Valerie Plame: The Bush Equivalent of Paula Jones?

By Stephen Pizzo, News for Real. Posted October 29, 2005.

What do Bill Clinton and O.J. Simpson have in common? Both men slipped through the fingers of the criminal justice system, only to get their comeuppance in civil court.

I only mention that because yesterday's developments in the CIA leak investigation are just the beginning -- not the end. No matter how many senior administration officials end up getting indicted, the real damage to this administration may come not from criminal convictions -- if any -- but from a civil action currently being planned by Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame.

There's important history here. In case you've forgotten, special prosecutor Kenneth Starr, for all his diligence, (some would call it obsessive diligence)  couldn't pin a thing of consequence on the Clintons until right-wing lawyers convinced Paula Jones to file a civil suit against Clinton. That case set loose a sequence of events that were cheered by conservatives out to get Clinton, but are now likely to be keeping them awake at nights.

Remember, it was the Paula Jones case that established that a private citizen can sue a sitting President. After that, President Clinton had to give sworn depositions to Jones' lawyers. By then the Lewinsky scandal was making headlines. Since Jones' case alleged sexual misconduct by Clinton, her lawyers quickly added it to their discovery wish list. Clinton was sworn in and asked if had he ever "had sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky…?" Scuffing the ground like the bad little boy he'd been, he lied to them.

That's how getting a hummer in the Oval Office became a crime. Because Clinton lied about it in a civil case, he was slammed with a perjury charge.

WASHINGTON -- July 29, 1999) -- A federal judge has ordered President Bill Clinton to pay $90,686 for giving false testimony in the civil sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him by Paula Jones. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright's office issued the fine Thursday. She had held the president in contempt of court in April, ruling that Clinton intentionally gave false testimony during his deposition in Jones' suit. Clinton did not elect to fight the ruling, agreeing instead to pay the court $1,202 for expenses associated with a deposition and for "reasonable costs incurred by plaintiffs" as a result of his actions.

After that, Jones's attorneys had Clinton by the short hairs. He couldn't afford to get caught lying twice in the case, especially with the Lewinsky matter heating up -- as was his wife, Hillary -- which meant he couldn't afford to tell the truth either. So he settled the case, agreeing to pay Jones $850,000 to go away.

And so it came to pass that what Ken Starr could not accomplish (with nearly $60 million taxpayer dollars), a handful of right-wing lawyers -- plus a gal from an Arkansas trailer park -- did in civil court. Their civil case set in motion a sequence of events that got a sitting president impeached.

Stephen Pizzo is the author of numerous books, including "Inside Job: The Looting of America's Savings and Loans," which was nominated for a Pulitzer.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »