Book: Lewinsky claims Clinton lied to jury

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A new book quotes one-time White House intern Monica Lewinsky as saying former U.S. President Bill Clinton lied about their relationship under oath.

In the upcoming book, "The Death of American Virtue," author Ken Gormley writes that Lewinsky now believes Clinton lied about their relationship during his grand jury testimony, the Washington publication Politico reported Friday.

"There was no leeway (there) on the veracity of his statements because they asked him detailed and specific questions to which he answered untruthfully," Lewinsky reportedly wrote to Gormley earlier this year.

Clinton on Aug. 17, 1998, testified to a grand jury called by special prosecutor Kenneth Starr via closed circuit television from the White House, later that evening making a televised address to the nation about the testimony during which he admitted he had a "not appropriate" relationship with Lewinsky, but insisting that he never directed anyone to lie about it.

Politico says Gormley also gives a harsh assessment of Starr, reportedly characterizing him as a man out of his depth. The book, it said, would give ammunition to Starr critics who say his investigation was compromised from the beginning.