Death of American Virtue - Ken Gormley [169]
Bennett scoffed, “Ahh, nobody cares about women anymore.”
The Virginia lawyers called his bluff, stating that they could “prepare a stipulation” listing all the women with whom Bill Clinton had engaged in extramarital affairs, and both parties could sign it. “Then it won’t be an issue anymore,” they said, smiling at the rich humor of this proposal.
Now it was Bennett’s turn: He reminded his opponents that their client had issued a press release stating that she was not interested in money and promising to “donate all amounts above payment of expenses to a charity of her choice.” Since Jones had no interest in financial remuneration, Bennett deadpanned, establishing a modest amount of cash to resolve the case should be a simple matter.
With the scent of settlement in the air, the Jones lawyers turned up the heat by playing the “distinguishing characteristic” card. Talk had been raging on conservative talk radio that President Clinton suffered from a condition known as Peyronie’s disease, which causes plaque or hard lumps to form in the genitalia and produces the bent shape that Paula Jones had allegedly observed. The talk-show chatter soon escalated into rampant rumors that Clinton had undergone surgery to hide the problem, after Paula Jones had tipped her hand in the complaint. Gil Davis later revealed that he did consult, confidentially, with several experts in the field. He had then delivered a subpoena to the White House, demanding evidence concerning “any treatment or advice sought or obtained by William Jefferson Clinton for any suspected or actual genital or urological problem, condition, disability, disease or disorder.”
Cammarata also took a precautionary step by shooting off a confidential fax to Danny Traylor in Arkansas, firing him. Traylor, who had remained as “local counsel” in Arkansas, had recently given a wide-ranging interview to the Legal Times, in which he said that Paula Jones had never mentioned the infamous “distinguishing characteristic” during their extensive conversations before he agreed to take the case. Cammarata now sent Traylor a “Dear Danny” letter, stating that Traylor had engaged in “an improper disclosure of confidential case information” and had caused a “weakening of Paula Jones’ bargaining position.” The Virginia lawyers therefore terminated him “effective immediately.” Davis and Cammarata were steering their settlement ship into port, so that they (and Jones) could go home with the spoils.
On NBC’s Meet the Press show in June, both sides exchanged jabs, sensing that they were close to a final deal. Cammarata smiled into the camera and said he only wanted Bill Clinton to answer three questions: “Mr. President, were you in the room?… Mr. President, did you grab and grope Paula Jones? Mr. President, did you drop your pants and solicit oral sex?”
Bennett, for his part, tried to take the high road, issuing clear signals that the president might consider a sizable “contribution to charity” to put the case to rest. He reminded moderator Tim Russert: “The President of the United States, you know, had one heck of a week last week. We’re not at war. The economy is fantastic. NATO has been expanded. Things are going well on the budget.” Bennett suggested that it might be a time to seriously discuss resolving the case for the good of the nation. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for the President of the United States to get down in the gutter where Ms. Jones wants to drag him,” he said with a tone of lawyerly gravitas. “And I’m not going to let that happen.”
A deal was finally cut. President Clinton would pay $700,000, the full amount Paula Jones had demanded in her original complaint. This far exceeded, all of the lawyers knew, any likely verdict if the case went to trial. Clinton would also give the Jones lawyers a statement making clear that Paula had done nothing inappropriate in the Excelsior Hotel room, and declaring for the whole world that the American