Move On
In 1998, Congress weighed whether Juanita Broaddrick’s rape accusation against Bill Clinton was grounds for impeachment.
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Episode Notes
Juanita Broaddrick told Ken Starr’s team of prosecutors that Bill Clinton had raped her in 1978. Her story wasn’t included in the Starr Report—but members of Congress found out about it anyway and had to decide how it would affect its vote on impeachment.
In the final episode of our series on Clinton’s impeachment, Leon Neyfakh talks to Broaddrick and to Lisa Myers, the NBC News reporter whose interview with Broaddrick became a cause célèbre during the impeachment trial. What does it mean that Broaddrick’s story has never really become a part of Bill Clinton’s?
The last two episodes of this season are available only to Slate Plus subscribers. You can sign up by going to slate.com/slowburn. It’s only $15 for your first three months.
Read a transcript of Episode 8.
A Slow Burn reading list: The eight books host Leon Neyfakh and his tireless researcher depended on the most.
Slow Burn Live: Highlights from a series of live tapings of the podcast. Leon is joined by Ruth Marcus, Rick Perlstein, and others to explore lingering questions about the Clinton legacy.
Notes on Episode 8
In researching this episode we made use of the following sources.
Books
Baker, Peter. The Breach, Scribner, 2000.
Broaddrick, Juanita and Lulli, Nick. You’d Better Put Some Ice on That, CreateSpace, 2017.
Conason, Joe and Lyons, Gene. The Hunting of the President, Thomas Dunne Books, 2001.
Gormley, Ken. The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr, Crown/Archetype, 2010.
Kornacki, Steve. The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism, Ecco, 2018.
Schippers, David and Henry, Alan P. Sellout: The Inside Story of President Clinton’s Impeachment, Regnery, 2001.
Schmidt, Susan and Weisskopf, Michael. Truth at Any Cost, HarperCollins, 2000.
Sheehy, Gail. Hillary’s Choice, Random House, 1999.
The Starr Report, the Washington Post, 1998.
Toobin, Jeffrey. A Vast Conspiracy, Random House, 1999.
Film, TV and Radio
Goodman, Barak and Durrance, Chris. American Experience: Clinton, PBS, 2012.
Myers, Lisa. “Interview With Juanita Broaddrick,” Dateline, NBC, 1999.
Articles
“Affidavit of Jane Doe #5,” Washington Post, March 30, 1998.
“Allegation of Rape by Clinton Aired,” Chicago Tribune, Feb. 25, 1999.
Barringer, Felicity and Firestone, David. “On Tortuous Route, Sexual Assault Accusation Against Clinton Resurfaces,” New York Times, Feb. 24, 1999.
Baker, Katie J.M., “Juanita Broaddrick Wants to Be Believed,” BuzzFeed News, Aug. 14, 2016.
Baker, Peter and Dewar, Helen. “The Senate Acquits President Clinton,” Washington Post, Feb. 13, 1999.
Baker, Peter and Eilperin, Juliet. “Clinton Impeached,” Washington Post, Dec. 20, 1998.
Baker, Peter and Eilperin, Juliet. “GOP Blocks House Censure Alternative,” Washington Post, Dec. 13, 1998.
Baker, Peter and Eilperin, Juliet. “House Panel Passes 3 Impeachment Articles,” Washington Post, Dec. 12, 1998.
Baker, Peter and Romano, Lois. “Another Clinton Accuser Goes Public,” Washington Post, Feb. 20, 1999.
Baker, Peter and Sun, Lena H. “Starr Seeks Records From Jones Team on Four Women,” Washington Post, March 26, 1998.
“Committee Profiles,” Washington Post, Dec. 11, 1998.
Dao, James. “The Moderates: Undecided Members Tilt Toward Impeachment,” New York Times, Dec. 13, 1998.
Douglass, Linda and Vargas, Elizabeth. “New Allegations Against Clinton In Jones Case,” ABC News, March 28, 1998.
Drudge, Matt. “NBC Holding Interview with ‘Jane Doe’; White House Pressure Has Network Brass on Pause, Say Sources,” Drudge Report, Jan. 26, 1999.
Goldstein, Amy. “2,000 Jam Shays’s Meeting,” Washington Post, Dec. 16, 1998.
Holland, Keating. “Poll: Most Believe Media Should Lay Off Broaddrick Allegation,” CNN, March 1, 1999.
Hutzler, Alexandra. “Juanita Broaddrick Slams #MeToo,” Newsweek, Sept. 19, 2018.
Jensen, Elizabeth and Lowry, Brian. “Huge Ratings for Lewinsky,” Los Angeles Times, March 5, 1999.
Kurtz, Howard. “Clinton Accuser’s Story Aired,” Washington Post, Feb. 25, 1999.
Kurtz, Howard. “Larry Flynt and the Barers of Bad News,” Washington Post, Dec. 20, 1998.
Kurtz, Howard. “Others Fair Game for Scandal in Wake of Affair,” Washington Post, Sept. 11, 1998.
Marcus, Ruth. “Livingston Wants House Vote on Impeachment,” Washington Post, Nov. 23, 1998.
Nagourney, Adam. “Hillary Clinton Elected to Senate From New York,” New York Times, Nov. 8, 2000.
Pazniokas, Mark. “Shays Listens as the Public Talks,” Hartford Courant, Dec. 16, 1998.
Pianin, Eric. “Livingston Quits as Speaker-Designate,” Washington Post, Dec. 20, 1998.
Rabinowitz, Dorothy. “Juanita Broaddrick Meets the Press,” Wall Street Journal, Feb. 19, 1999.
Remez, Michael. “Shays, Clinton Belatedly Meet, but Talk Is Anti-Climactic,” Hartford Courant, Dec. 19, 1998.
Saad, Lydia. “Admiration for Hillary Clinton Surges in 1998,” Gallup, Dec. 31, 1998.
Sammon, Bill and Murray, Frank. “The Clinton Story That’s Too Hot to Handle,” Washington Times, Feb. 4, 1999.
Spong, John. “Number One With a Bullet,” Texas Monthly, Oct. 2007.
“The Yoakum Letter,” Washington Post, March 28, 1998.
Weiss, Philip. “NBC’s Vetting of Juanita Broaddrick: Clinton’s Accuser Discusses Agonizing Weeks as NBC Dragged It Out,” New York Observer, April 12, 1999.
Season Two of Slow Burn was produced by Leon Neyfakh and Andrew Parsons. Research assistance from Madeline Kaplan. Bonus episodes for the season were produced by Jeff Friedrich and Mary Wilson.
