The REAL American Crime Story: Watch Reporters Grill Bill Clinton After Kathleen Willey Interview

The first episode of Impeachment: American Crime Story features the sexual misconduct incident alleged by Kathleen Willey — an allegation that then-President Bill Clinton was grilled about the day after Willey recounted it in a blockbuster interview.

The real-life underpinnings of the hit FX series — this season of which delves into the events surrounding the impeachment of Bill Clinton — give viewers the opportunity to follow along at home with the public trove of actual footage from the time period.

In this case, travel back with us to the morning after Willey detailed accusations against the president in an exclusive 60 Minutes interview, telling Ed Bradley that the president assaulted her in the White House in 1993.

And so it was that the president’s run-of-the-mill March 16, 1998 education roundtable in a school library turned into a high-stakes grilling.

Minutes after his speech to students and staff at Springbrook High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, the President convened a roundtable that quickly turned into a short, snappy inquisition by Sam Donaldson and other reporters:

Q. Mr. President, Kathleen Willey says that you made unwanted sexual advances toward her, and that directly contradicts your testimony. You can’t both be telling the truth, can you?

The President. Well, I don’t know what she said, because I didn’t see the interview last night. But I can tell you this: Ever since this story came out months ago—and as you know, the story has been in three different incarnations—I have said that nothing improper happened. I told the truth then. I told the truth in the deposition.

I am mystified and disappointed by this turn of events. But it’s been out there for several months, as well as conflicting stories from people who have discussed it with her. You’ll have to find the answer to that riddle somewhere else. But I can just tell you that I have done everything I could do to clarify the situation. I have a very clear memory of the meeting, and I told the truth.

Q. Mr. President, do you stand by your full deposition—[inaudible]—in the Paula Jones case? And should that serve as your explanation to the American people of what went on—[inaudible]?

The President. I certainly stand by the deposition.

Q. Will you make a further explanation to the American people, as you suggested you would when this story first broke?

The President. Well, I did suggest that, but that was before the deposition was illegally released, and it basically states my position. Whether and what else will be said I think is something that we’ll have to deal with in the future, depending on how circumstances unfold.

Then-Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan then came to Clinton’s rescue, cutting in to say “Mr. President, could I suggest that we get on with the important topic of what our children are going to be doing in the next century in science and math?”

The panel erupted in applause, and a grateful Clinton reportedly gave Riordan a pat on the back.

Watch above via C-Span.