Clinton also said, "there is not a sexual relationship, an improper sexual relationship or any other kind of improper relationship"[6] which he defended as truthful on 17 August 1998 hearing because of the use of the present tense, famously arguing "it depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is"[7] (i.e., he was not, at the time he made that statement, still having a sexual relationship with Lewinsky). Under pressure from Starr, who as Clinton learned had obtained from Lewinsky a blue dress with Clinton's semen stain, as well as testimony from Lewinsky that the President had inserted a lit cigar into her vagina, Clinton admitted that he lied to the American people and that he had had "inappropriate intimate contact" with Lewinsky. Clinton denied having committed perjury because, according to Clinton, the legal definition[8] of oral sex was mutually exclusive of "sex" per se. Clinton's insistence on the alleged distinction drew criticism from both political parties.
In addition, relying upon the definition of "sexual relations" as proposed by the prosecution and agreed by the defense and by Judge Susan Webber Wright, who was hearing the Paula Jones case, Clinton claimed that because certain acts were performed on him, not by him, he did not engage in sexual relations. Lewinsky's testimony to the Starr Commission, however, contradicted Clinton's claim of being totally passive in their encounters. Clinton's lawyer later argued that different people can remember the same events in different ways.
I had no idea the cigar was lit, thats gotta hurt
