Jones's lawyers said yesterday that they are satisfied with the finding of civil contempt. Wright said in her ruling that she had considered the issue and decided that she had the authority to issue civil contempt sanctions under the reasoning of the Supreme Court's ruling, in Jones v. Clinton, that a sitting president could be subjected to a civil lawsuit involving his conduct before taking office. No such sanctions will be imposed, however. Wright, who acted on her own initiative, said she deferred to the impeachment proceedings and waited for them to be completed before addressing the contempt issue. She also emphasized important distinctions between the two proceedings.
Contempt is always within a judge's powers.
Wright found clear-cut misconduct in Clinton's sworn statements about his relationship with Lewinsky. She also said that even if Clinton had told the truth about Lewinsky to Jones's lawyers, she still would have dismissed the case. Clinton settled the lawsuit while it was on appeal. There are probably relatively few members of the public who don't feel that he lied. Attorneys for President Bill Clinton are reviewing a ruling by a federal judge that holds Clinton in contempt of court for his testimony in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit.