--- title: Monica Lewinsky Has Thoughts About How the Mueller Report Was Handled description: The privacy of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report has led Monica Lewinsky to voice her frustrations with the Starr Report on Twitter. canonical: https://time.com/5559579/monica-lewinsky-mueller-report-tweet/ author: Rachel E. Greenspan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-27T16:56:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:26:30.986Z og:title: Monica Lewinsky Has Thoughts About How the Mueller Report Was Handled Compared to Starr's og:description: Starr's public report created a media frenzy surrounding Lewinksy og:url: https://time.com/5559579/monica-lewinsky-mueller-report-tweet/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4d30914bfb40e0e/69894761b3fce372690c35c5/monica-lewinsky-tweet-ken-starr-mueller-report.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Monica Lewinsky Has Thoughts About How the Mueller Report Was Handled Compared to the Starr Report og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Monica Lewinsky Has Thoughts About How the Mueller Report Was Handled Compared to Starr's twitter:description: Starr's public report created a media frenzy surrounding Lewinksy twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4d30914bfb40e0e/69894761b3fce372690c35c5/monica-lewinsky-tweet-ken-starr-mueller-report.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Monica Lewinsky Has Thoughts About How the Mueller Report Compares to the Starr Report > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=9ab70c62-9a5d-4a04-816c-7cfa286460e9&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A Visual Timeline of the Monica Lewinsky Scandal [Watch (HLS stream): A Visual Timeline of the Monica Lewinsky Scandal](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HPrA9SSS.m3u8) (4:55)  _Published 2018-05-04. In 1998, Americans were divided over Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern. In the 20 years since, those feelings have only grown more complicated._ by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Mar 27, 2019 4:56 PM UTC In 1998, Americans were divided over Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern. In the 20 years since, those feelings have only grown more complicated. by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Mar 27, 2019 4:56 PM UTC [Monica Lewinsky](http://time.com/5358549/monica-lewinsky-testimony-clinton-trump-metoo/) has some opinions on the difference between the way Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report was handled and how Ken Starr handled his. [Lewinsky](http://time.com/5130921/monica-lewinsky-now/), whose affair with then-President Bill Clinton while she was a White House intern helped lead to [Clinton’s impeachment proceedings](http://time.com/5120561/bill-clinton-monica-lewinsky-timeline/), has spent decades [fighting to defend herself](http://time.com/5553345/john-oliver-monica-lewinsky-last-week-tonight/) to the public. On Wednesday, the anti-bullying activist shared a tweet from a University of Southern California law professor who compared the actions of Starr, the independent counsel who investigated Clinton’s alleged affair with Lewinsky, with those of Mueller. “Imagine if the Starr Report had been provided only to President Clinton’s Attorney General, Janet Reno, who then read it privately and published a 4-page letter based on her private reading stating her conclusion that President Clinton committed no crimes,” Orin Kerr’s tweet read. Lewinsky’s colorful response says a lot more than the three words she used. > [](https://twitter.com/MonicaLewinsky/status/1110768987539791872) Lewinsky’s fame came in no small part because Starr shared his investigative report in full with the public in 1998 – on the internet, no less — despite salacious details of Lewinsky’s affair with Clinton. The wide readership of Starr’s report led Lewinsky to become the punchline of jokes on television_,_ the subject of [scrutiny](https://pagesix.com/2014/10/20/monica-lewinsky-i-was-in-love-with-president-clinton/) on broadcast news and print media and a [common topic of conversation](http://time.com/92989/monica-lewinsky-slut-shaming-feminists-media-apology/) among the American public. Last week when Mueller completed his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump, he delivered the report only to Attorney General William Barr. Barr then outlined Mueller’s findings [in a four-page letter to Congress](http://time.com/5557808/mueller-report-full-letter/) stating that there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges against the [President](http://time.com/5557878/mueller-report-barr-trump-politics/). Though Lewinsky suggests her life would have been very different if the Starr report had been handled the same way Mueller’s report was, many [Democrats are pushing](http://time.com/5558581/house-chairs-mueller-report-release/) for Muller’s investigation to be released in full. [Democrats](http://time.com/5558600/mueller-report-democrats-agenda/) across six House committees have demanded that the full report be shared with Congress before April 2 and senators including Elizabeth Warren have taken to social media to demand the report be shared with the country. > [](https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1109203487278141440) ## Transcript In 1998, Americans were divided over Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern. Here's a guide to how it happened. In 1994, former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones