Thursday, April 2, 1998 | 10:58 a.m.
Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said the president's behavior probably still will be scrutinized by the House Judiciary Committee. He expects the committee will focus on whether the president suborned perjury or lied under oath.
Gibbons added it's ironic that, at one time, Clinton's attorneys were negotiating to settle the case out of court.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he wouldn't second-guess the judge who tossed out the Jones case, but added, "this certainly takes one big obstacle off the president, other than finding ways to pay for his attorneys fees."
Sen. Dick Bryan, D-Nev., and Richard Morgan, dean of the UNLV Boyd Law School, say the real importance of Jones' case is the U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing a president to be sued in the first place.
"The long-term precedent is that the court has said the president of the United States is not above the law and that he or she may be sued civilly in the course of a presidential incumbency," said Bryan.
Morgan agreed the ruling allowing a president to be sued in office is "a major decision with a major impact, as this case has shown."
"The other impact is a societal impact," he said. "The Jones case and the fallout from the Jones case has done an awful lot to demean the presidency and it will take some time to recover from that."
Democratic Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said, "Overall, the ruling is good for the country. We need to get on to other challenges. ... And to those of us who have worked on sexual harassment issues, it was clear Paula Jones failed to provide evidence she was damaged."
Sue Wagner, a state Gaming Commission member and former GOP lieutenant governor and state legislator, said, "Even if it had been sexual harassment, the American public didn't care much. It appeared the American public felt that's just the way things are. It's no big deal."
Gov. Bob Miller, a Democrat and friend of Clinton, said, "Hopefully, now the country can move on and focus on the issues that are important to the future of the people of America."
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