President Bill Clinton Voluntarily Testified Before The Office Of Independent Counsel And A Grand Jury Via Closed-Circuit Television From The White House. He Became The First Sitting U.S. President To Testify In That Manner As A Subject Of A Grand-Jury Investigation. During That Testimony, He Admitted That He Had Engaged In “Improper Intimate Contact” With Monica Lewinsky, A White House Intern, And Acknowledged That The Relationship Was “Wrong.”
That Evening, He Addressed The Nation In A Televised Speech. He Stated That He Had Answered The Grand Jury’s Questions Truthfully, Including Those About His Private Life, And That He Took Complete Responsibility For His Actions. In That Speech, He Said: “I Did Have A Relationship With Miss 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.” He Also Said: “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.”
Those Events Marked A Turning Point In The Clinton–Lewinsky Scandal. The Grand-Jury Testimony And The Televised Admission Fueled Political Fallout. On September 9, 1998, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr Delivered His Report To Congress, Citing Eleven Possible Grounds For Impeachment—Including Perjury And Obstruction Of Justice—And Stated That The President Had Made False Statements Under Oath And Attempted To Obstruct The Investigation. On December 19, 1998, The House Of Representatives Impeached President Clinton On Two Articles: Perjury Before The Grand Jury And Obstruction Of Justice. In Early 1999, The Senate Held A Trial, But Did Not Reach The Two-Thirds Vote Required To Convict; Clinton Was Acquitted And Completed His Term In Office.
The Historical Significance Of The August 17 Events Lies In Several Key Areas. First, The President’s Public Testimony Set A New Standard. No Previous Sitting President Had Ever Testified Under Oath In A Federal Criminal Investigation. This Set A Precedent For Holding A President Legally Accountable In His Personal As Well As Official Capacity. Second, The Admission Of Personal Misconduct On National Television Represented A Rare Moment Of Transparency From A President Amid A Scandal. By Acknowledging His Own Failure, He Framed The Issue As Personal Rather Than Legal, And Attempted To Regain Public Trust. Third, These Events Fueled The Impeachment Process. The Testimony And Speech Became Foundational Evidence In The Formal Investigations That Followed—The Starr Report, The House Impeachment, And The Senate Trial—Marking One Of Few Times A President Has Faced Such Constitutional Consequences. Finally, The Episodes Highlight The Tension Between Public Office And Private Life. Clinton’s Assertion That Even Presidents Have Private Lives Sparked Debate Over The Boundaries Of Privacy And The Extent To Which Personal Behavior Should Influence Political Legitimacy.
In Summary, On August 17, 1998, President Bill Clinton Voluntarily Testified Before A Grand Jury And Addressed The Nation, Admitting A Relationship That He Called Wrong And Accepting Personal Responsibility. That Night’s Events Catalyzed A Political Crisis That Led To Impeachment Proceedings. The Historical Significance Lies In The Unique Precedent Of A Sitting President Testifying In A Criminal Investigation, The Rare Public Admission Of Personal Fault, The Constitutional Crisis That Followed, And The Broader Discussion About Privacy In Public Life.
References / More Knowledge:
History.com Editors. “President Clinton Testifies Before Grand Jury.” History.com, November 16, 2009. Available at: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-17/clinton-testifies-before-grand-jury
Major Statements By President Clinton On The Lewinsky Affair. Law2.umkc.edu. “Statement From The White House Following Grand Jury Testimony,” August 17, 1998. Available at: https://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/clinton/clintonstatements.html
“Clinton–Lewinsky Scandal.” Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton%E2%80%93Lewinsky_scandal
Trial Memorandum Of President William Jefferson Clinton. Clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov. Available at: https://clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov/WH/New/html/senatebrief.html
AP News. “Today In History: August 17, Clinton Admits To Lewinsky Affair,” July 25, 2025. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/6e8e28dce09e9bc020701a455dfb428a
Time. “From An Anonymous Tip To An Impeachment: A Timeline Of Key Moments In The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal.” Time.com. Available at: https://time.com/5120561/bill-clinton-monica-lewinsky-timeline
“Impeachment Of Bill Clinton.” Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton
“Timeline Of The Bill Clinton Presidency (1998).” Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Bill_Clinton_presidency_(1998)
“Starr Report.” Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starr_Report
“Impeachment Trial Of Bill Clinton.” Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_trial_of_Bill_Clinton