Politics Now: Clinton v. Paula Jones Corruption in America Office of the President of the United States

The 60-year-old judge, appointed by President Reagan and noted as a conservative, said: "I don't find that terribly persuasive. We see presidents riding horseback, chopping firewood, fishing, playing golf and so forth. The notion that he doesn't have a minute to spare is not credible."

His scepticism was voiced in an unusually lively session of the nine-judge panel that peppered the President's lawyer, Robert Bennett, with questions about a case that is casting a shadow over preparations in Washington for Mr Clinton's second inauguration on Monday.

Paula Jones, a former Arkansas beauty queen, is trying to sue the President for $700,000 (£417,000), claiming that, as state governor in 1991, he fondled her in a hotel room, dropped his trousers and asked for oral sex.

Karlyn Bowman, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said: "This is not the way the President would like to be starting his second term. The public, in a way, has been all scandalled-out for a long time. This might make them sit up and pay attention. It has sex and all the elements."

Outside the court, anti-Clinton elements mocked the chief executive. A group calling itself the Clinton Investigative Commission donned Clinton masks and trench coats. They waved signs that said "Flashers support Clinton" and "I believe Paula".

Inside, what had been predicted as a dry-as-dust session became heated as Mr Bennett tried to argue that an appeal court was wrong to rule that the case go to trial immediately. The court had insisted that the President was subject "to the same laws that apply to other members of society".

Along with the acting Solicitor General Walter Dellinger, Mr Bennett argued that it was vital to allow a sitting president to avoid the distraction of a civil case. "We'll give Miss Jones her day in court, but let's not do it now."

Chief Justice William Rehnquist recalled a high court ruling in 1982 that presidents cannot be sued over official actions. But this was quite different. "I don't see how that element is involved here," he said.

Gilbert Davis, attorney for Miss Jones, said her reputation had been "sullied", as she was being portrayed as a "compliant female". He argued that witnesses could die, memories could fade and documents might be lost if the trial was delayed for another four years.

It emerged during the hour-long session that the panel was particularly anxious about so-called "collateral matters" relating to the case, which might stretch the proceedings beyond the fortnight the trial might last. These matters are thought to involve an attempt to introduce other alleged examples of Mr Clinton's relationships with women before he became leader.

Miss Jones's lawyers are hoping to show that as governor of Arkansas Mr Clinton made a habit of using state troopers to procure women. The justices are to take about six months to decide if the case, labelled "tabloid trash" by the Clinton team, merits a swift trial. The tone of their remarks suggested that they may adhere to their reputation for being stingy in granting legal immunity to a public official.

However, they may split the difference and delay the trial, but allow legal "discovery", meaning that depositions can be taken from witnesses. An order would almost certainly be made to keep the documents sealed, although there would be no way of stopping witness from disclosing their evidence to the media.

12 January 1997: Why is Clinton persecuting me?

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