Clinton sex scandal whistleblower Linda Tripp dies at age 70 - reports

 

Linda Tripp is accompanied by her son Ryan (L) and her daughter Allison as they arrive at U.S. District Court, June 30, 1998. REUTERS/Win McNamee

 

(Reuters) - Linda Tripp, the former U.S. civil servant whose secretly taped telephone conversations with a former White House intern documented the sex scandal that led to then-President Bill Clinton's 1998 impeachment, died on Wednesday at age 70.

 

Her death was confirmed to the Washington Post by her son, Ryan Tripp, and to the New York Post by her son-in-law, Thomas Foley, who said Tripp's unspecified illness was unrelated to the coronavirus.

 

The Daily Mail in Britain cited a longtime close friend, Diane Spreadbury, as saying Tripp succumbed to a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

 

Tripp became forever linked with the sex scandal that nearly brought down Clinton's presidency by way of her whistleblower role in exposing the extramarital affair he had with Tripp's acquaintance, Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern.

 

Tripp was a secretary in the White House counsel’s office in the early years of Clinton's presidency before she was transferred to the Pentagon's public affairs office and befriended Lewinsky, 24 years her junior.

 

As the two became close and Lewinsky revealed her past sexual relationship with Clinton, Tripp began clandestinely recording their private telephone conversations in which Lewinsky documented her affair with the president in graphic detail.

 

Tripp ultimately turned over hours of those tapes to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, who was investigating potential wrongdoing by Clinton, the former Arkansas governor, stemming from the failed Whitewater real estate venture in the Ozarks. Tripp was granted immunity from illegal wiretapping charges in exchange for the recordings.

 

On the basis of the tapes, Starr obtained permission to expand his probe into the Clinton-Lewinsky affair.

 

Tripp also brought to light one of the most notorious pieces of evidence in the scandal, the semen-stained blue dress that Lewinsky had told Tripp she had worn during a sexual encounter in the White House with Clinton. Tripp recounted that Lewinsky had once shown her the dress, and that Tripp persuaded the former intern to keep the garment without having it dry-cleaned.

 

Starr's office seized the dress, and DNA analysis of it forced Clinton to recant his infamous, finger-wagging public denial of his affair with Lewinsky - "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

 

The revelations also led the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives to impeach Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice over statements he made denying the affair under oath as part of a sexual harassment lawsuit brought against him by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones. Clinton was acquitted in the Senate.

 

In the end, Tripp was vilified by Clinton's supporters as having betrayed a friend for partisan political motives. But she insisted she had done the right thing in exposing the president's misconduct.

 

Tripp was fired from her Pentagon job on Clinton's final day in office in January 2001, and later settled with her husband in Middleburg, Virginia, outside Washington.

 

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles and Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-09

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A right Judas.

The other players were sleazy but Linda Tripp lowered the bar for betrayal of trust.

2 hours ago, DeaconJohn said:

A right Judas.

The other players were sleazy but Linda Tripp lowered the bar for betrayal of trust.

I would have understood if she would have spilled the beans after having learned in shock a confidential confession by her "friend" Monica.....but no.... she made secretly 20 hours of tape recordings. This was a carefully and viciously orchestrated character assassination....imagine the person you considered as your closest friend would do this to you ?

Monica:     "The President's got real bad dandruff"

 

Linda:       "You should give him Head and Shoulders

 

Monica:    " How do I give him shoulders?

2 hours ago, DeaconJohn said:

A right Judas.

The other players were sleazy but Linda Tripp lowered the bar for betrayal of trust.

what?

 

what about hillary clinton ? she knew it about it, but open her mouth and divorce that scumbag would have costed her chance to try to steal the elections in the future

3 hours ago, DeaconJohn said:

A right Judas.

The other players were sleazy but Linda Tripp lowered the bar for betrayal of trust.

 

None of which excuses Bill Clinton for lying under oath and to the American people. 

After the Epstein Pleasure Island case, I’m surprised anyone still admires the Clintons.

I wish more people would report infractions with hard evidence. You have no idea how hard it is to work with whistleblowers who dont have evidence. 

I'll bet old Bill just knocked the top off a champagne bottle and is sitting back with a smile on his face.

I don’t think Hillary cared as I doubt she was sleeping with Bill then anyway. What bothered her was that it was done in the Oval Office and he got CAUGHT which caused both of them great embarrassment.

Note to Monica: With friends like that, who needs enemies...

6 hours ago, DeaconJohn said:

A right Judas.

The other players were sleazy but Linda Tripp lowered the bar for betrayal of trust.

Because Bill and Hillary Clinton are pinnacles of loyalty and trust. They'd murder co-workers out of spite. Oh...wwwwait a minute...

29 minutes ago, Searat7 said:

I don’t think Hillary cared as I doubt she was sleeping with Bill then anyway. What bothered her was that it was done in the Oval Office and he got CAUGHT which caused both of them great embarrassment.

But who cares because she doesn't have enough self respect to leave him. You're right she didn't care. All she's ever cared about is what others can do for her. Specifically, to achieve power of public office especially through appointment not election.

 

Dreadful person. Too bad she isn't the one with the cancer. Oh wait ....the Clinton foundation IS cancer.

She shamefully betrayed Monica Lewinsky.

53 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

But who cares because she doesn't have enough self respect to leave him. You're right she didn't care. All she's ever cared about is what others can do for her. Specifically, to achieve power of public office especially through appointment not election.

 

Dreadful person. Too bad she isn't the one with the cancer. Oh wait ....the Clinton foundation IS cancer.

Imo Monica was putting a notch in her garter belt she was of age bill should have said no but like most guys was thinking with the (little head) he lied when confronted as most do the woman laid a trap to destroy a successful presidency and almost succeeded glad she’s gone good riddance but imo trump is by far the worse offender an accused rapist bragging about sexual assault and having sex with a used mattress of a porn star when his wife is home taking care of a new born no comparison whatsoever and the Clinton foundation dident get fined 20 million and closed down because it was a conn that dubious honor was earned by the trump foundation 

5 hours ago, Isaan sailor said:

After the Epstein Pleasure Island case, I’m surprised anyone still admires the Clintons.

 

Yeah I can't believe Billy Bob is on a plane packed with underage girls as flight attendants, unaccompanied by the Secret Service, with Epstein, to Eastern Europe. 

19 hours ago, webfact said:

Tripp persuaded the former intern to keep the garment without having it dry-cleaned

I seem to remember a cigar being involved as well .. what happened to that ? or did it get smoked .. 

5 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

I seem to remember a cigar being involved as well .. what happened to that ? or did it get smoked .. 

Yes, the famous cigar.  It may very well have been smoked after serving other purposes.

As Sigmund Freud once said: "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

Apparently Monica Lewinsky didn't  vote for Hillary.

 

.

It seems the last Clinton left a bad taste in her mouth.............................

10 hours ago, VillageIdiot said:

serving other purposes.

Hahahaha bet it wasn't easy to light after serving other purposes ..