Paula Corbin Jones (born Paula Rosalee Corbin; September 17, 1966) is an American former Arkansas state employee who gained national and international attention when she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against then-United States President Bill Clinton in 1994. The case, Clinton v. Jones, became a landmark legal and political event that contributed to Clinton's impeachment proceedings.
Early Life
Jones was born in Lonoke, Arkansas, the daughter of a minister in the Church of the Nazarene. She graduated from high school in Carlisle, Arkansas, in 1984 and briefly attended a secretarial school in Little Rock. She worked several jobs before joining the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission (AIDC) in March 1991.
Clinton v. Jones
Jones alleged that on May 8, 1991, while working for the AIDC at the Annual Governor's Quality Conference at the Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock, she was summoned to then-Governor Bill Clinton's hotel room, where he allegedly propositioned her and exposed himself. She stated she kept the incident private until 1994, when a story in The American Spectator magazine referenced an account matching her experience. On May 6, 1994, two days before the statute of limitations expired, she filed a sexual harassment suit seeking $750,000 in damages.
The case was initially dismissed by Judge Susan Webber Wright on April 1, 1998, who ruled that Jones could not demonstrate she had suffered damages and that Clinton's alleged conduct did not meet the legal standard of "outrageous conduct" required for the claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Jones appealed the dismissal.
Prior to the dismissal, the case had reached the U.S. Supreme Court on the question of whether a sitting president is immune from civil litigation for actions taken before assuming office. On May 27, 1997, the Court unanimously ruled in Clinton v. Jones that a sitting president is not exempt from civil lawsuits for acts committed outside of public office.
Connection to the Lewinsky Scandal and Settlement
During discovery, Jones's lawyers subpoenaed women they suspected Clinton had had affairs with, including White House intern Monica Lewinsky. In his January 1998 deposition for the Jones case, Clinton denied having "sexual relations" with Lewinsky under a specific definition agreed upon by the court. Evidence later emerged contradicting this testimony, which led Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr to conclude that Clinton had committed perjury. This formed the basis for the House of Representatives' impeachment of Clinton in December 1998.
On November 13, 1998, Clinton settled the Jones lawsuit for $850,000 without admitting wrongdoing. Jones agreed to drop her appeal. In April 1999, Judge Wright found Clinton in civil contempt for misleading testimony in the case, ordering him to pay $1,202 to the court and $90,000 to Jones's lawyers.
Later Life and Politics
In February 2016, Jones endorsed Donald Trump for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In October 2016, she appeared with Trump at a press conference alongside Juanita Broaddrick and Kathleen Willey, who had also accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct.
Jones has continued to maintain that Clinton sexually harassed her. Clinton has continued to deny the allegation.
