-Caveat Lector-
"Clinton's capsule biography in American history textbooks will say
'first elected president impeached and first to be held in contempt while in
office.' "
Judge Holds Clinton in Contempt
By PETE YOST
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Clinton faces a new blot on his record and
thousands of dollars in fresh legal expenses after a federal judge cited him
for contempt of court. Historians believe he is the first chief executive to
receive such a penalty.
U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright concluded Monday that the president
lied about his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky in
a Jan. 17, 1998, deposition in the Paula Jones case.
``Simply put, the president's deposition testimony ... was intentionally
false,'' Wright wrote.
The judge ordered Clinton to pay Mrs. Jones ``any reasonable expenses
including attorneys' fees caused by his willful failure to obey this court's
discovery orders'' and also to pay $1,202 as reimbursement for the judge's
travel in the case.
One option is for Clinton to use his legal defense fund, which has raised
$4.5 million, to pay the sanction.
Clinton's lawyers were mum, leaving their options open until they see what
sort of penalty Mrs. Jones requests. One of her lawyers said Monday night it
could be tens of thousands of dollars.
Wright, however, hinted in her ruling if Clinton attempts to contest her
findings, it could have political costs for a president eager to put the
impeachment crisis behind him that ended in January when he was acquitted on
perjury and obstruction of justice charges in the Senate.
``This court is fully aware that the president may have engaged in other ...
conduct warranting'' punishment and if Clinton exercises his right to contest
the finding it would open the door for hearings complete with witnesses ``on
all matters concerning the president's conduct,'' she warned.
At her home in Cabot, Ark., Mrs. Jones was overjoyed. ``Ah! Ta ta ta ta ta.
That's all I have to say,'' she said, waving her hands above her head and
dancing. Asked whether she believed the sanction against the president was
good for the country, Mrs. Jones said, ``I could care less. It's not about
that, it's about what he did.''
The judge also set in motion a process that could strip Clinton of his law
license, referring the president's testimony to the Arkansas Supreme Court's
Committee on Professional Conduct.
Wright said she would delay enforcement for 30 days to give Clinton an
opportunity to ask for a hearing or to appeal.
``I think it's a vindication,'' said John Whitehead, one of Mrs. Jones's
lawyers. ``This is the first event in the whole proceeding where the
president was actually held accountable in the end.''
Historians said they believed the action was a first.
``I have never heard of any case where a president has been found in contempt
in a civil case,'' said Mark Rozell, a professor of political science at the
University of Pennsylvania.
Clinton's historical ``boxscore'' will say in part ``first elected president
impeached and first to be held in contempt while in office,'' said Rozell.
Wright directed Mrs. Jones' lawyers to submit within 20 days a statement of
their expenses, which Whitehead said could be ``tens of thousands of dollars.
``You have all the expenses related to seven lawyers who attended the
deposition -- air fares, the time spent there (in Washington), the time
preparing, meals, and what we believe was the cause and effect of the whole
thing,'' said Whitehead.
Senior presidential aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Clinton
lawyers regarded the penalty as less severe since the judge had the option of
making a criminal referral against the president to the U.S. attorney's
office.
The judge said any finding of criminal contempt would have required a more
lengthy process involving hearings and taking evidence. Also, she noted that
much of Clinton's conduct had been investigated by the independent counsel's
office and she wanted to ``prevent any potential double jeopardy issues from
arising.''
Robert Bennett, the private lawyer who represented Clinton in the Jones case,
said he would have no comment on the judge's ruling ``until I have had the
opportunity of reviewing this matter fully.''
Rep. Asa Hutchinson, the Arkansas Republican who was one of the House
prosecutors in the impeachment trial, said a ``nonpartisan and nonpolitical
judge'' had found the president had willfully disobeyed court orders to be
truthful and ``I have to underline the 'willful' part of her ruling.''
The office of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, whose investigation prompted
the impeachment crisis, declined comment Monday night.
Wright said her decision to dismiss the Jones case a year ago would not have
changed, even if the president had been ``truthful with respect to his
relationship with Ms. Lewinsky.''
Mrs. Jones appealed the dismissal, but then settled the case by accepting an
$850,000 payment from Clinton.
In his deposition in the Jones case, Clinton said: ``I have never had sexual
relations with Monica Lewinsky.'' But after his DNA was found on a dress
belonging to Ms. Lewinsky, he acknowledged an ``inappropriate intimate
relationship'' with her before a federal grand and in a nationally televised
address.
Clinton said the relationship did not fall under the definition of ``sexual
relations'' provided by Mrs. Jones' lawyers during his deposition, and that
his testimony was legally accurate.
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