Gennifer Flowers' defamation suit tossed
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| Tue, 03-16-2004 - 5:15pm |
Is this STILL going on????
Tuesday, March 16, 2004 · Last updated 2:39 p.m. PT
Gennifer Flowers' defamation suit tossed
By ADAM GOLDMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
LAS VEGAS -- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing two former advisers to Bill Clinton of defaming Gennifer Flowers when they suggested that the audiotapes she used to try to prove she and Clinton had an affair had been doctored.
U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro ruled that no reasonable jury could find "clear and convincing evidence" that James Carville and George Stephanopoulos acted with malice.
The two former Clinton aides made their comments during interviews on talk shows in 1998 and 2000.
In a decision issued March 8, Pro also ruled that publisher Little, Brown & Co. did not defame Flowers in Stephanopoulos' 1999 book, "All Too Human."
The Flowers lawsuit sought unspecified punitive and compensatory damages. It was filed on her behalf in 1999 by Judicial Watch, a conservative Washington public-interest group. President Tom Fitton said Tuesday the group may appeal.
Carville's attorney, Bill McDaniel, said that the case was frivolous and politically motivated. He praised the judge's decision as a "strong opinion, the correct opinion."
The dispute dates to the 1992 presidential campaign, when Flowers said she had a 12-year affair with the Arkansas governor. During a news conference, she played audiotapes of conversations with Clinton that she said were evidence the two had an affair.
Clinton initially denied the allegation, but later, during his deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case, acknowledged a single sexual encounter with Flowers.
In separate interviews on "Larry King Live," Carville and Stephanopoulos both described the tapes as "doctored." In his book, Stephanopoulos wrote that during the Flowers news conference he thought, "Maybe the tapes were doctored?"
Stephanopoulos and Carville said their comments were based on TV news reports. The reports quoted audio experts, including private investigator Anthony Pellicano, and asserted the tapes were "questionable and not to be trusted," the judge wrote.
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>"It was filed on her behalf in 1999 by Judicial Watch, a conservative Washington public-interest group."<
Wonder if they're the same group that paid for Paula Jones' lawyer etc.
You're correct! People laughed at Hilary when she mentioned a R.wing conspiracy. I wasn't laughing.
Thank you!
And still is! One wonders if Kerry will become the next victum.
>"One wonders if Kerry will become the next victim. "<
I'm sure 'they' are looking vulnerable areas, if there are any.
Already there's been fake pictures & the rumour of an 'affair' which hadn't taken place.
**sigh**