Linda Tripp, whose phone recordings of conversations with Monica Lewinsky snowballed into the impeachment trial of then-President Bill Clinton, has died. She was 70.
Her daughter said she was on her deathbed earlier this week, the New York Post reported.
Ms. Lewinsky, the former White House intern whose sexual affair with President Bill Clinton was exposed by Ms. Tripp, tweeted before her death Wednesday, “No matter the past, upon hearing that linda tripp is very seriously ill, i hope for her recovery. i can’t imagine how difficult this is for her family.”
Actor James Woods, a conservative and vocal supporter of President Trump, said of Ms. Tripp on Twitter, “Linda Tripp exposed the tip of the iceberg of Clinton corruption, the depths of which are still unfathomed. This was a genuine whistleblower and a true American hero.”
It was Ms. Tripp who gave Ms. Lewinsky the advice to “keep the blue dress” that had a semen stain on it rather than have it dry-cleaned, as the young White House intern had planned.
The stained dress allowed for a DNA test that identified Mr. Clinton as the material’s source and ended his months of initial denials that “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”
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Tom Fitton, president of the conservative Judicial Watch government watchdog group, said he was saddened to hear of Ms. Tripp’s death.
“She was a true whistleblower who was attacked and prosecuted by the Left for calling out the corrupt Clinton machine, which is still in operation,” Mr. Fitton tweeted. “An American heroine, RIP.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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