Flowers’ suit vs. first lady dismissed

Greg Tuttle

Friday, Aug. 25, 2000 | 11:15 a.m.

A lawsuit filed by Gennifer Flowers against Hillary Rodham Clinton and two former presidential aides has been dismissed by a federal judge in Las Vegas.

In dismissing the lawsuit Thursday, Judge Philip Pro said Flowers' claim that she was defamed by George Stephanopoulos and James Carville was filed after the statute of limitations had run out.

And statements made by the pair of political operatives in a book and during interviews following the 1992 presidential campaign were "rhetorical hyperbole" that does not qualify as defamation, Pro said.

Flowers, who moved to Las Vegas about two years ago to begin a singing career, filed the lawsuit in November. Flowers alleged that she was defamed by the 1999 book, "All Too Human: A Political Education," written by Stephanopoulos, and in a series of interviews by Carville on CNN's "Larry King Live."

Hillary Rodham Clinton was added to the lawsuit in January. Flowers accused the first lady of leading a "War Room" during the 1992 presidential campaign to attack her credibility after Flowers divulged a 12-year affair with Bill Clinton.

Flowers also accused Hillary Rodham Clinton of orchestrating three burglaries of her home and invading her privacy.

The lawsuit also named as a defendant the publisher of Stephanopoulos' book, Little, Brown and Company. The lawsuit sought $75,000 in damages.

Flowers' attorney, Larry Klayman, could not be reached for comment Friday morning. Klayman is chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Judicial Watch, a conservative group that has a track record of attacking the Clinton administration through numerous lawsuits.

Pro said in his ruling the time limit to file a claim of defamation had run out because the allegations were based on statements made during a 1998 interview of Stephanopoulos that occurred in the state of New York. While Nevada has a two-year statute of limitations on slander and libel cases, the New York statute of limitations only extends for one year, Pro said.

Pro also said statements in Stephanopoulos' book, which included references to Flowers' allegations of an affair with Clinton as "trash," "crap" and "garbage" were originally made in the midst of a political campaign and were "rhetorical hyperbole" that does not rise to the level of defamation.

And statements made by Carville to Larry King about news reports regarding a covertly taped conversation between Flowers and Clinton were expressions of opinion and did not defame Flowers, the judge said.

Flowers' assertion that Hillary Rodham Clinton was the leading force behind an effort to discredit her and ordered the break-ins of her home are "vague and inadequate to support a claim," Pro said.

The judge also determined Flowers is a limited purpose public figure and therefore must prove actual malice in making a defamation claim, a higher standard that requires the statements were made with knowledge of their falsehood or a reckless disregard for the truth.