White House Releases Letters

In letters to President Clinton written after a White House encounter she now says amounted to an unwelcome sexual advance, Kathleen Willey requests jobs, a Christmas party invitation and refers to herself as his “No. 1 fan.”

The letters, many of which are signed off “Fondly, Kathleen,” were released today by the White House. Aides hope the letters, friendly in tone, undercut her contention that Clinton betrayed her trust in the Nov. 29, 1993 encounter.

She wrote 15 letters to Clinton and left at least 12 telephone messages for him after the meeting.

Less than a month after the encounter, Willey wrote Clinton to wish him “a wonderful” first Christmas in the White House. “Thank you for the opportunity to work in this great house,” she wrote.

Willey, who had visited Clinton Nov. 29 in search of a job, added in that first note that her New Year’s resolution would be “pursuit of a meaningful job - I hope it will be here.”

In the most recent note, Willey complained to Clinton’s personal assistant, Nancy Hernreich, about not being invited to a Christmas party at the White House.

“We were promised faithfully by the DNC that we would be included in one of the White House’s Christmas parties,” she writes, requesting an invitation to a 1997 Christmas party. “Somehow, we slipped through the cracks and were never included.”

That letter was written just weeks before her deposition that accused Clinton of an improper sexual advance.

The White House said it had released all the letters it could find.

Willey also writes to:

Congratulate Clinton on a 1995 speech, which she called one of his “many shining moments.”

Boost his spirits in December 1994. “Take heart in knowing that your No. 1 fan thinks of you every day …” Request an ambassadorship and a spot on an international conference. She is given the conference assignment.

Request a job on his 1996 campaign.

Thank him for his help over the years. “I want you to know how very, very much I appreciate all that you and Nancy have done to help me.”

Invite Clinton to her child’s engagement party.