When Lewinsky told the president she wanted to move to New York, Clinton had an aide ask Richardson to interview Lewinsky for a U.N. job. Richardson, though he was absorbed by crises in Zaire and Iraq, called Lewinsky immediately, invited her for an interview, and hired her almost on the spot. Richardson denies that he was abnormally helpful to Lewinsky or that he knew she was Clinton's mistress. On the other hand, the American Spectator made a strong case that Richardson knew who Lewinsky was, went out of his way to help her, and lied to the grand jury about it. Either way, Clinton surely referred Lewinsky to Richardson because he knew Richardson could be trusted to help his buddy out of a jam without asking uncomfortable questions.