Paula Jones’ Lawyers Quit, Citing Disagreement

WASHINGTON —  The two lawyers representing Paula Corbin Jones in her sexual harassment suit against President Clinton officially withdrew from the case Monday, citing “fundamental differences of opinion” with her about “the future course of this litigation.”

The move throws the case into turmoil and increases chances that the president will be forced to go to trial next year on the embarrassing charges, according to legal sources on both sides of the case.

“There’s not going to be a settlement. Clearly, this case is going to trial,” predicted one lawyer.

Attorneys Joseph Cammarata and Gilbert K. Davis, who have represented Jones at no cost since 1994, filed a motion with a judge in Little Rock, Ark., seeking permission to quit the case.

They had wanted to settle Jones’ suit for a $700,000 payment and a vaguely worded statement from Clinton saying that the former Arkansas state worker is a person of good character.

But Jones refused, saying that she wants Clinton to apologize for his alleged conduct in a Little Rock hotel room six years ago.

“It’s never been about money; it’s about language,” said Susan Carpenter McMillan, a friend and spokeswoman for Jones.

McMillan said that she and her husband, William, a trial lawyer, will be interviewing attorneys over the next two weeks who they hope can negotiate a better deal or take the case to trial in May.

McMillan said that they will be talking to lawyers in Los Angeles and elsewhere. “Anyplace but Washington,” she added.

Robert S. Bennett, Clinton’s lawyer, was vacationing in Australia but issued a statement attributing the latest development to “a nasty and highly personal dispute amongst Paula Jones, her attorneys and her public relations representative, Susan Carpenter McMillan.” He said that he hopes the switch in lawyers will not interfere with the trial schedule.

Until last week, attorneys on both sides had been optimistic about settling the case.

In late May, after the Supreme Court had ruled unanimously that a president was not immune from being sued while in office, Bennett and Davis began to talk publicly and privately about conditions for a settlement.

Both sides had good reason for seeking a deal.

Clinton could avoid the damaging spectacle of witnesses testifying under oath about whether the then-Arkansas governor had made advances to other women. If Jones persisted, Bennett’s side also threatened to tarnish her reputation.

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For Cammarata and Davis, the months of discovery and depositions leading to a trial figured to be costly and time-consuming.

Although the president adamantly refused to admit wrongdoing, Bennett said that a deal could include a “reasonable” amount of money for Jones, payment of her legal fees and a statement that said she had done nothing wrong during the alleged encounter in the Excelsior Hotel.

This should satisfy Jones, Bennett reasoned, if she had indeed filed the suit to restore her good name and character.

The damage suit had followed in the wake of a 1994 article in the conservative American Spectator that referred to a woman named “Paula” who allegedly had wanted to be Gov. Clinton’s girlfriend. Jones said that the reference was false and humiliating.

Over the summer, Davis and Cammarata discussed settlement ideas with Bennett’s staff and thought they had come up with a deal.

“They brought her an offer of $700,000, which was the amount requested in the suit, and some specific things she wanted said,” said Cindy Hays, a spokeswoman hired by the two lawyers. “They brought her the best offer they could get and she rejected it. So, at that point, there was a very serious difference of opinion on how to proceed.”

Hays denied stories that the lawsuit has been lavishly funded by conservative groups.

“We always hear about the ‘Christian right’ or ‘rich right-wingers’ funding this case. If only that were true. We yearn for that money,” she said jokingly.

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To this point, the expenses of the litigation have been funded through small contributions raised through talk radio programs, she said. “It comes in $10 and $25 checks. We had one check for $5,000, but it came from an anonymous donor,” she said.

The money raised through the Paula Jones Legal Defense Fund has paid expenses for the two lawyers, she said, but it has not paid their hourly fees.

So far, Clinton’s legal bills have been paid through two liability insurance policies. But it is not clear whether the insurers will pay if Clinton agrees to a settlement.

New lawyers representing Jones will have to move quickly under the schedule set by U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright. By Jan. 31, 1998, her attorneys must file all statements taken under oath from persons who can bolster Jones’ claims.

Those depositions would form the basis for an eventual trial before a jury in Little Rock.