What Is the Story Behind Monica Lewinsky’s Blue Dress?
Monica Lewinsky was wearing a blue Gap dress during one of her sexual encounters with President Bill Clinton between November 1995 and March 1997. During the tryst, semen stained the dress. Lewinsky never cleaned the dress, but instead turned it over to the FBI, who positively compared the fluid to a blood sample taken from the president.
Lewinsky’s blue dress led to positive proof of an inappropriate sexual relationship between herself and the president, an assertion that Clinton previously denied under oath. He ultimately admitted the truth on Aug.17, 1998, in a nationally televised address.
The fallout from the Lewinsky scandal, alternately called Monicagate, Lewinskygate and Zippergate by the U.S. media, resulted in perjury charges against the president. For civil contempt of court, Clinton paid a $90,000 fine and received a five-year suspension from practicing law in Arkansas.
Additionally, the government viewed his actions under oath as crimes of perjury and obstruction of justice, which are impeachable offenses. After the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed Articles of Impeachment in December 1998, the U.S. Senate held a 21-day trial to confirm or acquit the charges. The House ultimately acquitted him on both charges, and he finished out his second term in office.
