The infamous woman at the center of the 1998 impeachment of Bill Clinton has passed away at age 70. As the former public affairs official at the Pentagon, she recorded a phone call with Monica Lewinsky that later led to a major push for the impeachment of Bill Clinton.
The woman, Linda Tripp, used the guise of befriending Lewinsky in order to record their private conversations. Tripp later handed these recordings off to an independent prosecutor. Later, Ken Starr, the head of the impeachment into Clinton, would use these tapes to great effect during the impeachment trial.
Tripp was confirmed to have died on Wednesday. Her family lawyer, Joseph Murtha, confirmed this to reporters. Thomas Foley, Tripp’s son-in-law, told news outlets that she had passed away of an illness unrelated to COVID-19. Her ailment remains unspecified.
Tripp worked in the White House during the early years of Clinton’s presidency. During this time, she became friends with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern who, it was later revealed, was having an affair with the president. While Clinton was married to wife Hillary, he was engaging in an affair with Lewinsky within the White House.
Tripp, sensing an opportunity, took the time to set up recording equipment to tape Lewinsky’s account of this affair. While Tripp was later transferred to the Pentagon, she took pains to visit with her friend and discuss the details of the affair with her. Tripp, having won Lewinsky’s trust, was able to record hours of audio on the topic.
While what Tripp did would normally be illegal, and prosecutors would be quick to draft up a wiretapping suit, Tripp was able to receive a pardon for her actions. When she handed the tapes over to Starr’s team, one of her stipulations was that she be granted clemency for wiretapping in exchange. The prosecutors agreed. No one tried Tripp for her crimes.
Clinton, on the other hand, would go on to be impeached by the House of Representatives. This was for lying under oath when discussing his relationship with Lewinsky. Ironically enough, the affair would normally have not been grounds for impeachment. But Clinton’s conduct in lying about the affair was.
The Senate would go on to acquit Clinton of the impeachment charges. This means that Clinton did not have to leave office despite the impeachment. A similar event transpired in 2019, when the House of Representatives impeached Donald Trump, but the Senate acquitted him in 2020.
