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In both cases, the press is included in the cover-up of the sexual affairs. In Downtown, a powerful, ruthless press lord, Sir Richard Carlisle, is willing to suppress the story of Lady Mary’s fling with the family guest, which could cause an embarrassment to Lord Grantham and his family if revealed. In return, Carlisle gains leverage with Lady Mary and eventually persuades her to consent to marry him.

Lady Mary, understanding Carlisle’s power to disgrace her and her family if he publishes her story, has little affection for him. However, Carlisle announces their engagement in his newspaper without telling her in advance or asking Lord Grantham for her hand in marriage.

We learn in the Clinton program that Newsweek reporter Michael Isikoff, gets the “blockbuster” story from Tripp, who has also told it to Lucianne Goldberg, an arch-conservative literary agent intent on disgracing Clinton. The magazine’s editors initially decide not to run it, in order to protect the president.

But special prosecutor Ken Starr, whose investigations of the Whitewater “scandals” to which he wants to tie the President and the First Lady are running out of steam, has no such reservations. He learns the story from Goldberg and realizes that it could be a cover-up within a cover-up that could seriously damage the president. He is only too delighted to run with it. The story gets into the media, and the world learns of Clinton’s affair with the 21-year-old intern.

Lady Mary hangs onto her secret, thinking that she is “damaged goods” and Matthew could not having feelings for her if he knew of her one-night stand with the Turkish ambassador’s son. Lady Cora keeps the secret hidden from him, because she feels that Lord Grantham would be appalled by what occurred under his stately roof and it could bring ruin down upon their heads.

Lady Mary—who is smart, with a sharp tongue and a streak of independence—finally breaks her engagement to Sir Richard. Still keeping the family’s secret in his back pocket, he goes off, perhaps to reappear in the third season. Finally, Lady Cora tells her husband the truth about Lady Mary’s one-night liaison with their overnight guest, including his surprising death, which he accepts with equanimity. Lady Mary tells Matthew the truth, explaining her error by describing it as “lust.”

The truth of President Clinton’s sexual affair takes a long time to emerge as well.

Although his close friend and advisor Dick Morris counsels him to tell the truth and

admit the liaison to the American people, Clinton eschews his advice. Instead of the truth, according to the documentary, he allows “a sexual indiscretion to become a full-scale constitutional crisis,” as most of us know only too well.

Journalists conclude that had he initially told the truth, he might have avoided impeachment by the House of Representatives and the asterisk that will follow his name into history.

As Lady Mary gave her explanation of her lustful behavior to Matthew just before he finally falls to his knees, proposes to her and she accepts, Clinton explains his lying about his lustful behavior.

“[I] gave into my shame…I am a sinner,” he says.