Jones Adds New Allegations

Ex-Arkansas state worker drops defamation claim, seeks $175,000 less in damages from Clinton

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AllPolitics, Dec. 9) -- In a revised complaint, Paula Jones makes a new claim that then-Gov. Bill Clinton gave preferential treatment to female state workers who accepted his sexual advances.

Jones' amended complaint, filed Monday, includes new language alleging that Clinton granted governmental and employment benefits, such as raises and promotions, to women who agreed to his sexual solicitations.

Jones, a former Arkansas state worker, alleges that Clinton asked her for oral sex in a Little Rock hotel room in 1991. She says she resisted Clinton's advances and after that, suffered a hostile work environment.

Clinton denies the allegations in Jones' lawsuit and says he doesn't recall meeting her.

Her revised complaint also alleges she was deprived of her free speech rights by Clinton's "overt and covert warnings, admonitions, intimidations and threats."

As expected, Jones also has dropped a defamation claim against co-defendant Danny Ferguson, an Arkansas state trooper. Jones had claimed Ferguson hurt her reputation by saying she was eager to be Clinton's mistress. That claim had opened the door for Ferguson's attorney, Bill Bristow, to explore Jones' reputation and sexual history.

Because she dropped that claim, Jones also seeks $175,000 less in damages than in her original lawsuit. Her suit now asks for $525,000, rather than $700,000.

The revisions had been expected since late last month, when U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright gave Jones permission to amend her complaint.

In Other News:

Tuesday Dec. 9, 1997

• Reno, Freeh Face Down House Oversight Committee
• Jones Adds New Allegations
• FBI's Kallstrom To Retire
• Another Batch Of Documents Arrives, Belatedly