Linda Tripp had been Monica Lewinsky's confidante. Linda Tripp testifies in Clinton sex scandal, June 30, 1998

On this day in 1998, Linda Tripp began testifying before a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., on what she knew about a sexual relationship between White House intern Monica Lewinsky and President Bill Clinton. Both Lewinsky and Clinton also subsequently went before the grand jury to answer questions, although Clinton appeared via closed-circuit television from the White House.

Tripp became Lewinsky’s confidante while they both worked in the Pentagon’s public affairs office. Earlier, both women had worked in the White House. After Lewinsky told Tripp about her relationship with the president, Tripp began to secretly record their phone conversations while encouraging Lewinsky to document the affair.


In January 1998, Tripp, in exchange for immunity from prosecution, gave the tapes to Kenneth Starr, an independent counsel who was investigating allegations of wrongdoing by Clinton. Tripp also told Starr that Lewinsky had executed a false affidavit denying the relationship and revealed to him that Lewinsky had never dry cleaned a navy blue dress that was soiled with Clinton’s semen.

After a final round of interrogation, the grand jurors offered Lewinsky a chance to offer any last words. “I hate Linda Tripp,” she said. Starr compiled an exhaustive report, which was made public and in time served as the basis of Clinton’s failed impeachment trial.

On Jan. 19, 2001, the last full day of the Clinton administration, Tripp was fired from her Pentagon post. Tripp’s attorneys charged that her dismissal was “vindictive, mean-spirited and wrong.”

In 2003, the government settled a lawsuit charging the Defense Department with violating the Privacy Act by leaking information from Tripp’s employment and security files to the media. The settlement included a payment to Tripp of more than $595,000, a retroactive promotion and retroactive pay for 1998, 1999 and 2000. She also received a pension and was once more cleared to work for the federal government, although she declined to do so.

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In an interview published in 2015 by the Daily Mail, Tripp painted an unflattering portrait of Hillary Clinton’s alleged behavior during her husband’s two terms in the White House in the 1990s. “Hillary Clinton ruled the White House even as early as 1993, and every scandal that originated in the Clinton administration was the brainchild of Hillary,” she said. “When I think of Hillary Clinton I think of a lingering taint of scandal and wrongdoing and, in my opinion, possible criminal activity.”

Tripp also said the Clintons shared a “common goal” of obtaining power and that Hillary's bid for the White House “has been planned for so many years.” She added: “I think the most compelling thing about Hillary is that she will stop at nothing to achieve her end and that she views the public as plebeians easily seduced into believing her point of view.”

SOURCE: “THE DEATH OF AMERICAN VIRTUE: CLINTON VS. STARR,” BY KEN GORMLEY (2010)

