August 1998

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August 1998: The Month the Lewinsky Scandal ExplodedAugust 1998 was the decisive turning point of the Clinton presidency. After seven months of denial, the story shifted from “private matter” to acknowledged lie and impending legal peril.Key Timeline – August 1998August 6–7
Monica Lewinsky testified for a second time before the grand jury and turned over the infamous blue dress with DNA evidence.
August 17 – The Day Everything Changed President Clinton gave closed-door grand jury testimony via video link from the White House Map Room (first sitting president ever to testify before a grand jury investigating himself).
That evening (9 p.m. EDT), Clinton delivered a 4½-minute nationally televised address from the Map Room: Admitted “inappropriate relationship” with Lewinsky.
Admitted he had misled the American people in his January 26 denial (“I did not have sexual relations with that woman”).
Angrily attacked Kenneth Starr’s investigation as politically motivated and overly intrusive into private life.

The speech backfired badly; the public was furious that he spent more time attacking Starr than apologizing.

August 18–31
Democratic lawmakers and operatives went into damage-control mode: Many Democrats privately expressed rage at Clinton for lying to them and the country.
Publicly, most rallied behind the line that lying about sex was wrong but not impeachable.
House and Senate Democratic leadership (Gephardt, Daschle, Bonior) began pushing the idea of censure as an alternative to impeachment.

Notable Democratic Reactions in AugustFigure
Reaction in August 1998
Dick Gephardt
Called Clinton’s conduct “reprehensible” but said impeachment would be wrong.
Tom Daschle
Urged quick censure and moving on.
Sen. Joe Lieberman
August 3 (still pre-confession): first Democratic senator to publicly condemn Clinton’s behavior on the Senate floor—speech widely seen as opening the door for other Democrats to criticize.
Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE)
One of the harshest: called Clinton an “unusually good liar.”
Rep. Paul McHale (D-PA)
First House Democrat to call for Clinton’s resignation (August 19).

Other Administration Activity (overshadowed but still happening)August 7: Signed the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act.
August 20: Operation Infinite Reach – U.S. cruise-missile strikes on al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Sudan (in response to the embassy bombings two weeks earlier). Critics immediately accused Clinton of “wagging the dog” to distract from Lewinsky.
Ongoing preparations for the September release of the Starr Report.

Political Climate by End of AugustClinton’s approval rating paradoxically stayed high (60–65 %) on job performance, but personal favorability collapsed.
Democrats feared a midterm bloodbath in November (conventional wisdom: lose 20–40 House seats).
Republican leaders (Gingrich, Lott, Armey, DeLay) privately concluded they had the votes to impeach by December.

In summary: August 1998 was the month Clinton’s seven-month denial strategy collapsed. He finally admitted the affair, Democrats were shell-shocked and furious, and the stage was set for the Starr Report in September and impeachment proceedings in the fall.

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