Paula Jones

Paula Jones
Born Paula Rosalee Corbin
(1966-09-17) September 17, 1966
Lonoke, Arkansas, United States
Occupation Civil servant

Paula Corbin Jones (born Paula Rosalee Corbin; September 17, 1966) is a former Arkansas state employee who sued U.S. President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment. The Paula Jones case precipitated Clinton's impeachment in the House of Representatives and the subsequent acquittal by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Charges of perjury and obstruction of justice were brought against Clinton. Eventually, the court dismissed the Paula Jones harassment lawsuit, before trial, on the grounds that Jones failed to demonstrate any damages. However, while the dismissal was on appeal, Clinton entered into an out-of-court settlement by agreeing to pay Jones $850,000.[1]

Early life

Jones was born in Lonoke, Arkansas. She was the daughter of a minister in the Church of the Nazarene, and raised within that congregation.[2]

Jones v. Clinton

Background

According to Jones's account, on May 8, 1991, she was escorted to Clinton's (then Governor of Arkansas) room in the Excelsior[3][4][5] (now Little Rock Marriott) Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he propositioned and exposed himself to her. She claimed she kept quiet about the incident until 1994, when a David Brock story in the American Spectator magazine printed an account. Jones filed a sexual harassment suit against Clinton on May 6, 1994, two days before the three-year statute of limitations, and sought $750,000 in damages.[6]

Initial lawsuit

Jones was initially represented by Gilbert Davis and Joseph Cammarata, two Washington, D.C.-area lawyers. Susan Carpenter-McMillan, a California conservative commentator, became her press spokesperson. Carpenter-McMillan wasted no time bringing the issue to the press, calling Clinton "un-American", a "liar", and a "philanderer" on Meet the Press, Crossfire, Equal Time, Larry King Live, Today, The Geraldo Rivera Show, Burden of Proof, Hannity & Colmes, Talkback Live, and other shows. "I do not respect a man who cheats on his wife, and exposes his penis to a stranger", she said.[7]

Judge Susan Webber Wright granted President Clinton's motion for summary judgment, ruling that Jones could not demonstrate that she had suffered any damages. As to the claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress, Wright ruled that Jones failed to show that Clinton's actions constituted "outrageous conduct" as required of the tort, alongside not showing proof of damages caused by distress.[8] Jones appealed the dismissal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, where, at oral argument, two of the three judges on the panel appeared sympathetic to her arguments.[9]

Clinton and his defense team then challenged Jones' right to bring a civil lawsuit against a sitting president for an incident that occurred prior to the defendant becoming president. The Clinton defense team took the position that the trial should be delayed until the president was no longer in office, because the job of the president is unique and does not allow him to take time away from it to deal with a private civil lawsuit. The case went through the courts, eventually reaching the Supreme Court on January 13, 1997. On May 27, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled against Clinton, and allowed the lawsuit to proceed.[3] Clinton dismissed Jones's story and agreed to move on with the lawsuit.[10]

On August 29, 1997, Jones' attorneys Davis and Cammarata asked to resign from the case, believing the settlement offer they had secured, which Jones refused, was the appropriate way to end the case.[11] In September, Judge Wright accepted their request.[6]

Jones was then represented by the Rutherford Institute, a conservative legal organization, and by a Dallas law firm. Carpenter-McMillan continued to serve as Jones' spokesperson. In December 1997, Jones reduced the damages sought in her suit against Clinton to $525,000 and agreed to remove Clinton's co-defendant and former bodyguard, Danny Ferguson, from the suit.[6]

On April 2, 1998, before the case could reach trial,[12] Judge Wright granted President Clinton's motion for dismissal, ruling that Jones could not show that she had suffered any damages.[12] Jones soon appealed the dismissal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.[9]

