Betty Currie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Betty Currie (born Betty Grace Williams November 10, 1939) is the former personal secretary for Bill Clinton (during his tenure as President of the United States). She became well-known as a figure in the Lewinsky scandal for her alleged handling of gifts given to Monica Lewinsky by President Clinton.

[edit] Life

Currie was born in Edwards, Mississippi and moved to Waukegan, Illinois as a child. She worked in the clerical field at the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois. She later moved to Washington, DC and worked at the Navy Department, the Postal Service, US Agency for International Development, the Peace Corps, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Currie's rise in the government bureaucracy began when Joseph Blatchford became Peace Corps Director in 1969 and needed a new secretary. "The job was a crucial one. I had 10,000 people spread out over 68 countries, and I needed a reliable, efficient person," he says. "I didn't ask if she was a Republican or Democrat. I wasn't interested because she was so good." Currie stayed with Blatchford when he moved to ACTION, the federal agency that ran the Peace Corps, and she stayed there through three directors, Blatchford, Balzano, and Brown, building her own network among the people who sit just outside the big corner offices.[1] Her association with the Peace Corps has continued with her appointment to the Board of Directors of the National Peace Corps Association in 2006.[2]

After retiring from government service, she ran offices for the Mondale and Dukakis Presidential campaigns and later joined the Clinton campaign where she worked with James Carville in the famous "War Room" in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Following Bill Clinton’s 1992 election to the presidency, she was chosen to serve as his personal secretary in the White House. She served through both of Clinton’s terms. In this capacity, she coordinated the President’s communications, including phone calls, letters, e-mails, coordinating appointments and greeted all visitors. Meeting heroes like Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks compensated for the long hours. Described by colleagues as truthful, she still retains her association with the Clinton family.

Currie, now finally retired, lives in suburban Maryland, in St. Mary's county, with her husband and Socks, Chelsea Clinton’s White House cat. She has a grown daughter.

She was recently appointed to the Alcohol Beverage Board of St. Mary's County Maryland, serving at her first meeting on Thursday April 10, 2008. "Alcohol Beverage Board of St. Mary's County Homepage". 

[edit] Lewinsky Scandal

Currie testified in front of the grand jury responsible for the perjury investigation in relation to Clinton's statement in the Paula Jones case. Lewinsky had testified that Currie had arranged a meeting at Lewinsky's apartment to pick up gifts given to her by Clinton, showed up at her Watergate apartment and said, "I believe you have something for me." Currie denied this charge and claimed that Lewinsky had arranged the meeting. Whoever instigated the meeting, Currie took the gifts in question home and stored them under her bed. The gifts included a brooch, T shirt from Martha's Vineyard, Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, and a hat pin. Lewinsky gave Clinton about 30 gifts; the poetry book was of interest as Bill had given a copy to Hillary also. The gifts were picked up after Jones' lawyers had subpoenaed them. She testified on January 27, May 6, May 7, May 14, and July 22. Currie revealed that Clinton had recently called her in to work on a Sunday and pointedly said to her, regarding Lewinsky and himself, "We were never alone, right?" among other leading questions. This, added to similar incidents involving other potential witnesses, led to Clinton's subsequent impeachment charge of obstruction of justice. Currie was not one of the four witnesses who gave video depositions during the Senate trial.

She also had asked Clinton's friend Vernon Jordan to help Lewinsky find a job on December 8, 1997. On January 18, 1998, she spoke with Clinton and they compared their memories about the Lewinsky situation.

During the scandal, it was also reported by the Washington Post that Currie was receiving counseling from Jesse Jackson.

[edit] External links - Ref.

• The HistoryMakers: Betty Currie
• [3] Washington Post Caught Between Loyalty and Principle, Sunday, October 4, 1998; Page A1
• [4] NY Times THE PRESIDENT'S TRIAL: THE DEPOSITION; Hearing Lewinsky on the Affidavit, the Job, the Gifts (but Not the Sex) February 1, 1999, National Desk, Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 20, Column 1
• [5] CNN Sources: Lewinsky Sent Gifts Back To White House, Sunday February 15, 1998
• [6] CNN Will The Secretary Stick To The Script? March 16, 1998