VOA慢速英语2012 THE MAKING OF A NATION - American History: President Clinton’s Legal Problems

THE MAKING OF A NATION - American History: President Clinton’s Legal Problems

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

This week in our series, we continue the story of America's forty-second president, Bill Clinton. He was a popular and successful president who was re-elected in nineteen ninety-six. But he also became only the second president in American history ever to be put on trial in Congress.

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Clinton's past in Arkansas became the source of accusations¹ and questions about his character as he was running for president. These included questions about financial dealings with a land development company called Whitewater.

In January of nineteen ninety-four, President Clinton asked Attorney General Janet Reno to appoint an independent lawyer to lead an investigation². She named a Republican, but some critics said her choice was too friendly to the Clinton administration. He was replaced by another Republican, Kenneth Starr.

In nineteen ninety-five the Senate Judiciary Committee began its own investigation of the president. The committee later reported that it had not found evidence of any crimes. However, because the committee was led by Democrats³, there was continuing suspicion of the president among Republicans.

The main cause of that suspicion dated back to a purchase of land in Arkansas years earlier. Bill and Hillary Clinton had bought the land in nineteen seventy eight -- the year he was first elected governor of that state. The Clintons formed the Whitewater Development Company with Susan and James McDougal. The goal was to sell vacation homes along a river. However, the company did poorly.

James McDougal also owned Madison Guaranty Savings⁴ and Loan, for which Hillary Clinton did legal work. Madison failed during the nineteen eighties. The McDougals were found guilty of wrongdoing in connection with that failure.

A former local judge in Little Rock, the state capital, also became part of the story. In nineteen ninety-four David Hale pleaded guilty to charges of cheating the federal government. That case was in connection with a lending company he owned and was not connected to Whitewater. But Hale accused Bill Clinton of having pressured him while governor to loan money to Susan McDougal and other politically influential⁵ people. Clinton denied the accusations.

During the president's first term, investigators⁶ sought billing records for Hillary Clinton's past legal work for James McDougal. They wanted to know, in connection with the Whitewater investigation, how much time she had spent on that work. The first lady said she could not find the records. Then, in January of nineteen ninety-six, the billing records appeared without explanation in the White House.

That mystery only added to the suspicions of some Americans. Others thought Kenneth Starr was just wasting taxpayer⁷ money on his investigation of the Clintons. They felt it was just for political reasons.

The Whitewater investigation became increasingly complex and difficult to follow. In the end, President Clinton was never charged with any wrongdoing in connection with his financial dealings. But his legal problems did not stop there.

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In nineteen ninety-four, a former Arkansas state employee named Paula Jones sued President Clinton. She brought a civil action accusing him of sexual harassment⁸ while governor of Arkansas. In her lawsuit⁹ she said he had asked her for sex. A federal judge dismissed her case for lack of evidence.

Paula Jones appealed that ruling. Her lawyers said they wanted to prove that Clinton had a pattern of such behavior with female employees, including while president. They suspected that these included a twenty-one-year-old woman named Monica Lewinsky. Lewinsky had worked as an unpaid¹⁰ intern¹¹ in the White House.

Kenneth Starr was still investigating the Whitewater case early in nineteen ninety-eight. He received permission to include Lewinsky in his investigation.

MONICA LEWINSKY: “Hi.

LINDA TRIPP: “How’d you know it was me?”

MONICA LEWINSKY: “I have Caller ID.”

LINDA TRIPP: “What’s it say?”

MONICA LEWINSKY: “Linda Tripp.”

A former friend of Monica Lewinsky, Linda Tripp, had given Starr tape recordings¹² of her telephone conversations with the younger woman.

MONICA LEWINSKY: “I hate him.”

LINDA TRIPP: “No you don’t.”

MONICA LEWINSKY: “I do.”

LINDA TRIPP: “You hate his behavior, at times.”

In the recordings, Lewinsky talked about her relationship with the president. What she told her Linda Tripp conflicted with the information she gave to lawyers for Paula Jones. She had told them that the relationship had not been sexual.

Lawyers for Paula Jones also questioned President Clinton. He too denied that the relationship with Monica Lewinsky had been sexual. On January twenty-sixth, nineteen ninety-eight, the president stated his denial to the American public.

BILL CLINTON: “But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I’m going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie. Not a single time. Never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people.”

Later in the year, the president agreed to answer questions before a federal grand jury.

BILL CLINTON: “The opening statement I made is that I had inappropriate intimate contact. I take full responsibility for it. It wasn't her fault; it was mine. I do not believe that I violated the definition of sexual relations I was given by directly touching¹³ those parts of her body with the intent to arouse or gratify. And that's all I have to say."