Conclusion of case

On November 13, 1998, Clinton settled with Jones for $850,000, the entire amount of her claim, but without an apology, in exchange for her agreement to drop the appeal. Robert S. Bennett, Clinton's attorney, still maintained that Jones's claim was baseless and that Clinton only settled so he could end the lawsuit and move on with his life.[9] In March 1999, Judge Wright ruled that Jones would only get $200,000 from the settlement and that the rest of the money would pay for her legal expenses.[13]

Before the end of the entire litigation, her marriage broke apart. She also appeared in the news media to show the results of a makeover [14] and of a Rhinoplasty paid for by a donor.[15]

In April 1999, Judge Wright found Clinton in civil contempt of court for misleading testimony in the Jones case. She ordered Clinton to pay $1,202 to the court and an additional $90,000 to Jones's lawyers for expenses incurred,[16][17][18] far less than the $496,000 that the lawyers originally requested.[18]

Wright then referred Clinton's conduct to the Arkansas Bar Association for disciplinary action, and on January 19, 2001, the day before Clinton left the office of president, he entered into an agreement with the Arkansas Bar and Independent Counsel Robert Ray under which Clinton was stripped of his license to practice law in Arkansas for a period of five years.[19][20] His fine was paid from a fund raised for his legal expenses.

Penthouse Magazine

In December 1994, federal judge Peter K. Leisure ordered Penthouse Magazine not to distribute semi-nude photographs of Paula Jones that had been taken by her boyfriend Mike Turner. Owner Bob Guccione argued that the photos counted under "illustrations of newsworthy articles" and called the order prohibiting distribution of the magazine an instance of prior restraint, a position reflected by several respected professors of law; he also said the issue was already out in the hands of distributors.[21] This temporary restraining order was lifted two days later.[22] She later posed for photos illustrating an article, "The Perils of Paula Jones" in the December 2000 issue, citing the pressures of a large tax bill and two young sons to support.[23][24]

Lewinsky scandal connection

Jones's lawyers decided to show to the court a pattern of behavior by Clinton that involved his allegedly repeatedly becoming sexually involved with state or government employees. Jones's lawyers therefore subpoenaed women they suspected Clinton had had affairs with, one of whom was Monica Lewinsky. In his deposition for the Jones lawsuit, Clinton denied having "sexual relations" with Monica Lewinsky. Based on testimony provided by Linda Tripp, which identified the existence of a blue dress with Clinton's semen on it, Kenneth Starr concluded that Clinton's sworn testimony was false and perjurious.

During the deposition in the Jones case, Clinton was asked, "Have you ever had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky, as that term is defined in Deposition Exhibit 1, as modified by the Court?" The judge ordered that Clinton be given an opportunity to review the definition. It said that "a person engages in sexual relations when the person knowingly engages in or causes contact with the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person with an intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person".[25][26][27] Clinton flatly denied having sexual relations with Lewinsky.[28] Later, at the Starr Grand Jury, Clinton stated that he believed the definition of sexual relations agreed upon for the Jones deposition excluded his receiving oral sex. It was upon the basis of this statement that the perjury charges in his impeachment were drawn up. Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. But despite Republican control of the Senate, Republicans were unable to muster the required two-thirds supermajority to convict or even simple majority, with 50 Senators voting guilty on the obstruction charge and 45 senators voting guilty on the perjury charge.

Politics

In February 2016, Jones endorsed Donald Trump for the United States presidential election, 2016.[29] That same week, she attended a rally for Trump held in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she asked for a selfie with him.[30]

