Arnold Must Answer Libel Questions

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must answer written questions, but doesn't have to give a deposition in a libel lawsuit filed by a Hollywood stuntwoman who alleged he groped her on film sets, a judge ruled Monday.

Judge Robert L. Hess said the governor may be deposed later if attorneys for Rhonda Miller can justify it.

"If you've got something perhaps a bit more compelling as to why you want to depose him, I think that that ought to be considered," the judge said.

Schwarzenegger's attorney Martin Singer said the questions will be very limited, and will be answered within 10 days.

Miller is among several women who came forward during Schwarzenegger's campaign for governor to say he had sexually harassed or groped them over the course of his film career.

Miller claimed Schwarzenegger and his campaign defamed her after she alleged the film star groped her on the sets of "Terminator 2" and "True Lies." Hours after she made the allegations, campaign spokesman Sean Walsh sent an e-mail to reporters directing them to a court Web site, where records for a Rhonda Miller showed a history including prostitution and disorderly conduct. It was a different Rhonda Miller.

"We'd like to know what did the governor know and when did he know it," Miller's attorney, Gloria Allred, said outside court.

Singer countered: "We didn't put her background in question. She did, when she came forward." He said several witnesses came forward to say Miller's statements were untrue.

During his campaign to replace Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, 16 women accused Schwarzenegger of groping them in the past. Schwarzenegger acknowledged he had "behaved badly sometimes" in the past and did some things that "were not right, which I thought were playful."