Updated: Apr 22 1998 2:20PM

Paula Jones. CRAIG FUJII/AP

Et tu, Janet? President Clinton's attorneys may have persuaded Judge Susan Webber Wright that Paula Jones' damages claim has no merit, but Janet Reno is not convinced. The Supreme Court today hears an appeal with direct bearing on the Jones case -- and the Justice Department has weighed in on the same side as Paula's camp. Kimberley Ellerth's suit against Burlington Industries was rejected by a lower court on the grounds that even though she might have suffered sexual harassment, she had not shown that she suffered any form of retaliation on the job.

"Justice is backing Ellerth's appeal, which runs against the argument of the President's private attorney," says TIME White House correspondent Jay Branegan. "The Justice Department is trying to counter what it perceives to be an anti-plaintiff drift in the courts." Needless to say, this would be one administration victory unlikely to get the boss lighting up a stogie.

-- Tony Karon