I am going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.

Bill Clinton made this statement during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, when allegations surfaced that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with Lewinsky, a former White House intern. The remark was delivered in a brief, highly publicized exchange with reporters at the White House on January 26, 1998, as Clinton sought to deny the accusations and contain the political fallout. The denial became a defining sound bite of his presidency, preceding subsequent investigations, his later admission of an “inappropriate relationship,” and the impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives later in 1998.

The quote is a categorical public denial framed for maximum clarity and media repetition. Its emphatic structure (“I am going to say this again”) signals an attempt to project certainty and finality, while the formal phrasing (“that woman, Miss Lewinsky”) creates distance and reduces intimacy. Historically, its significance lies less in its literal wording than in how it illustrates the dynamics of political crisis management: a president using a carefully bounded definition of “sexual relations” and the authority of the office to shape public perception. In retrospect, the line became emblematic of the scandal’s themes of credibility, legal parsing, and the gap between private conduct and public accountability.

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
“I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.”
“There is not a sexual relationship, an improper sexual relationship, or any other kind of improper relationship.”