigation is prying into private lives. We need to get on with our national life; and the only way we can do that, is for you to overlook these illegal activities and hold me to a lower standard that you would face, yourself.
Our country has been distracted by this matter for too long, and I take my responsibility for my part in all of this. That is all I can do.	Our country has been distracted by this matter for too long, and I take my responsibility for my part in all of this; but I still need to keep blaming this all on Ken Starr. I hope you understand this. That is all I can do if I want to have any hope of staying out of jail.
Now it is time -- in fact, it is past time -- to move on. We have important work to do -- real opportunities to seize, real problems to solve, real security matters to face. And so tonight, I ask you to turn away from the spectacle of the past seven months, to repair the fabric of our national discourse, and to return our attention to all the challenges and all the promise of the next American century.	Now is the time – in fact, it is past time – to look beyond my illegal activities. We have important work to do -- real opportunities to seize, real problems to solve, and real security matters to face. Heck, good thing Monica wasn’t a spy who tried to blackmail me, lest our security matters would be even worse. And so tonight, I ask you to turn away from all of my obstruction of justice and lying for the past six years, to repair the fabric of our national discourse, and to return our attention to all the challenges and all the promise of the next American century.
Thank you for watching. And good night.	I can’t believe you stayed watching this long. I guess you’ve seen me lie so many times that you’ll watch anything I say. Well, for that I thank you, and good night.