After the Supreme Court's decision, the parties started to gather the facts. The parties questioned relevant witnesses in depositions. They submitted written questions. They made requests for documents. Such questions can be uncomfortable, but they occur every day in courts and law offices around the country.
Individuals take an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
And no one is entitled to lie under oath simply because he or she does not like the questions or because he believes the case is frivolous or financially motivated or politically motivated. The Supreme Court has emphatically and repeatedly rejected the notion that there is ever a privilege to lie. During the fact-gathering process, Judge Susan Webber Wright followed the standard principles of sexual harassment cases. Over repeated objection from the president's attorneys, the judge permitted inquiries into the president's relationships with government employees. In making these rulings, Judge Wright recognized that the questions might prove embarrassing.