Troopergate

About Troopergate

Troopergate is the popular name of an alleged scandal involving allegations by two Arkansas state troopers that they arranged sexual liaisons for then-governor Bill Clinton. The allegations by state troopers Larry Patterson and Roger Perry were first reported by David Brock in the American Spectator in 1993. The story mentioned a woman named Paula, a reference to Paula Jones.

In his book, Blinded by the Right, David Brock claimed that in order to maintain journalistic integrity, he agreed to write the Troopergate article only if the four troopers who he interviewed were not paid. In 1998, a conservative fundraiser admitted that he had paid each of the troopers $6,700 after the articles were published. The payments were made behind Brock's back. Following the admission, Brock publicly apologized to President Clinton for his Troopergate story, which he stated was written not "in the interest of good government or serious journalism," but as part of an "anti-Clinton crusade."

This reference was cited by Paula Jones in her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton. The case was summarily dismissed as groundless by Judge Susan Webber Wright, because Jones could not show that she had suffered any damages whatsoever, even should all her charges prove true. Jones threatened to appeal the decision. On November 13, 1998, Clinton settled with Jones for $850,000 (one third the size she asked for) and no apology, in exchange for dropping the appeal. All but $151,000 went to pay her now considerable legal expenses; meanwhile, her marriage had broken apart.[citation needed]