    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [January 21, 1998]
    [Pages 99-100]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Excerpt of a Telephone Interview With Morton Kondracke and Ed Henry of Roll Call
    January 21, 1998

        Mr. Henry. Hello, Mr. President, this is Ed Henry. How are you?
        The President. Hi, Ed.

    Independent Counsel's Investigation

        Mr. Kondracke. A few questions about the breaking news. Do you think
    that this Monica Lewinsky story is going to overshadow your State of the
    Union Address?
        The President. Well, I hope not. But you guys will have to make that
    decision. The press will make that decision.
        Mr. Henry. Some Republicans have been talking about impeachment for
    months now. And even your former adviser George Stephanopoulos mentioned
    it this morning, that it could lead to that. What is your reaction to
    the suggestion that this may lead to impeachment?
        The President. Well, I don't believe it will. I'm going to cooperate
    with this investigation. And I made it very clear that the allegations
    are not true. I didn't ask anybody not to
    tell the truth. And I'll cooperate. So I think that there will be a lot
    of stirring and there will be a lot of speculation about how this all
    was done and what it means and what it portends, and you all will handle
    it however you will. I'm just going to go back to work and do the best I
    can.
        Mr. Kondracke. Do you think you have to refer to it in some way in
    the speech on Tuesday?
        The President. I've given no thought to that, no.
        Mr. Henry. Will this cloud your ability to get anything done with
    this Congress as you head into the new session?
        The President. Well, that will be up to them. I don't think so. It's
    election year; they'll want to get some things done, too. And we've got

    [[Page 100]]

    a lot to do. I'm going to give them the first balanced budget, 3 years
    ahead of time, and a great child care initiative and an important
    Medicare initiative. We've got a Medicare commission meeting. We're
    going to be able to actually see this budget balanced and start to run a
    little surplus. We've got a lot of things to do around the world, so I
    think this is quite important.
        Mr. Kondracke. Okay. Let me just ask you one more question about
    this. You said in a statement today that you had no improper
    relationship with this intern. What exactly was the nature of your
    relationship with her?
        The President. Well, let me say, the relationship's not improper,
    and I think that's important enough to say. But because the
    investigation is going on and because I don't know what is out--what's
    going to be asked of me, I think I need to cooperate, answer the
    questions, but I think it's important for me to make it clear what is
    not. And then, at the appropriate time, I'll try to answer what is. But
    let me answer, it is not an improper relationship, and I know what the
    word means. So let's just----
        Mr. Kondracke. Was it in any way sexual?
        The President. The relationship was not sexual. And I know what you
    mean, and the answer is no.

    Note: The interview began at 4:26 p.m. The President spoke from the Oval
    Office at the White House.