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 For Immediate Release
Nov 17, 1998 Contact: Press Office
202-646-5172


Judicial Watch challenges Jones settlement

Files Amicus Brief Showing Why Case Cannot Be Dismissed Based on Use of Illegal Funds

Payment With Legal Defense Monies and Insurance Buyout Not Permitted

Today, Judicial Watch, the non-partisan government watchdog that uncovered John Huang, sparked the Chinagate scandal, and is pursuing a $90 million dollar class action suit in Filegate, filed amicus curiae briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas asking these Courts not to dismiss the Paula Jones case, because it is based on a settlement which will be implemented using illegally obtained monies. Accordingly, the briefs, which can be found on Judicial Watch's internet site, at http://www.Judicial Watch.org, set forth the legal standards for rejecting a settlement which is contrary to law and public policy.

The settlement, as admitted by counsel for Bill Clinton and others, will be paid for with monies from the Clintons' legal defense funds, and the buyout of a Chubb insurance policy. As explained in the briefs, the law prohibits any federal official, including the President, to solicit, accept or benefit from monies from private citizens. 5 U.S.C. 7353. The reason for this is simple; to allow the President to accept cash from private citizens opens him up to influence peddlers. Indeed, Clinton's first legal defense fund was infiltrated by Charlie Trie and over $600,000 of Chinese cash (which once discovered had to be returned), at a time that the White House was delivering a letter to Mr. Trie about American intentions over a crisis between China and Taiwan. To pay any settlement, the President can borrow the money -- at market rates -- rather than open himself up to more "Charlie Tries," or Hollywood moguls like Steven Spielberg or Barbra Streisand. If Monica Lewinsky can get millions for a book deal, just think of what the Clintons will be worth when they leave office. Money can be advanced by banks as loans in anticipation of the Clintons' impending wealth.

Finally, one of the insurance carriers, Chubb, has reportedly offered to "buy out" the Clintons' umbrella liability policy for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The average American citizen must ask when his insurance carrier was so accommodating. The answer is that the average American cannot influence regulation affecting the insurance industry, and for this reason Chubb's offer is obviously not only legally baseless, it is an obvious attempt to buy influence.

For all of these reasons, the Courts are urged not to dismiss the Jones case based on this illegal settlement. Mr. Clinton should, for once, have to bear the consequences of his own actions, rather than again allow himself to be "bribed" by influence peddlers. Ironically, the President conceded this point when real estate magnate Abe Hirshfeld offered $1 million to settle the Jones case. When Judicial Watch threatened legal action, on the same basis as is now present, the deal was quashed.


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