As far as we can tell, the document is not public on the Internet and we
could not locate a copy, as it appears to be sealed under court order.
It is just listed as “Deposition Exhibit No. 5 — Office of the Governor Sexual Harassment Policy.”
But this exchange in Clinton’s deposition on Jan. 17, 1998, is telling. The president is being questioned by Jones’s lawyer, James A. Fisher.
Q. Is this a copy of a sexual harassment policy that you signed when you were the governor of the state of Arkansas?
A. It is. I signed it in 1987, and I’m fairly sure that I was, we were, the first or one of the very first states to actually have a clearly defined sexual harassment policy.
MR. FISHER: Objection, nonresponsive beginning with the words, “I’m fairly sure.”
Q. Mr. President, the criteria there under Roman numeral III were actually federal guidelines that you were adopting as the policy in the state, correct?
A. Yes.
A. It is. I signed it in 1987, and I’m fairly sure that I was, we were, the first or one of the very first states to actually have a clearly defined sexual harassment policy.
MR. FISHER: Objection, nonresponsive beginning with the words, “I’m fairly sure.”
Q. Mr. President, the criteria there under Roman numeral III were actually federal guidelines that you were adopting as the policy in the state, correct?
A. Yes.
Yikes, quite a burn by Fisher.
In other words, Clinton is bragging today about a state policy that
merely implemented new federal guidelines, probably as a result of the
1986 Supreme Court ruling in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson that
sexual harassment, including a hostile work environment, was indeed
sexual discrimination. It’s not as if he was a trendsetter.
Indeed, a state-by-state guide published in 1987 by
the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund listed Arkansas as among the
dozen worst places to live for any woman concerned with equal rights
under the law.
It’s also worth recalling the allegations made by Jones that led to her sexual harassment lawsuit in federal court.
In 1991, while Jones was working at a state-sponsored conference, a
state trooper asked her to meet with then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton in
his hotel room. When she arrived, she says, Clinton tried to kiss her
and then dropped his pants and underwear and asked her to “kiss it.” She
refused and quickly left the hotel room.
Her account was backed up by people who said she told them at the time
about the alleged encounter. Pamela Blackard, a state employee sitting
at the registration desk with Jones, said she noticed Clinton staring
intently at Jones and witnessed a state trooper asking Jones to go to
Clinton’s hotel room. She recalled that about 10 minutes later, Jones
returned, “shaking,” and she told Blackard in detail about Clinton’s
actions. Blackard told her to tell no one, as she was afraid they would
lose their jobs.
Ultimately, the Jones case was dismissed by a federal judge, who ruled
that even if her allegations were true, such “boorish and offensive”
behavior would not be severe enough to constitute sexual harassment
under the law. That ruling was under appeal when Clinton in 1998 settled
the suit for $850,000, with no apology or admission of guilt.
The Pinocchio Test
In both cases, Clinton skirts close to Four Pinocchios. He did have
large legal debts, perhaps several million as he once said, but $16
million is clearly wrong. In any case, he and his wife were able to
quickly dig themselves out of that hole. As for the sexual harassment
policy, he was simply implementing federal guidelines — and it’s an odd
thing to brag about, given the circumstances.
Three Pinocchios
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