*Wal-Mart's Rashomon

Remember Julie Roehm? She's the Wal-Mart marketing executive who was fired for, among other things, supposedly having an affair with a subordinate named Sean Womack. She went on to sue Wal-Mart, denying that there was an affair and claiming that the company owed her money. And Wal-Mart went on to sue Roehm, claiming that it had a bunch of emails proving there had been a romance. As legal filings go, it was pretty steamy stuff (Womack "pinning" Roehm against the wall of a bar in Fayetteville, Ark. in an imtimate pose, and Rohem emailing Womack ''I think about us together all the time. Little moments like watching your face when you kiss me.'')

Reading that lawsuit, it's hard to believe there wasn't at least some dipsy-doodle going on. But wait - Roehm has filed a response to the Wal-Mart allegations and ... whoa, it's pretty juicy too. (Here's the filing.) Roehm denied having an affair with Womack (more on that in a moment), and claimed that CEO Lee Scott skirted the company's ethics policies by receiving discounts from his friend, financier Irwin Jacobs, on "a number of yachts" and "a large pink diamond." Jacobs owns several companies that do business with Wal-Mart (he told the WSJ that the allegations were "outrageous.") Roehm also claims that Wal-Mart looked the other way when senior executives had affairs with subordinates (she mentions a couple of names). As for those emails concerning Roehm's relationship with Womack, the filing cites an excerpt from an affidavit by Womack's wife to dispute the company's contentions. She also offers an explanation about that night in Fayetteville:

On Saturday, August 5, 2006, Roehm had dinner with her family and a friend (not Mr. Womack) at a restaurant in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Later that evening, Roehm met Mr. Womack and another newly-hired colleague for drinks at a bar. At one point, Roehm and Mr. Womack left their table together to go the restrooms, both of which were located in a crowded hallway in another part of the bar. While Roehm was waiting in line for the women’s bathroom to become unoccupied, Mr. Womack walked out of the men’s bathroom and was talking to Roehm when their newly-hired colleague walked past them in the hallway. At no time did Mr. Womack “pin” Roehm against the wall in an “intimate pose.” Nor did their newly-hired colleague pause and announce himself; rather, he walked past Roehm and went into the men’s bathroom.

Like I said, Rashomon. Who knows whether Roehm can begin to prove her allegations against Scott and others at the company (would a mid-level marketing exec have the goods on discounts Scott supposedly received from Jacobs?). But it's bound to prolong Wal-Mart's PR nightmare. As for Roehm and the affair, you have to wonder whether she's just pulling a Bill Clinton (deny, deny, deny) or is actually on the level. Which, of course, is precisely what she wants us to wonder.

*Local angle: It turns out that L.A. crisis manager Mike Sitrick is working with Roehm - and along with her attorneys had been preparing her response to the Wal-Mart suit.