The agreement must first be approved by the federal judge who dismissed the Jones suit in April, but this should be routine.

Robert S. Bennett, Mr. Clinton's principal lawyer in the Jones suit, was present today but did not argue the case.

The Jones suit, of course, is just one case in which the sum of the evidence was just not promising enough.

Now all three branches find themselves deeply involved in the aftermath of the Jones suit.

"I deplored it," he said of the Jones suit.

The Jones suit was bogus, therefore his testimony didn't matter.

Judge Wright has handled several cases involving some elements that have been combined in the Jones suit.

Investigators are examining whether Mr. Clinton or his aides took steps to conceal evidence in the Jones suit.

The dismissal is by no means a sign that redress for sexual harassment will be harder to obtain now than it was before the Jones suit.