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American civil servant
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Paula Corbin Jones (born Paula Rosalee Corbin; September 17, 1966) is an American civil servant. A former Arkansas state employee, Jones sued United States President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment in 1994. In the initial lawsuit, Jones cited Clinton for sexual harassment at the Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas on May 8, 1991. Following a series of civil suits and appeals through the U. S. District Court and the U. S. Court of Appeals from May 1994 to January 1996, Clinton v. Jones eventually reached the United States Supreme Court on May 27, 1997. The case was later settled on November 13, 1998. The Paula Jones case provided the impetus for Independent Counsel Ken Starr to broaden his ongoing investigation into Clinton's pre presidency financial dealings with the Whitewater Land Company, and resulted in Clinton's impeachment in the House of Representatives and subsequent acquittal by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Specifically, Clinton was asked under oath about Monica Lewinsky in the Jones suit, denied having ever had sexual relations with her, and was accused of perjury after evidence of sexual contact was exposed. The Jones lawsuit also led to a landmark legal precedent by the U. S. Supreme Court which ruled that a sitting U. S. president is not exempt from civil litigation for acts committed outside of public office. Jones's suit was dismissed as lacking legal merit prior to Clinton's impeachment and the exposure of the Lewinsky affair. But in August 1998, Clinton's relationship with Lewinsky, and compelling evidence that he had lied about it under oath in the Jones suit, was brought to light. At that point Jones appealed the ruling, and her appeal gained traction following Clinton's admission to having an affair with Lewinsky in August 1998. On appeal, Clinton agreed to an out of court settlement, paying Jones and her lawyers $850,000 to drop the suit. Clinton's lawyer said that the President made the settlement only so he could end the lawsuit for good and move on with his life. Jones and her lawyers said that the payment was evidence of Clinton's guilt. Jones continues to maintain that Clinton sexually harassed her. Clinton continues to deny it.

Jones was born in Lonoke, Arkansas. She was the daughter of a minister in the Church of the Nazarene and raised within that congregation. Jones graduated from a high school in Carlisle, Arkansas, in 1984. She briefly attended a secretarial school in Little Rock, Arkansas. She worked a number of jobs before joining the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission (AIDC) in March 1991. Jones alleged that, on May 8, 1991, while working on official business in her capacity as a state employee of the AIDC, she attended the Annual Governor's Quality Conference at the Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock. Jones alleged she was asked by an Arkansas State Police Trooper to report to Arkansas Governor Clinton's hotel room in the Excelsior Hotel (now the Little Rock Marriott), where Clinton propositioned and exposed himself to her. She claimed she kept quiet about the incident until 1994, when a David Brock story in The American Spectator magazine printed an account. Jones filed a sexual harassment suit against Clinton on May 6, 1994, two days before the expiration of the three year statute of limitations, and sought $750,000 in damages.

Jones was initially represented by Gilbert Davis and Joseph Cammarata, two Washington, D. C.–area lawyers. Susan Carpenter McMillan, a California conservative commentator, became her press spokesperson. Carpenter McMillan wasted no time bringing the issue to the press, calling Clinton "un American", a "liar", and a "philanderer" on Meet the Press, Crossfire, Equal Time, Larry King Live, Today, The Geraldo Rivera Show, Burden of Proof, Hannity & Colmes, Talkback Live, and other shows. "I do not respect a man who cheats on his wife, and exposes his penis to a stranger," she said. Judge Susan Webber Wright granted President Clinton's motion for summary judgment, ruling that Jones could not demonstrate that she had suffered any damages. As to the claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress, Wright ruled that Jones failed to show that Clinton's actions constituted "outrageous conduct" as required of the tort, alongside not showing proof of damages caused by distress. Jones appealed the dismissal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, where, at oral argument, two of the three judges on the panel appeared sympathetic to her arguments. On August 29, 1997, Jones' attorneys Davis and Cammarata asked to resign from the case, believing the settlement offer they had secured, which Jones refused, was the appropriate way to end the case. Jones had reportedly told her lawyers she wanted an apology from Clinton, in addition to a settlement. In September, Judge Wright accepted their request. Jones soon appealed the dismissal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Before the end of the entire litigation, her marriage broke apart. She also appeared in the news media to show the results of a makeover and rhinoplasty paid for by a donor. In April 1999, Judge Wright found Clinton in civil contempt of court for misleading testimony in the Jones case. She ordered Clinton to pay $1,202 to the court and an additional $90,000 to Jones's lawyers for expenses incurred, far less than the $496,000 that the lawyers originally requested. His fine was paid from a fund raised for his legal expenses.

In December 1994, federal judge Peter K. Leisure ordered Penthouse magazine not to distribute semi nude photographs of Jones that had been taken by her ex boyfriend Mike Turner. Owner Bob Guccione argued that the photos counted under "illustrations of newsworthy articles" and called the order prohibiting distribution of the magazine an instance of prior restraint, a position reflected by several law professors; he also said the issue was already out in the hands of distributors. This temporary restraining order was lifted two days later. She later posed for photos illustrating an article, "The Perils of Paula Jones", in the December 2000 issue, citing the pressures of a large tax bill and two young sons to support.

Jones's lawyers decided to show to the court a pattern of behavior by Clinton that involved his allegedly repeatedly becoming sexually involved with state or government employees. Jones's lawyers therefore subpoenaed women they suspected Clinton had had affairs with, including Arkansas Appeal Tribunal employee Gennifer Flowers, as well as White House employee Monica Lewinsky. In his deposition for the Jones lawsuit, Clinton denied having "sexual relations" with Monica Lewinsky. Based on testimony provided by Linda Tripp, which identified the existence of a blue dress with Clinton's semen on it, Kenneth Starr concluded that Clinton's sworn testimony was false and perjurious. During the deposition in the Jones case, Clinton was asked, "Have you ever had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky, as that term is defined in Deposition Exhibit 1, as modified by the Court?" The judge ordered that Clinton be given an opportunity to review the definition. It said that "a person engages in sexual relations when the person knowingly engages in or causes contact with the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person with an intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person". Clinton flatly denied having sexual relations with Lewinsky. Later, at the Starr Grand Jury, Clinton stated that he believed the definition of sexual relations agreed upon for the Jones deposition excluded his receiving oral sex. It was upon the basis of this statement that the House of Representatives voted to impeach Clinton on December 19, 1998, on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Clinton was subsequently tried before the Senate, where votes on either charge both fell far short of the 2/3 supermajority required for conviction.

In February 2016, Jones endorsed Donald Trump for the 2016 United States presidential election. That same week, she attended a rally for Trump held in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she asked for a selfie with him. In October 2016, Jones joined Trump for a press conference before the second 2016 Presidential Debate to air grievances against Hillary and Bill Clinton. The conference also included Juanita Broaddrick and Kathleen Willey, who had also accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct.

Jones was portrayed by Annaleigh Ashford in the third season of the series American Crime Story.