WI Clinton admits a sexual relationship with Lewinsky

Eurofed

Banned
Let's assume that during the Paula Jones trial, Clinton realizes that his best course is to admit having a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, and does so to the grand jury. What would the outcome be ? Although there would still be some moralistic backlash about his adultery, he would avoid the real politically damning mark of lying, and the Congressional Republicans would lack any decent legal basis for impeachment.

Could this mean that a) Clinton acts more forcefully against Al-Quaeda in 1998 b) holds a more aggressive strategy vs. Serbia in the Kosovo War or c) Gore wins the 2000 election ?
 
For one thing, this wouldn't halt the demands from some Republicans for his impeachment. Some were proposing his impeachment long before people had heard of Monica Lewinsky.
In regards to your questions:
A-Al Quaida: In OTL, almost all the Cabinet (including Republican William cohen) favored action against Sudan. (Janet Reno was the exception.) Of course, Republicans could play politics with this one, as they did.
B-Kosovo: See above for the playing of politics.
C-There are plenty of other Clinton scandals, including Campaign Financing. (Though, in 1996, Dole's campaign broke the law too...)
Finally, if a Republican really wanted to impeach Clinton he could always bring up Clinton's stated justification for Desert Fox, and contrast that with Hussein Kamil's 1995 statement that Iraq had no WMD, since Kamil had them destroyed...
 

Eurofed

Banned
For one thing, this wouldn't halt the demands from some Republicans for his impeachment. Some were proposing his impeachment long before people had heard of Monica Lewinsky.
In regards to your questions:
A-Al Quaida: In OTL, almost all the Cabinet (including Republican William cohen) favored action against Sudan. (Janet Reno was the exception.) Of course, Republicans could play politics with this one, as they did.
B-Kosovo: See above for the playing of politics.
C-There are plenty of other Clinton scandals, including Campaign Financing. (Though, in 1996, Dole's campaign broke the law too...)
Finally, if a Republican really wanted to impeach Clinton he could always bring up Clinton's stated justification for Desert Fox, and contrast that with Hussein Kamil's 1995 statement that Iraq had no WMD, since Kamil had them destroyed...

Extremist Republicans may still try to bring up pretexts for impeachment, but without a justification barely as good as the perjury, they would be exposed to severe backlash from the public. If the GOP radicals push for a totally spurious impeachment, the Republicans could easily lose the Congress in 1998. As it concerns them playing politics about Al-Quaeda and Kosovo, it remains to be seen how much the public mood would allow them to do so, without a President substantially weakened by Sexgate.
 
If the admission is instead of the coverup then the scandal is greatly reduced, it would indeed then just be sex

However, perversely since the push for an investigation and the following impeachment were precieved as unfairly partisan this could result in having the Republicans gain ground in the Congress during the off year election (as normal instead of the unusual loss).

Mmmm, a Republican congress forces Clinton to work with Congress more like in his first term.

Lots of butterflies for the election. Gore of course is the Dem nominee but the GOP?

Have to totally review the field of the time again.
 
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