-Caveat Lector- Thursday July 29 3:02 PM ET Clinton Fined $90,000 For Contempt In Jones Case By Steve Barnes LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) - A federal judge Thursday ordered President Clinton to pay a $90,000 fine for contempt of court for denying having sex with Monica Lewinsky in his testimony in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright ordered Clinton to pay extra lawyers' fees caused by his ``false, misleading and evasive answers that were designed to obstruct the judicial process.'' However, Wright slashed the amount of the sanctions from around $500,000 sought by Jones's lawyers for extra costs they claimed due to Clinton's denial under oath that he had sex with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Clinton's lawyer said the president had agreed to pay rather than appeal the order. ``We accept the judgement of the court and will comply with it,'' the president's private attorney, Robert Bennett, said in Washington. Wright ordered Clinton to make the payments within 60 days, with $80,000 going to the Dallas law firm of Rader, Campbell, Fisher and Pyke (RCFP). The other $10,000 will go to the Rutherford Institute, a conservative legal foundation that assisted the Dallas lawyers representing Jones. Wright used strong language in imposing the sanction, accusing the president of undermining the judicial system. ``The court takes no pleasure in imposing contempt sanctions against this nation's president and, no doubt like many others, grows weary of this matter,'' Wright wrote in her order. ``Nevertheless, the court has determined that the president deliberately violated this court's discovery orders, thereby undermining the integrity of the judicial system, and sanctions must be imposed to redress the president's misconduct and to deter others who might consider emulating the president's misconduct,'' she wrote. Jones accused Clinton of making an unwanted sexual advance in May 1991 while he was governor of Arkansas and she was a state employee. Wright eventually dismissed the case, and Clinton settled with Jones for $850,000. In April, the judge found Clinton in contempt of court for his January 1998 deposition on video tape for the Jones case. The president's denial under oath that he had sex with Lewinsky triggered a yearlong ordeal in which he was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives and finally acquitted by the Senate in February of perjury and obstruction of justice charges. Clinton has always insisted that his answers in the Jones deposition were ``legally accurate'' even though misleading. The Dallas layers had requested almost $440,000 and Rutherford had sought nearly $60,000, sums that Clinton's attorneys had protested as ``excessive and unreasonable.'' Wright said she reduced the award because some of the expenses claimed by the attorneys were unrelated to the Lewinsky testimony and other costs would have been incurred by Jones' attorneys regardless. Wright also denied a request from Jones' lawyers for additional hearings on how much the president paid for his legal bills, which they argued would support their claim for a higher award. ``The court has determined that resolving the issue of the president's contempt expeditiously and without hearings is in the public interest, and granting RCFP's motion for additional discovery would only delay its resolution,'' she wrote. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Steve Wingate California Director SKYWATCH INTERNATIONAL Anomalous Images and UFO Files http://www.anomalous-images.com DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