This was the first time an investigating jury had ever called a president to testify while in office.

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BILL CLINTON: “This afternoon, in this room, from this chair, I testified 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.

"Still, I must take complete responsibility for all my actions, both public and private. And that is why I am speaking to you tonight."

After his appearance, the president went on national television and admitted the nature of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. He said his actions were a personal failure, but he denied trying to get her to lie about the relationship.

BILL CLINTON: “As you know, in a deposition¹⁴ 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."

He said his actions were a personal failure. But he denied trying to get her to lie about the relationship.

BILL CLINTON: “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. 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.”

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Kenneth Starr sent his final report to the House of Representatives. The report suggested that President Clinton may have committed impeachable¹⁶ crimes in trying to hide his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

In the United States, to impeach¹⁵ a president means to bring charges in the House of Representatives. The charges result in removal from office if the president is found guilty in a trial in the Senate. The chief justice of the United States serves as the judge and the senators serve as the jury.

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In December of nineteen ninety-eight, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Clinton. The House sent the charges to the Senate to hold a trial. The two articles of impeachment¹⁷ accused him of lying to a federal grand jury and obstructing¹⁸ justice.

Only one other president had ever been impeached¹⁹. In eighteen sixty-eight, the House of Representatives brought charges against Andrew Johnson. The case related to his removal of a cabinet member. The Senate held a trial, but Andrew Johnson's presidency²⁰ survived by one vote.

The threat of impeachment led President Richard Nixon to resign in nineteen seventy-four over his cover-up of political wrongdoing in the Watergate case.

BILL CLINTON: “It is up to the members of the House of Representatives to vote their conscience on the Constitution and the law, which I believe are clear. And I have no intention of resigning. It’s never crossed my mind.”

Bill Clinton still had two years left as president. In public opinion surveys, two-thirds of the people said they opposed removing him from office.

BILL CLINTON: “What I want the American people to know, what I want the Congress to know, is that I am profoundly sorry for all I have done wrong in words and deeds.

“I never should have misled the country, the Congress, my friends, or my family. Quite simply, I gave in to my shame. I have been condemned²¹ by my accusers with harsh words.

“And while it’s hard to hear yourself called deceitful and manipulative, I remember Ben Franklin’s admonition that our critics are our friends, for they do show us our faults.”

The Senate decided²² President Clinton’s future in February of nineteen ninety-nine. The one hundred senators held a trial to consider the charges and decide if he should be removed from office. Each charge required sixty-seven votes to find him guilty.

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Ten members of the Republican majority joined Democrats in voting to clear Clinton of the perjury²³ charge. The Senate was evenly divided on the charge of interfering²⁴ with justice. Thus, no guilty verdict.

Bill Clinton remained president of the United States.

As a historical footnote, as it turned out, Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich was himself cheating on his wife while leading the impeachment action against President Clinton. The difference, Gingrich would say years later, was that Clinton was charged with lying after he legally swore to tell the truth.

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In October nineteen ninety-nine, Kenneth Starr resigned as the independent counsel. An assistant, Robert Ray, completed a final report on the Whitewater investigation. He issued his report in September two thousand. The report said there was not enough evidence to prove any wrongdoing by Bill or Hillary Clinton.

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The Clinton presidency covered much of the decade of the nineteen- nineties. The American cultural and social landscape of the nineties will be our story next week.

You can find our series online with transcripts²⁵, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at voanews.cn. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember, inviting²⁶ you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.

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Contributing: Jerilyn Watson

This was program #231. For earlier programs, type "Making of a Nation" in quotation²⁷ marks in the search box at the top of the page.

1 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

5 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

6 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

8 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

9 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

10 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

11 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

12 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

13 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

14 deposition   

n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物

参考例句：

• It was this issue which led to the deposition of the king.正是这件事导致了国王被废黜。
• This leads to calcium deposition in the blood-vessels.这导致钙在血管中沉积。

15 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

16 impeachable   

adj.可控告的，可弹劾的

参考例句：

• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• The government officer committed an impeachable offence. 那位政府官员犯了可能招致弹劾的罪行。 来自辞典例句

17 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

18 obstructing   

阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。
• He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。

19 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

21 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

22 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

23 perjury   

n.伪证；伪证罪

参考例句：

• You'll be punished if you procure the witness to commit perjury.如果你诱使证人作伪证，你要受罚的。
• She appeared in court on a perjury charge.她因被指控做了伪证而出庭受审。

24 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

25 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

26 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

27 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。