Betty Currie
Betty Grace Currie (born November 10, 1939) is an American civil servant who served as personal secretary to President Bill Clinton throughout his administration from 1993 to 2001. [1][2]
Positioned at a desk immediately outside the Oval Office, she managed the president's daily schedule, screened phone calls and visitors, handled correspondence and gifts, and accompanied him on official travels including aboard Air Force One. [3][2]
Currie began her federal career in clerical roles after high school, progressing through agencies such as the Navy Department, Peace Corps, and Department of Health and Human Services before joining Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and entering the White House. [1][3] Her tenure gained notoriety during the investigation into Clinton's sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, where Currie facilitated the storage of gifts exchanged between them and testified multiple times before the grand jury starting in January 1998. [3]
Following his January 17, 1998, deposition in the Paula Jones lawsuit—where Clinton denied the affair—Clinton met with Currie the next day and posed leading questions to her about the nature of his interactions with Lewinsky, prompting congressional findings of improper witness tampering by the president to influence her potential testimony. [4][5]
Currie later recounted experiencing significant emotional strain from the scrutiny but maintained she received no explicit coaching from Clinton and affirmed her commitment to truthful testimony despite the ordeal. [3]
She retired from government service in 2001 and resided thereafter in suburban Maryland with her family. [1]