Jones, Paula, 1966-

Paula Corbin Jones (born Paula Rosalee Corbin; September 17, 1966) is an American civil servant. A former Arkansas state employee, Jones sued United States President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment in 1994. In the initial lawsuit, Jones cited Clinton for sexual harassment at the Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas on May 8, 1991. Following a series of civil suits and appeals through the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals from May 1994 to January 1996, Clinton v. Jones eventually reached the United States Supreme Court on May 27, 1997. The case was later settled on November 13, 1998. The Paula Jones case provided the impetus for Independent Counsel Ken Starr to broaden his ongoing investigation into Clinton's pre-presidency financial dealings with the Whitewater Land Company, and resulted in Clinton's impeachment in the House of Representatives and subsequent acquittal by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Specifically, Clinton was asked under oath about Monica Lewinsky in the Jones suit, denied having ever had sexual relations with her, and was accused of perjury after evidence of sexual contact was exposed. The Jones lawsuit also led to a landmark legal precedent by the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled that a sitting U.S. president is not exempt from civil litigation for acts committed outside of public office. Jones's suit was dismissed as lacking legal merit prior to Clinton's impeachment and the exposure of the Lewinsky affair. But in August 1998, Clinton's relationship with Lewinsky, and compelling evidence that he had lied about it under oath in the Jones suit, was brought to light. At that point Jones appealed the ruling, and her appeal gained traction following Clinton's admission to having an affair with Lewinsky in August 1998. On appeal, Clinton agreed to an out-of-court settlement, paying Jones and her lawyers $850,000 to drop the suit. Clinton's lawyer said that the President made the settlement only so he could end the lawsuit for good and move on with his life. Jones and her lawyers said that the payment was evidence of Clinton's guilt. Jones continues to maintain that Clinton sexually harassed her. Clinton continues to deny it.