Updated: Mar 13 1998 11:33AM

LITTLE ROCK: The Paula Jones case is fighting for its very life. This afternoon, Jones' attorneys will be required to argue why the sexual harassment charges against President Clinton should go to trial at all. Clintonís lawyers have already asked that her suit be dismissed for lack of evidence. So in her hour of need, Jones' supporters are standing foursquare behind her, right? Wrong. A bitter row has broken out between the Rutherford Institute and the Paula Jones Legal Fund -- over which of them is really bankrolling this case.

Via mail and the Internet, the PJLF has solicited more than $100,000 since July 1997, according to Brent Perry, a Houston lawyer responsible for the fund. Its website solicits don ations "for litigation expenses" and is signed "Paula and the PJLF Volunteer Team." But the Rutherford Institute, the nonprofit group authorized to pay Jones' legal bills, is crying foul. "We have not received any money from the Paula Jones Legal Fund," said spokeswoman Nisha Mohammed.

Now sources close to the institute say they have threatened to go to the IRS -- and have sent copies of their correspondence with the PJLF to Judge James Henry Michael in Charlottesville, who is investigating President Clinton's claims that Paula Jones brought her suit for personal profit. Under attack on two fronts, Jones' case is in more trouble than she might think.

-- Chris Taylor