“We landed on the South Lawn at about midnight,” Patterson recalled, “and, after ensuring the president was on his way to his residence upstairs, I headed to my bedroom in the East Wing.” But the night was far from over. “Shortly thereafter, my phone rang and it was the AF-1 presidential pilot. ‘Buzz, we have a problem,’ he said. ‘Oh s**t,’ I thought.”
The “problem” was President Bill Clinton.
“Apparently, Clinton had cornered a female AF-1 steward in the galley and molested her,” Patterson revealed. “She was young, a staff sergeant, and married with children. I knew her, liked her, and she was super sweet. Now, she was in tears.” Patterson says he asked the pilot what she wanted to do. “He told me that she didn’t want to be another ‘bimbo,’ she wanted to remain in the Air Force and be promotable. All she wanted was an apology.”
“In the world of Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, and Kathleen Willey, this wasn’t surprising to me,” Patterson continued. “It was, however, terribly disappointing and sad.”
What followed was, as Patterson described, one of the hardest days of his life. “That morning, as a young major, I had to walk to the Oval Office and tell the commander-in-chief that he needed to apologize to the young lady. I’ve been shot at with hot metal but this was the toughest day in my life. I remember on my way to talk with him thinking, ‘I didn’t sign up for this s**t.’”
Two weeks later, Patterson arranged for the president to meet with the stewardess aboard Air Force One. “We got the two together onboard AF-1 in the president’s office and he offered a very uncontrite ‘half apology.’ He didn’t care.”
Patterson didn’t mince words in condemning Clinton’s behavior: “If anybody in the military had done that, it would’ve been jail, expulsion, or both. It would’ve been Fort Leavenworth. But not for this president, not for this man. It was just another day. Yet another in my experiences working for a man with absolutely no integrity and no moral fiber.”
The “problem” was President Bill Clinton.
“Apparently, Clinton had cornered a female AF-1 steward in the galley and molested her,” Patterson revealed. “She was young, a staff sergeant, and married with children. I knew her, liked her, and she was super sweet. Now, she was in tears.” Patterson says he asked the pilot what she wanted to do. “He told me that she didn’t want to be another ‘bimbo,’ she wanted to remain in the Air Force and be promotable. All she wanted was an apology.”
“In the world of Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, and Kathleen Willey, this wasn’t surprising to me,” Patterson continued. “It was, however, terribly disappointing and sad.”
What followed was, as Patterson described, one of the hardest days of his life. “That morning, as a young major, I had to walk to the Oval Office and tell the commander-in-chief that he needed to apologize to the young lady. I’ve been shot at with hot metal but this was the toughest day in my life. I remember on my way to talk with him thinking, ‘I didn’t sign up for this s**t.’”
Two weeks later, Patterson arranged for the president to meet with the stewardess aboard Air Force One. “We got the two together onboard AF-1 in the president’s office and he offered a very uncontrite ‘half apology.’ He didn’t care.”
Patterson didn’t mince words in condemning Clinton’s behavior: “If anybody in the military had done that, it would’ve been jail, expulsion, or both. It would’ve been Fort Leavenworth. But not for this president, not for this man. It was just another day. Yet another in my experiences working for a man with absolutely no integrity and no moral fiber.”
