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September 21
Lewinsky: exact nature of affair with Clinton is unclear
1998: Clinton"s Grand Jury testimony released
England have
Bill Clinton"s testimony about his relationship with a young female
assistant has been released to the United States public.
The video of the American president"s 17 August interview in front of the
Grand Jury was taken to a television station at 0910 local time (1410 BST) and
broadcast immediately by many US networks.
During the examination President Clinton was questioned by prosecutors
about the exact nature of his affair with Monica Lewinsky - and whether he had
previously lied under oath.
The president"s defence against the accusations relied on elaborate
definitions of certain words.
The interview was originally taped on the insistence of the investigating
team for the benefit of a jury member who could not attend the hearing.
But members of the House of Representatives justified the release of the
tape by saying the public had the right to see all the evidence of the Starr
Report.
"It"s not a pretty sight... But the key thing we"ve all got to focus on is
what is the truth", said Charles Canady - a republican on the House Judicial
Committee.
A visibly uncomfortable President Clinton was forced to defend previous
statements about his affair with Miss Lewinsky by quibbling over the precise
definition of his words.
In particular he said "sexual relations" did not to him mean "sexual
intercourse" - which he denied having with the former White House intern.
Challenged later in the hearing, he argued the meaning of the smallest of
words contained in one of his lawyers" statements.
"It depends upon what the meaning of the word "is" is. If "is" means "is
and never has been" that"s one thing - if it means "there is none", that was a
completely true statement," he said.
The house at 144 Piccadilly has been occupied by squatters for the last six
days
1969: Police storm squat in Piccadilly
Artificially 1969: FilmTheTheAA Police have raided a mansion in Piccadilly
and evicted squatters who have occupied the building for the last six days.
It took just three minutes for the police to storm the 100-room building.
The first cordon of about 50 police officers had to cross a makeshift drawbridge
through a ground-floor window to get in.
As they ran forward, they were bombarded by water-filled plastic balls,
roof slates, stones, pieces of wood and iron bars thrown from the roof.
A second wave of police followed on, while others climbed over the
surrounding fences and walls using ladders.
The operation involved over 200 policemen - more than one for each of the
squatters left in the building.
There was little resistance once the police were inside, and within a
matter of minutes an officer signalled from the roof that all was under
control.
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said several weapons were found in the
building, including lead piping and a petrol bomb. He added that there were no
serious casualties.
The first civilian into the building was Graham Harris, the under-sheriff
of London.
"The place was in a mess," he said. "There was rubbish everywhere. People
had written on the walls and things like that."
The building at 144 Piccadilly, at Hyde Park Corner on the junction with
Park Lane, was taken over six days ago by the so-called London Street Commune,
who broke in in the middle of the night.
It is thought that up to 500 homeless people came to live inside the house
during the week, although most had gone before today"s raid.
A spokesman for the Commune, calling himself "Dr John", said the squatters
were attempting to establish a home for many of London"s homeless families.
Negotiations have been going on all week to allow the Commune to use part
of the building to carry out their plans to help the homeless, in return for
their peaceful departure.
But after the squatters ignored a High Court order issued four days ago
ordering them to get out, the police were brought in to evict them by force.
Vocabulary:
testimony : a solemn statement made under oath(证词)
quibble : to argue over petty things(诡辩)
evict: to force to move out by a legal process(驱逐)
cordon : a line or series of sentinels, or of military posts, inclosing or
guarding any place or thing(警戒线) |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:18:15