Court Says Clinton Harassment Suit Should Proceed

WASHINGTON, D.C. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the sexual harassment suit against President Clinton should not be delayed further. Clinton's lawyer in the suit, Robert Bennett, has argued that the case filed by former Arkansas employee Paula Jones should be put off until the President leaves office. Proceeding now, Bennett argues, would set a dangerous precedent, permitting lawsuits against a sitting President by people who may be primarily motivated by political considerations. TIME's Nina Burleigh notes politics is indeed at work in the Jones case. "Paula Jones first brought these allegations out at a political convention in Washington where the story was picked up and pushed by conservative operatives." Still, after interviewing Jones in 1994, Burleigh concludes, "Jones believes she was harmed by Clinton." The President denies Jones' account that the two met in a Little Rock hotel suite in 1991, but an Arkansas state trooper has corroborated parts of her story. Jones' attorney says the plaintiff has right to a speedy trial, and the court agrees: "The President, like all other government officials, is subject to the same laws that apply to all other members of our society." But don't expect too much speed. The appeals process could take the case as far as the Supreme Court, delaying action well past the 1996 election.