EXCLUSIVE: The Bill Clinton Affair Files — Monica Lewinsky Recalls Being Threatened with 27 Years in Jail if She 'Didn't Cooperate and Wear a Wire' During Investigation
The two's affair lasted 18 months when she was just an intern.
Feb. 28 2025, Updated 11:51 a.m. ET
Monica Lewinsky has recalled being threatened with jail time if she "didn't cooperate and wear a wire" during the investigation surrounding her affair with former president Bill Clinton.
RadarOnline.com can report the former White House intern opened up more about one of the most famous scandals in political history on the newest episode of Call Her Daddy.
Monica Lewinsky appeared on the 'Call Me Daddy' podcast.
During Clinton's presidency, he and Lewinsky had an 18-month affair that started in 1995 and ended in 1997 – when she was just an intern.
He was married to wife Hillary at the time, who stood by his side, and repeatedly denied the affair at first.
The affair was eventually made public after she confided in Linda Tripp and an investigation was conducted.
During the interview with host Alex Cooper, Lewinsky recalled: "I found out about the investigation several days before the rest of the world did. There was a sting operation that happened at a shopping mall, and then I was up in, there was a Ritz Carlton attached to the shopping mall.
"I was in the hotel room, realizing what felt like my life was over... certainly my life was going to change. I was threatened with jail. And, essentially was told if I didn't cooperate and wear a wire that I would go to jail for 27 years."
"And I saw this train barrel down the tracks, and I really felt like, January 21, opening the door. I was living in the Watergate Complex with my mom, and I remember opening the door, and this was in the days where people would get a newspaper delivered, and in D.C. it was always several.
"I remember seeing my name above the fold and the investigation and looking down the hall and seeing the exact same newspaper outside everyone's door. It was shocking. It was terrifying. I didn't know how to process anything. And it was a moment where life as I knew it was over."
The two had an affair for 18 months while he was president.
Before Clinton finally confessed he was "solely and completely responsible" for the romance – he denied it multiple times.
The former intern said she believed was "gaslighted" over the situation amid his denial.
Cooper said in the podcast interview: "The White House tried to frame you as this unstable stalker, but what the evidence went on to reveal the president called you often, gave you gifts...how did you, at the end of the day, reconcile what people were saying about your relationship and then what you knew to be true and what you lived with this person?"
Clinton denied the affair multiple times before confessing.
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Lewinsky explained: "Well, it was gaslighting. So I, I think that was what I experienced on a pretty large scale, and it was devastating. It was devastating at the time."
During the interview, the former White House intern also explained why she believes the 42nd President should have stepped down from his position instead of "throwing her under the bus" after the affair was made public.
She said: "I think that the right way to handle a situation like that would have been to probably say it was nobody’s business and to resign."
