Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Judge Nears Ruling in Jones Case > WASHINGTON (AP) -- The trial judge in the Paula Jones > case says she's close to deciding on a motion to dismiss > the lawsuit against President Clinton, while there is > dissension in the Jones camp over a decision to name a > woman portrayed as a victim of sexual assault. > > U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright did not specify > when she would rule on Clinton's motion to throw out > Mrs. Jones' sexual harassment lawsuit without a trial. > > She mentioned her intentions Tuesday in an order to > lawyers to never again identify women linked to Clinton > who want to remain anonymous. Sanctions were threatened > if the order was disobeyed. > > Meanwhile, a lawyer confirmed that presidential > confidant Mickey Kantor met on more than one occasion in > 1992 with the manager for a former Miss America who > denied that she had a sexual relationship with Clinton. > The woman, Elizabeth Ward Gracen, this week reversed > herself, saying that she and Clinton had one consensual > sexual encounter in 1983. > > A colleague at the law firm where Kantor works, attorney > Ken Geller, said today that Kantor never suggested what > Gracen should say in Kantor's discussions with her > manager, Miles Levy during the 1992 presidential > campaign. Geller -- confirming an account of the > meetings with Levy in USA Today -- said the contacts > between Kantor and Levy were initiated by a third party. > Geller said he doesn't know who that person was. > > Tuesday also was a combative day at the federal > courthouse in Washington, where White House personnel > chief Marsha Scott vented her anger against Independent > Counsel Kenneth Starr and his prosecutors. Her > frustration boiled over when she spoke to reporters > after her seventh appearance before a Whitewater grand > jury since Clinton became president. > > The Rutherford Institute, the conservative legal > organization paying the expenses of Mrs. Jones' lawyers, > publicly criticized her Dallas-based attorneys Tuesday > in a written statement. > > The Jones attorneys have been trying to demonstrate that > Clinton made unwanted sexual advances to several women, > including their client. In legal papers submitted > Saturday, the Jones attorneys identified a woman as > someone sexually assaulted by Clinton in the 1970s. The > woman denied the allegation in sworn testimony unsealed > Monday. > > ``Although including information concerning Doe 5 may > have been relevant to the circumstances at issue, had > Rutherford Institute attorneys ... first been consulted, > they would have advised that revealing the name of ... > an alleged rape victim was and is inappropriate,'' the > institute statement said. Women preferring not to be > named have been referred to as Jane Does in papers > previously filed in the case. > > Wright was no less angry, saying, ``The court cannot > ignore the fact that the parties have filed a number of > contentious pleadings and have perhaps engaged in > activities in violation of court orders,'' she wrote. > > Mrs. Jones contends that she was placed in a dead-end > position in an Arkansas government agency after refusing > to submit to a sexual act with Clinton in 1991. The > president has said he can't recall meeting Mrs. Jones > when he was governor of Arkansas and denied any sexual > relationship or job discrimination. > > Ms. Scott lashed out not only at Starr's investigation > of an alleged presidential affair and cover-up involving > former intern Monica Lewinsky, but his entire four-year > investigation that began with a probe of the Clintons' > failed Whitewater real estate dealings in Arkansas. > > ``I don't even know where the Whitewater area is,'' said > the longtime friend of the Clintons. > > ``This whole process harasses people. There's been very > little courtesy given. It's designed to be intimidating > and very frightening and isolating,'' she said. > > Nancy Hernreich, the president's chief of Oval Office > operations, also appeared again before the grand jury > Tuesday, testifying for the fourth time. She had no -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
