Resurrecting President Clinton’s avoidance of the draft, Republicans and the nation’s largest veterans group questioned Wednesday whether the president - a defendant in a sex harassment case - is hiding behind a law meant to shield soldiers from lawsuits.

Clinton’s lawyers told the Supreme Court the president’s role as commander in chief of the armed forces could entitle him to a postponement of a civil suit filed by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones. She says Clinton propositioned her in 1991 at a Little Rock hotel.

The legal argument by Clinton’s lawyers “smells bad,” said Thomas Burch, chairman of the National Vietnam Veterans Coalition.