The difference is that Clinton was guilty.
He was guilty of sexual harassment (not a crime), but in defending himself he committed perjury (a felony). He should have just ignored the summons and defaulted on the Civil case. Then he would not have had to submit to a deposition. He could have maintained his innocence and just say “ hey, my lawyer forgot to file an answer”.
I suspect the damages would have been substantially lower than the final settlement.