President Clinton and his allies asked former president Gerald Ford to help them head off impeachment charges in 1998, according to a new book on Ford out last week. Ford did not think Clinton‘s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky rose to the level of impeachment. Ford told Clinton he would not work on his behalf unless Clinton admitted he lied under oath about the Lewinsky affair to a grand jury, the book by veteran journalist Thomas DeFrank says. “I won‘t do that," Clinton said, according to Ford. “I can‘t do that."
Off the record
Write It When I‘m Gone: Remarkable Off-The-Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford is based on talks Ford had starting in 1991 with DeFrank, Washington bureau chief for the New York Daily News. Ford agreed to talk on the condition that his comments not be used until after his death, which occurred in late December. DeFrank covered Ford for Newsweek, when Ford was vice president and president. Clinton‘s office did not respond to requests for comment. Gregory Craig, an attorney who represented Clinton on the impeachment charges, said the legal team reached out to both Ford and former president Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. “I‘m not sure I know exactly who talked to whom," Craig said. DeFrank‘s book also includes Ford‘s comments about Richard Nixon, whose resignation elevated Ford to the White House; Ronald Reagan, whom Ford beat for the 1976 Republican presidential nomination; and Vice President Cheney, who served as Ford‘s chief of staff. “Any competitive reporter would prefer to use his best stuff right away,Ž DeFrank said Sunday. “In this case, I though I‘d get more candor from Ford with this arrangement.Ž According to the book, veteran Democratic operative Robert Strauss called Ford at the behest of the Clinton White House and asked if the Republican would be willing to testify for Clinton at impeachment hearings in the Republicanrun House Judiciary Committee. Clinton‘s legal team had read an Oct. 4, 1998, column by Ford in which the former president proposed that Clinton appear before the House and accept a “harshly worded rebuke.Ž
No real discussion
Ford, a former House GOP leader, declined. “Can you imagine me, a longtime House Republican, testifying for Bill Clinton before a Republican House?" Ford told DeFrank. Strauss could not be reached for comment. The House impeached Clinton on Dec. 19, 1998. Two days later, Ford and Carter co-wrote a piece for The New York Times urging Clinton‘s censure in lieu of a Senate trial. Shortly thereafter, Ford said he received a call from then-White House counsel Charles Ruff, asking if he would do more. Ford said he told the now-deceased Ruff, “The only way I would do anything else is if Clinton admitted he‘d lied under oath.Ž Ruff told Ford, “He will never do that,Ž according to the book. Clinton made his own pitch to Ford later. “He said he really needed my help,Ž Ford told DeFrank. The two presidents never discussed exactly what Ford might do. “We never got past the crucial question,Ž Ford told DeFrank.
