Jones vs Clinton: President under oath

Paula Jones and her husband Stephen Jones arriving to hear Mr Clinton

President Clinton has spent more than five hours in a meeting with Paula Jones, the woman who is suing him for sexual harassment.

It is the first time a sitting American president has had to testify under oath in a court case.

Clinton: Questioned for more than five hours

Mr Clinton faced the questioning in his lawyer's office in Washington over allegations that he propositioned Ms Jones for sex seven years ago.

His testimony may be used if the case goes for trial as scheduled in May. Ms Jones is claiming damages of $2m.

She was present at the hearing but was not permitted to speak.

Ms Jones was jostled by the media as she entered the building and left in a taxi after using a back door to avoid the cameras.

President Clinton left the building in the presidential limousine, managing a brief wave. Neither made any comment.

Ms Jones' personal adviser, Susan Carpenter McMillan, said before the meeting that her client would sit across from the President and look him in the eye as he testified before video cameras.

The building was surrounded by security staff and reporters awaiting any statements issued following the deposition.

Did they meet?

The controversial court case itself is scheduled to start on May 27 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The issue is simple: Ms Jones says the president sexually harassed her; the president says he does not remember ever meeting her.

A day in court

Paula Jones in 1994

Initially Paula Jones was ridiculed when she claimed that Bill Clinton had made crude sexual advances to her in 1991, when he was governor of Arkansas. But Ms Jones has continued to demand her day in court, turning down a settlement offer of $700,000 (£430,000) last June.

She says that she is "excited about the future because I want the truth to come out ... Why should I be scared because I'm going to let the world know that I did whatever it took to get my day in trial."

Paula Jones's backers - arch-conservatives including anti-abortion proponents and a coalition of Republicans - are building the case into a symbolic confrontation between working-class people and the intellectual liberal elite.

A conservative campaign group, the Rutherford Institute, found her lawyers and is paying her legal expenses. John Whitehead, a spokesman, says the case must go forward.

Now Paula Jones is backed up by a new legal team

"Whether you are the King of England, the Emperor of Japan or the President of the United States - everyone in this country is equal under the law.

"Too often, the rich, the famous, the powerful can dictate what happens. And hopefully when we're involved, they can't."

Not gold digging, dirt digging

Both sides stand accused of using dirty tactics.

Paula Jones's lawyers say a recent decision to investigate her tax returns must be politically inspired. But the Jones camp also has been digging deep into Mr Clinton's past. It even is funding radio commercials in its trawl for damaging evidence.

Those accusations have infuriated the president's allies. So have headlines about Mr Clinton's "distinguishing features" - what Paula Jones says she saw when Mr Clinton allegedly dropped his trousers.

In October, Robert Bennett, Mr Clinton's lawyer, issued a furious public rebuttal:

"This is just an effort on their part to embarrass and humiliate the president. The president does not have any unique characteristics in any shape or form."

White House watchers say the trial is a national embarrassment - and the nature of the charges will make the trial a far worse ordeal for the president than Paula Jones.

Eleanor Clift, an editor of Newsweek magazine, explains:

"She has withdrawn the charge that her reputation is defamed. So her past sexual history is out of bounds, but Bill Clinton's isn't.

"It is fairly common knowledge that the president saw other women. But to have that brought out is terribly awkward to say the least."

But does the public really care?

BBC Correspondent Phillipa Thomas says what is remarkable about the suit is how little damage has been sustained by a president overwhelmed with legal inquires into his sex life, his professional ethics and his financial affairs.

As conservative commentator George Will points out, Bill Clinton's public approval ratings are the highest of any president at this stage in his second term.

"I think that people have made up their mind about Bill Clinton," he said. "He has this behavioural past and they don't care. I think they made up their mind about him in February 1992 and they've elected him twice."