SETBACK FOR TAILHOOK CLAIMANT

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A Pentagon report on the notorious 1991 Tailhook convention can't be used as evidence in a lawsuit brought by a woman who claims she was sexually harassed at the gathering, a federal judge has ruled. The ruling found that the report was based on hearsay and is not trustworthy enough to be used in the courtroom. "This is a blow for Navy Lieut. Paula Coughlin (who has filed the lawsuit)," says TIME Pentagon correspondent Mark Thompson. "You came away from the report thinking she was completely the victim." But adds Thompson: the report "was never intended to stand up to legal standards -- it was just trying to tell the story of what happened."