In October 2016, Jones joined Donald Trump for a press conference before the second 2016 Presidential Debate to air grievances against Hillary and Bill Clinton. The conference also included Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, and Kathy Shelton.[31][32]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "Jones v. Clinton finally settled - November 13, 1998".
  2. ↑ "Famous Nazarenes / Members of the Church of the Nazarene".
  3. 1 2 Clinton v. Jones, No. 95-1853 U.S. (1997-05-27).
  4. ↑ "Key Events in Paula Jones's Sexual Harassment Case Against President Clinton". Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  5. ↑ "Top 8 Clinton Scandal Sites". Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  6. 1 2 3 "Clinton v. Jones Timeline". The Washington Post. 1997-07-04. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
  7. ↑ Plotz, David (1997-09-21). "Susan Carpenter-McMillan—The Woman Who Ate Paula Jones". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  8. ↑ Goldberg, John C. P.; Anthony J. Sebok; Benjamin C. Zipursky (2012). "10: Infliction of Emotional Distress". Tort Law: Responsibilities and Redress. New York City: Wolters Kluwer. pp. 700–703. ISBN 978-1-4548-0688-2.
  9. 1 2 3 Baker, Peter (1998-11-14). "Clinton Settles Paula Jones Lawsuit for $850,000". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  10. ↑ "Clinton "Adamantly" Denies Jones's Accusations". The Washington Post. 1997-07-04. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
  11. ↑ "Jones v. Clinton: Second Letter From Cammarata and Davis". Court TV. 1997-07-04. Archived from the original on September 5, 2004. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
  12. 1 2 "Clinton Welcomes Jones Decision; Appeal Likely". CNN. April 2, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  13. ↑ Sun, Baltimore (March 5, 1999). "Paula Jones to Get $200,000 of Settlement". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
  14. ↑ Givhan, Robin (16 January 1998). "Paula Jones's About-Face". Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
  15. ↑ "Paula Jones's New Nose". Time magazine. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008.
  16. ↑ Franken, Bob (1999-04-12). "Clinton Found in Civil Contempt for Jones Testimony". CNN. Archived from the original on 2007-06-20. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  17. ↑ Clinton Cited for Contempt
  18. 1 2 "CLINTON MUST PAY $90,000 TO PAULA JONES' LAWYERS. - Free Online Library".
  19. ↑ "Transcript - Independent Counsel Robert Ray Holds News Conference on Deal Struck With President Clinton in Whitewater Probe". CNN. 2001-01-19. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  20. ↑ Neal v. Clinton, Civ. No. 2000-5677, Agreed Order of Discipline (Ark. Cir. Ct. 2001) (“Mr. Clinton admits and acknowledges ... that his discovery responses interfered with the conduct of the Jones case by causing the court and counsel for the parties to expend unnecessary time, effort, and resources...”).
  21. ↑ James Barron (November 30, 1994). "Magazine Barred From Using Nude Photos of Clinton's Accuser".
  22. ↑ "The First Amendment Handbook Seventh Edition". The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
  23. ↑ William C. Mann (October 24, 2000). "Paula Jones Defends Penthouse Shots". Associated Press/Washington Post.
  24. ↑ "Larry King Live: Paula Jones Discusses Why She's Posing for 'Penthouse'". CNN. October 24, 2000.
  25. ↑ "President Clinton's Deposition in the Paula Jones Case". australianpolitics.com. 1998-01-17. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  26. ↑ King, John (1998-03-05). "New Details Of Clinton's Jones Deposition Leaked". CNN. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  27. ↑ Kangas, Steve. "Perjury About Sexual Relations from the Paula Jones Deposition". Liberalism Resurgent. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  28. ↑ Starr, Kenneth (1998-09-09). "Independent Counsel Kenneth's Starr report to the House of Representatives". MSNBC. Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  29. ↑ Kurtz, Judy (3 Feb 2016). "Paula Jones: I like Trump". The Hill. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  30. ↑ Moritz, John (5 Feb 2016). "Clinton accuser Paula Jones attends Little Rock Trump rally". Arkansas Online. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  31. ↑ Stack, Liam (9 Oct 2016). "Donald Trump Featured Paula Jones and 2 Other Women Who Accused Bill Clinton of Sexual Assault". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  32. ↑ Zeleny, Jeff (10 Oct 2016). "Trump appears with Bill Clinton accusers before debate". CNN. Retrieved 11 October 2016.

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