历史今天:1998年克林顿承认性臭闻(8.17)

【英文原文】

The Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The news of this extra-marital affair and the resulting investigation eventually led to the impeachment of President Clinton in 1998 by the U.S. House of Representatives and his subsequent acquittal on all impeachment charges (of perjury and obstruction of justice) in a 21-day Senate trial.

In 1995, Monica Lewinsky, a graduate of Lewis & Clark College, was hired to work as an intern at the White House during Clinton's first term, and began a personal relationship with him later that year. As Lewinsky's relationship with Clinton became more distant and she left the White House to work at The Pentagon, Lewinsky confided details of her feelings and Clinton's behavior to her friend and Defense department co-worker Linda Tripp, who secretly recorded their telephone conversations. When Tripp discovered in January 1998 that Lewinsky had signed an affidavit in the Paula Jones case denying a relationship with Clinton, she delivered the tapes to Kenneth Starr, the Independent Counsel who was investigating Clinton on other matters, including the Whitewater scandal, Filegate, and Travelgate. During the grand jury testimony Clinton was guarded, and argued, "It depends on what the meaning of the word is is".

【中文译文】

莱温斯基丑闻指的是美国总统比尔克林顿和22岁的白宫实习生莫妮卡莱温斯基之间的一幢政治性丑闻。这件婚外情事件和由此产生的调查最终导致美国国会众议院于1998年弹劾克林顿，但在参议院21天的调查取证后，最终撤销了对克林顿所有妨碍司法公正和作伪证的指控。

莫妮卡莱温斯基，毕业于刘易斯与克拉克学院，1995年在克林顿的第一任期内被聘为白宫实习生，并在当年晚些时候开始了与克林顿的个人关系。正当莱温斯基和克林顿的关系变得疏远的时候，莱温斯基离开了白宫去了五角大楼工作，莱温斯基向她的朋友——在国防部工作的琳达特里普倾诉了她与克林顿之间的感情问题，而琳达特里普秘密记录了他们的电话交谈内容。当特里普发现莱温斯基于1998年1月在琼斯案中签署了一项否认与克林顿的关系的文件，她便向正在调查克林顿其他事项（包括白水丑闻，档案门和旅行门）的律师肯尼思斯塔尔提供了录音带。在案件审理期间，克林顿十分谨慎，并且认为， “这取决于什么is这个词的含义” 。