sued Bill Clinton for sexual harassment, arguing that he propositioned her when he was governor. A legal group working on the case in 1998 received an anonymous tip that the president had a relationship with the Lewinsky and intern first chief of staff that piqued their interest, since it could be used to argue this was a pattern of behavior. On January 7th, 1998, the Lewinsky filed a sworn affidavit in the Jones lawsuit saying she had never had a relationship with Clinton, but she did not know that a close friend, Linda Tripp, had been keeping conversations with her about the affair. Five days after the affidavit was filed, Tripp gave independent counsel Kenneth Starr, 20 hours of taped phone calls. Starr had been investigating the Clintons of a real estate venture known as Whitewater, but the recordings allowed him to get permission on January 16th to investigate whether Lewinsky had lied under oath in a deposition in the Jones suit the next day. Clinton denied the affair as well. This turned out to be a key moment of his presidency. That same day, online news outlet The Drudge Report published a story claiming that Newsweek was sitting on a story about Clinton's affair with an intern. It later published another story that Lewinsky had a blue cocktail dress with Clinton's bodily fluids on it. Clinton again denied the affair, this time on nationally broadcast television, saying, I. Did not have sexual relations with that woman. Ms.. Lewinsky. On January 27th, Hillary Clinton echoed the denial, arguing in an interview on the Today Show that the charges came from a vast. Right wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president. As the month drew to a close, a federal judge ruled that the Jones lawyers could not look into the Lewinsky claim as part of their lawsuit. But the Starr investigation continued on a separate path. In early February, Lewinsky's mother appeared before a grand jury. She had been suspected of encouraging her daughter to lie to Jones's lawyers. After three days of questioning, Starr granted her immunity in exchange for handing over the blue dress. As the summer began, the July issue of Vanity Fair appeared on newsstands featuring glamor shots of Lewinsky, a PR decision that was harshly criticized. On July 27, Lewinsky met with Starr's prosecutors in New York City, and they announced an immunity deal for her the next day. Clinton then agreed to testify before the grand jury voluntarily. In August, the president provided a blood sample to compare his DNA to the stains in the blue dress. That night, Lewinsky and Clinton testified to the grand jury with the president's testimony taken by closed circuit TV. He admitted to inappropriate intimate contact, but also said that he had given accurate testimony previously. Famously quibbling over the definition of is. Later that evening, he spoke to the nation in a televised address. In a deposition in January, I was asked questions about my relationship with Monica Lewinsky. While my answers were legally accurate. I did not volunteer their information. Indeed, I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact. It was wrong. The next month, Congress received two copies of Stars 445 page report on the investigation and supporting evidence. The Star Report, along with transcripts of Lewinsky trips, were later released to the public. On October eight, the House of Representatives voted to begin an impeachment inquiry. Despite the controversy and the impeachment, President Clinton remained popular in polls and Hillary Clinton saw her poll numbers rise as well. During the midterm elections in November, Democrats did unusually drop in mid-November. Clinton settled the sexual harassment lawsuit with Jones, which he kickstarted the scandal, paying her $850,000 and admitting nothing. During the lame duck session of Congress in the summer 19th, the House voted to impeach Clinton and to charges that he committed perjury in his August 17 federal grand jury testimony and that he prevented, obstructed and impeded the administration of justice. As 1999 open, the Senate began its constitutionally mandated impeachment trial with the Supreme Court's chief justice presiding for February 1213 months after the scandal began. The Senate voted to acquit Clinton on both charges. The respondent, William Jefferson Clinton, president of the United States, is not guilty as charged. Later that day. Clinton apologized to the American public in an address from the White House. I want to say again to the American people how profoundly sorry I am for what I said and did to trigger these events and the great burden they have imposed on the Congress and on the American people. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5559579/monica-lewinsky-mueller-report-tweet/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5559579/monica-lewinsky-mueller-report-tweet/"},"headline":"Monica Lewinsky Has Thoughts About How the Mueller Report Compares to the Starr Report","datePublished":"2019-03-27T16:56:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-13T08:26:30.986Z","description":"Starr's public report created a media frenzy surrounding Lewinksy","url":"https://time.com/5559579/monica-lewinsky-mueller-report-tweet/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Congress","viral","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4d30914bfb40e0e/69894761b3fce372690c35c5/monica-lewinsky-tweet-ken-starr-mueller-report.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel E. 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