Why was Clinton not convicted of perjury since he later

admitted he did have sexual relations with Monica

Lewinsky?
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The elements of the crime of perjury generally include (a) deliberate falsehood; (b) under
oath; (c) in a judicial proceeding; and (d) materiality of the matter about which the lie is
told. Omission of a key fact, because the question was never asked, is NOT perjury.
In the case of Bill Clinton, the famous "I did not have sexual relations with that woman...
Ms. Lewinsky" statement was not made under oath, but he did testify under oath that he
had never had sexual relations with Lewinsky. However, that sworn statement, while it was
a deliberate falsehood made in a judicial proceeding, was not material to Paula Jones' claims
that Clinton had sexually harassed Jones while he was serving as Governor of Arkansas, and
so, did not meet the legal standard for perjury.
Clinton's almost equally famous "It depends upon what the meaning of 'is' is" quote from his
grand jury testimony, while it was widely mocked at the time, serves well to illustrate the
challenge of proving perjury. Clinton is a lawyer, after all. Under oath he had testified in the
present tense that he had no sexual relationship with Lewinsky. If their sexual relationship
was only in the past, then no falsehood occurred, rendering the materiality issue moot.