I'm trying to find a transcript of the Q&A testimony that Clinton gave
during Monicagate where he answered "It depends on what the definition
of the word 'is' is" or some variation thereof.  I tried Googling it,
but, not surprisingly, all the hits are pages making fun of him for
saying it.  I assume it's not confidential or the infamous "is" quote
wouldn't have leaked out.

bennetthaselton,

I found the transcript for you:

Scroll down to the red:
http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:3pMO43mOTgoJ:mediamatters.org/items/200604120006+Clinton+Speech+Transcripts+%22definition+of+is+is%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=6
..."Similarly, after characterizing Clinton as "a president who once
argued it depends on what the definition of 'is' is" -- a reference to
Clinton's semantic defense of himself during an August 17, 1998,
deposition relating to the Lewinsky affair..."
 
Here is a scan of the deposition from August 17, 1998 --referenced above:
http://www.cnn.com/icreport/report/volume3/volume373.html
You need to click through all the pages to read it in full.
 
And here's the index page with all the Ken Starr documents:
http://www.cnn.com/icreport/report/index.html


Also, another source for you: my esteemed college Pinkfreud has
pointed me to a similar question she answered in January 2005:

Subject: clinton, lewenski investigation 
http://www.answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=464702


Hope this helps~


~~Cynthia


Search terms:
Clinton Speech Transcripts "definition of is is"

Exactly what I was looking for, thanks!

Here's yet another online copy of the transcript that I find a bit
easier to work with than the CNN version:


http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/transcr.htm


======
BY MR. WISENBERG:

Q Mr. President, I want to, before I go into a new subject area,
briefly go over something you were talking about with Mr. Bittman.

The statement of your attorney, Mr. Bennett, at the Paula Jones
deposition, "Counsel is fully aware" -- it's page 54, line 5 ?
"Counsel is fully aware that Ms. Lewinsky has filed, has an affidavit
which they are in possession of saying that there is absolutely no sex
of any kind in any manner, shape or form, with President Clinton..

That statement is made by your attorney in front of Judge Susan Webber
Wright, correct?

A That's correct. 

Q That statement is a completely false statement. Whether or not Mr.
Bennett knew of your relationship with Ms. Lewinsky, the statement
that there was "no sex of any kind in any manner, shape or form, with
President Clinton," was an utterly false statement. Is that correct?

A It depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is. If the ?if he ?
if "is" means is and never has been, that is not--- that is one thing.
If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement.

But, as I have testified, and I'd like to testify again, this is -- it
is somewhat unusual for a client to be asked about his lawyer's
statements, instead of the other way around. I was not paying a great
deal of attention to this exchange. I was focusing on my own
testimony.

And if you go back and look at the sequence of this, you will see that
the Jones lawyers decided that this was going to be the Lewinsky
deposition, not the Jones deposition. And, given the facts of their
case, I can understand why they made that decision. But that is not
how I prepared for it. That is not how I was thinking about it.

And I am not sure, Mr. Wisenberg, as I sit here today, that I sat
there and followed all these interchanges between the lawyers. I'm
quite sure that I didn't follow all the interchanges between the
lawyers all that carefully. And I don't really believe, therefore,
that I can say Mr. Bennett's testimony or statement is testimony and
is imputable to me. I didn't -- I don't know that I was even paying
that much attention to it.

=====

wow... up until now I had only read the comments making fun of him,
like everything else that is taken out of context this too sounded
preposterous. I should've taken the time to look for this info instead
of just accepting what critics were saying.

Good question, thanx for posting it.

Live and learn.

Elids, don't forget that the accusation was not that Clinton had a
current affair with Monica, but that an affair did occur.  Clinton's
lawyer was completely aware of that at the time of the statement so
either he was purposefully very misleading or outright lied in his
comments.

Clinton was also fully aware of this so he was either purposefully
very misleading or outright lied in his defense of his attorney's
statements.  The definition of "is" was not in question because
everyone knew that the question at hand was a previous affair, not a
current affair.  So Clinton was the only one trying to define "is".

Thanks paf, I used the first one I found..