WASHINGTON INSIGHT

CONTROVERSIAL HELP: A little-noticed act by the Supreme Court may well aid President Clinton’s defense against sexual harassment charges brought by Paula Corbin Jones. A week before Jones filed her civil lawsuit, the court rejected a proposed change in federal procedure that would have extended the criminal “rape shield rule” to civil cases, such as those involving sexual harassment. The rule bars the admission of evidence concerning an alleged victim’s sexual past. The upshot: Clinton’s lawyers will still have free rein to go after Jones’ character. . . . The Women’s Legal Defense Fund called the high court’s action “a serious setback” that would discourage women from coming forward with harassment claims. Details of sexual history “may skew the outcome of a case by improperly shifting the focus at trial from the defendant’s conduct to the victim’s,” fund President Judith L. Lichtman said. She urged members of Congress to quickly adopt the rejected proposal, which came from the U.S. Judicial Conference, a group of judges. . . . Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, noting that the high court once held that “sexually provocative speech or dress” may be relevant in harassment cases, said a change “might encroach on the rights of defendants.”

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NOT SO HOT SCOOP: Some lawmakers relish firing off press releases taking clever potshots at wasteful government spending. But many shots zing wide of the mark. . . . A release from Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) said he had learned “just moments ago” that Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company in Waterbury, Vt., had been given an $850,000 grant “to teach Russians how to manufacture, market and sell ice cream.” He called the action by the State Department’s Agency for International Development a “gross misuse” of funds and added that “the American taxpayer has literally been ‘licked’ on this one.” . . . If Burton had gotten to the bottom of the cone, he might have found the program fits his pro-business stance. AID official Ann Kittlaus said it is part of a massive AID effort to harness U.S. business firms with Russian partners to restructure the Russian food system. . . . Ben & Jerry’s and its partner will train 100 Russian dairy farmers, truck drivers, machine operators, suppliers and executives on how to get food to often-empty shelves. They’ll learn management, accounting, shipping, sales and quality-assurance skills. “It’s not a question of selling (Ben & Jerry’s) Cherry Garcia to the Russians,” Kittlaus said. “We’re trying to help Russia move from communism to capitalism.” . . . AID will spend $44 million on technical assistance over four years, with each dollar expected to leverage $4 to $6 in spending by U.S. firms. Most firms see the ventures as long-term investments, said a business group.

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SHORT TAKES: Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), who crash-landed his glider behind German lines in the D-day invasion of Normandy, is passing up 50th-anniversary ceremonies in France so he can attend the high school graduation of his youngest son. Thurmond is 91. . . . Former Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota, the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee, will teach courses in foreign policy at George Washington University next fall and spring. He taught history at Dakota Wesleyan before winning election to the House and Senate. . . . Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.), one of the richest members of Congress, drives a beat-up old Dodge convertible that has a dangling front bumper and a convertible top repaired with duct tape.