Ep 1. Handing the Sword to the Enemy

The Clinton Affair is a documentary miniseries exploring the scandalous extramarital affair between former United States President Bill Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky, and the subsequent political and legal fallout. Season 1 kicks off with episode 1, titled "Handing the Sword to the Enemy."

The episode opens with a brief overview of Clinton's first presidential campaign and eventual victory in 1992. From there, it delves into the beginnings of the affair between Clinton and Lewinsky, which began in November of 1995 when she was just 22 years old and working as an unpaid intern at the White House.

The episode takes us through Lewinsky's account of the early days of the affair, from their flirtatious encounters to their first sexual rendezvous in the White House. We hear from friends and acquaintances of Lewinsky's who describe her as being head over heels in love with the President, despite his being married and over two decades her senior.

We also get a look into Lewinsky's psyche during this time, as she confided in her friend Linda Tripp about the affair. Tripp began secretly recording their phone conversations, and it's from these tapes that we hear Lewinsky's vulnerable and emotional confessions.

The episode then turns its attention to the infamous Paula Jones lawsuit, which was filed against Clinton in 1994 and alleged that he had sexually harassed her while he was Governor of Arkansas. While the lawsuit was eventually dismissed, it was given new life when attorneys working on the case discovered Lewinsky's connection to Clinton.

The episode delves into the efforts by Clinton and his team to cover up the affair, from intimidating witnesses to outright lying about it under oath. We hear from journalist Michael Isikoff, who was one of the first reporters to break the story, as well as from independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who was tasked with investigating the affair.

Throughout the episode, we see footage and news clips from the time, including Clinton's public denials of any wrongdoing and Lewinsky's infamous blue dress, which contained DNA evidence of the affair. The episode ends with Lewinsky's immunity deal being announced, paving the way for her to testify against Clinton and further unravel the scandal.

"Handing the Sword to the Enemy" is a gripping and detailed account of the beginning stages of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair and the subsequent political and legal fallout. It sets the stage for a miniseries that promises to explore every angle of one of the most scandalous moments in modern American political history.