The Electronic Telegraph   Sunday 8 May 1994   World News

America thinks Clinton is lying
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

ONLY 38 per cent of Americans believe President Clinton's denials of sexual harassment and only 45 per cent said he had the honesty and integrity they expect in a president, according to a poll by Newsweek magazine yesterday.

The findings were disclosed as White House aides confirmed that the President plans to overcome the charges by persuading the courts to dismiss the case on legal grounds. If the legal manoeuvres fail, Mr Clinton could be forced to appear in court to answer under oath embarrassing questions about allegations by Paula Jones, an Arkansas state clerical worker.

Mr Clinton wants the charges dismissed for "failure to state a cause of action", which would allow the White House to portray her charges as frivolous and largely motivated by financial interests. Mrs Jones alleges that Mr Clinton demanded sexual favours from her at a conference in 1991. He has denied the incident ever occurred.

At the same time, investigations into the Whitewater affair are shifting to bond trading activities in Arkansas. In particular, The Sunday Telegraph reveals today that the spotlight is falling on the White House staff director, Patsy Thomasson - a former head of the state Democratic party.

Under scrutiny is her work with Lasater & Co, a controversial Little Rock investment banking house that acted as a major fund-raiser for Mr Clinton in Arkansas.

It has now emerged that the President's personal lawyer, Robert S. Bennett, who has called the Jones case "tabloid trash with a legal caption on it", tried to negotiate a compromise with Mrs Jones's lawyers the day before she filed her suit, offering to release a statement saying Mr Clinton might have met her at a conference. However, the deal fell short of the public apology demanded by Mrs Jones.

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