"I have asked my attorneys to participate actively, but the fact that there is a legal defense to the various allegations cannot obscure the hard truth, as I have said repeatedly, that my conduct was wrong.

It was also wrong to mislead people about what happened and I deeply regret that.

For me, this long ago ceased to be primarily a legal or political issue and became instead a painful personal one, demanding atonement and daily work toward reconciliation and restoration of trust with my family, my friends, my administration and the American people. I hope these answers will contribute to a speedy and fair resolution of this matter.

Question 25. Do you admit or deny that on or about December 28, 1997, you expressed concern to Monica Lewinsky about a hatpin you had given to her as a gift which had been subpoenaed in the case of Jones v. Clinton?

Answer: As I told the grand jury, "Ms Lewinsky said something to me like, what if they ask me about the gifts you've given me," ... but I do not know whether that conversation occurred on December 28, 1997, or earlier. ... Whenever this conversation occurred, I testified, I told her "that if they asked her for gifts, she'd have to give them whatever she had. ..."... I simply was not concerned about the fact that I had given her gifts. ... Indeed, I gave her additional gifts on December 28, 1997.

Question 48. Do you admit or deny that on January 18, 1998, at or about 6:11 a.m., you learned of the existence of tapes of conversations between Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp recorded by Linda Tripp?

Answer: I did not know on January 18, 1998 that tapes existed of conversations between Ms Lewinsky and Ms Tripp recorded by Ms Tripp.

At some point on Sunday, January 18, 1998, I knew about the Drudge Report. I understand that while the report talked about tapes of phone conversations, it did not identify Ms Lewinsky by name and did not mention Ms Tripp at all.

The report did not state who the parties to the conversations were or who taped the conversations.

Question 52. Do you admit or deny that on January 18, 1998, at or about 5:00 p.m., you had a meeting with Betty Currie at which you made statements similar to any of the following regarding your relationship with Monica Lewinsky? a. "You were always there when she was there, right? We were never really alone." b. "You could see and hear everything." c. "Monica came on to me, and I never touched her, right?" d. "She wanted to have sex with me and I couldn't do that."

Answer: When I met with Ms Currie, I believe that I asked her certain question in an effort to get as much information as quickly as I could and make certain statements although I do not remember exactly what I said. ...

Some time later, I learned that the Office of Independent Counsel was involved and that Ms Currie was going to have to testify before the grand jury.

After learning this, I stated in my grand jury testimony, I told Ms Currie, "Just relax, go in there and tell the truth."

Answers to Questions 62-68: As I have previously acknowledged, I did not want my family, friends, or colleagues to know the full nature of my relationship with Ms Lewinsky.

In the days following the January 21, 1998, Washington Post article, I misled people about this relationship. I have repeatedly apologized for doing so.

Question 80: Do you admit or deny that you made false and misleading public statements in response to a question asked on or about January 26, 1998, when you stated "... I never told anybody to lie, not a single time. Never"?