Judge Orders Release Of Jones-Clinton Documents
By Deborah Zabarenko
Thursday October 8 4:37 PM EDT
dailynews.yahoo.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Potentially embarrassing documents in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton will be released, a judge ruled Thursday, even as Jones' lawyers considered settling the case.
Clinton's deposition in the Jones case, in which he denied having sex with Monica Lewinsky, will be among the documents ordered unsealed by U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright.
The other unsealed papers include Jones' deposition, in which she is believed to have discussed ''distinguishing characteristics'' of Clinton's genitals.
Several other women witnesses were deposed by Jones' lawyers to testify about their alleged sexual involvement with Clinton in the past and their pretrial testimony would also be released, although their names might remain secret.
As members of Congress voted to launch an impeachment inquiry over Clinton's cover-up of his relationship with Lewinsky, Wright ruled in Little Rock, Arkansas, that because Clinton did not protest her earlier decision to unseal the documents, they will be released on Oct. 19.
That is one day before a three-judge federal appeals panel will consider reinstating the case against Clinton, which was dismissed by Wright in April.
Lawyers for Jones have been in contact with Clinton's attorneys to reach a settlement. Jones initially sought $1 million and rejected a counteroffer of $500,000. An offer of $700,000 from the Clinton team is under discussion. Jones dropped her earlier demand for an apology from Clinton.
In addition, eccentric tycoon Abe Hirschfeld offered to pay Jones $1 million to settle the case, and held a news conference Thursday to display a bank check for that amount made out to Jones' attorneys.
''My offer has only one reason: to get rid of Starr-gate as soon as possible,'' Hirschfeld said, referring to independent counsel Kenneth Starr, whose legal team investigated the Lewinsky matter.
USA Today quoted unnamed sources Thursday as saying Jones would consider accepting a package that included both the $700,000 from the Clinton team and the $1 million from Hirschfeld, but neither one alone.
Nisha Mohammed, a spokeswoman for the Rutherford Institute, a conservative Virginia-based group that arranged for Jones' legal representation, insisted that the Clinton offer was still being considered, and that any ''package deal,'' which included the Hirschfeld offer, would only be considered if it were approved by the Clinton team.
Hirschfeld made his first fortune by building parking garages, briefly owned The New York Post newspaper and has run unsuccessfully for several political posts.
He is free on $1 million bond pending resolution of an indictment alleging state income tax fraud. Hirschfeld has pleaded not guilty to the charges of failing to pay taxes over a six-year period.
Hirschfeld said his settlement offer in the Jones case was part of a plan involving Clinton's resignation and the movement of Vice President Al Gore to the presidency, after which Clinton would be named ''honorary president emeritus.'' Starr, in Hirschfeld's scenario, would be given the next vacant position on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hirschfeld stressed that he was setting no conditions on his settlement offer.
Jones alleged in her lawsuit that Clinton asked her for oral sex in 1991 when she was an Arkansas state employee and he was governor. Clinton has denied Jones' allegations.
Both Clinton and Lewinsky, a former White House intern, denied having a sexual affair in sworn pretrial statements in the Jones case in January. But Lewinsky's testimony to Starr's grand jury contradicted that previous statement, and Clinton acknowledged an ''inappropriate'' relationship in his grand jury testimony in August.
|
