Kathleen Willey

Ms. Willey’s story involves three acts of misconducts by a U.S. President – alleged sexual assault, perjury and invasion of privacy.

On November 29, 1993, Kathleen Willey went to see President Clinton at the Oval Office.  She and her husband were long time supporters and volunteers for Clinton.  Now they were having substantial financial difficulties and she needed a job.  Just outside the Oval Office, Ms. Willey alleges that President Clinton made unwelcome, unexpected and inappropriate sexual advances.

Kathleen Willey’s husband, Edward Willey, Jr., committed suicide on November 29.  She now needed a job more than ever.  Given she had been a volunteer at the White House, the White House or a government job seemed her best prospect.  She went back to the White House and eventually obtained a part-time, paid position and continued to seek full-time employment.  She wrote several letters in an effort to obtain employment. These letters became part of the official White House Records and were protected by the Privacy Act.

In the fall of 1997, Paula Jones’ attorney sought out Ms. Willey as a witness in Ms. Jones sexual harassment case against Bill Clinton.  Despite intimidation, Ms. Willey’s deposition was taken on January 10, 1998.  She testified on March 10, 1998 before a Grand Jury empanelled by the Office of the Independent Counsel in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  At that time, the Independent Counsel was investigating charges of perjury, obstruction and other crimes by President Clinton in conjunction with the Paula Jones sexual harassment case.

On March 15, 1998 Kathleen Willey appeared on “60 Minutes” to tell what happened that day outside the Oval Office.  The very next day the White House publicly released some, but not all, of Ms. Willey’s letters to the President.  The purpose of which was to destroy the Ms. Willey’s name, credibility and reputation and to retaliate against her for having testified and spoken out against the President and to intimidate her from doing so again.

CASE STATUS

On March 29, 2000, as part of Judicial Watch’s Filegate Case, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled President Clinton committed a crime in violating the privacy rights of Kathleen Willey by obtaining and then releasing information from her Privacy Act-protected personnel file to admittedly destroy her reputation.

The case was appealed.   On May 26, 2000,  the D.C. Circuit Court let stand two early court rulings:

1)     The Privacy Act applies to the White House.

2)     Bill Clinton and his aides violated the Privacy Act when they authorized the release of her letters from government files.

CASE DOCUMENTS

• Mar 29, 2000 – U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rules President Clinton violated the privacy rights of Kathleen Willey by intentionally and illegally releasing letters from her government file.  View the decision.

• May 26, 2000 – D.C. Circuit Court upholds the lower court ruling.  View the decision.