How Monica Lewinsky’s friend Linda Tripp recorded details of her affair with Bill Clinton
The betrayal that nearly brought down a president: How Monica Lewinsky’s friend Linda Tripp secretly taped her confessions about ‘fooling around’ with Bill Clinton – as BBC drama on scandal that shook the world begins tonight
Monica Lewinsky had an affair with the then U.S. President Bill Clinton between 1995 and 1997Ms Lewinsky met Linda Tripp after being transferred from White House to work at the Pentagon in April 1996In nearly 20 hours of phone conversations, Ms Lewinsky revealed the lurid details of her affair with ClintonTripp secretly recorded the private discussions and their contents were then revealed to the world
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It was an act of treachery which destroyed a young woman’s life and nearly brought down a presidency.
Civil servant Linda Tripp’s recordings of nearly 20 hours of phone calls between herself and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky became the lynchpin in the impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton in 1998.
In the calls, Ms Lewinsky described to the woman she believed was a close friend all the lurid details of her affair with the sitting U.S. President.
Now, the scandal – and the story of the friendship between Tripp and Ms Lewinsky – has been retold in Impeachment: American Crime Story, which begins on the BBC tonight.
The first episode depicts the meeting between Sarah Poulson’s Tripp and Ms Lewinsky, who is portrayed by Beanie Feldstein. The ten-part show, which was co-produced by Ms Lewinsky, also stars Clive Owen as Clinton and Edie Falco as his wife Hillary.
In her calls to Tripp, the then 22-year-old told how she ‘fooled around’ with Clinton by performing oral sex on him, and also revealed she still had an unwashed navy-blue dress which had been stained by the President during one encounter.
After news of the affair broke in January 1998, the details went on to be recounted in special counsel Kenneth Starr’s blockbuster report into scandal.
By then, Clinton had already gone on TV to deny having ‘sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky’.
And the dress, which Tripp had encouraged Ms Lewinsky not to clean in case it was needed as an ‘insurance policy’ – whilst knowing it might later be used as evidence – was also obtained by Starr as part of his investigation.
Tripp, who died from pancreatic cancer in April last year, told DailyMailTV in 2017 that she felt ‘compelled to act’, even though it meant ‘shattering Monica’s dreams’, because she believed Clinton was a ‘sexual predator’.
Whilst Clinton ultimately survived the impeachment proceedings and was not forced to resign, the scandal defined his entire presidency and became a global media storm.
It was an act of treachery which destroyed a young woman’s life and nearly brought down a presidency. Civil servant Linda Tripp’s recordings of nearly 20 hours of phone calls between herself and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky became the lynchpin in the impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton in 1998. Above: Tripp and Ms Lewinsky together
In the calls – which were recorded from September 1997 – Ms Lewinsky described to the woman she believed was a close friend all the lurid details of her affair with the sitting U.S. President. Pictured: Ms Lewinsky with Clinton during her time at the White House
After news of the affair broke in January 1998, the details went on to be recounted in special counsel Kenneth Starr’s blockbuster report into scandal. By then, Clinton had already gone on TV to deny having ‘sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky’
Ms Lewinsky’s affair with Clinton began after she got a job in the White House as an intern in 1995, working first for the President’s chief of staff Leon Panetta.
The intern later stated that they had a total of nine sexual encounters between November 1995 and March 1997.
In one, they snuck off to kiss in his private study during a White House employee’s birthday party.
In another, Ms Lewinsky performed oral sex on the President while he was on the phone.
The former intern, who is now aged 48, went on to state that she had nine sexual encounters with Clinton in the Oval Office, with the last one occurring in March 1997.
Ms Lewinsky met Tripp in April 1996, after she was transferred to the Pentagon – where the older woman worked after herself being moved from the White House – by her boss, who was concerned she was too friendly with the President.
Tonight’s episode of Impeachment: American Crime Story depicts the beginning of their relationship and ends with the moment Clinton calls Ms Lewinsky to ask: ‘How was your first day?’
As their friendship progressed, Ms Lewinsky revealed details of her past encounters with Clinton, as well as her torment over whether she would be transferred back to the White House.
Tripp, who was 24 years older than her friend, began recording her phone calls with Ms Lewinsky after consulting with literary agent Lucianne Goldberg.
Over the course of their hours of intimate conversations, Ms Lewinsky ultimately revealed information that would see her vilified by much of the US media when it became public.
She also repeatedly broke down in tears to Tripp as she spoke of her torment that Clinton was not calling her frequently enough and her fears that she would not be allowed to return to the White House.
The scandal came to light as a result of another case – when former Arkansas civil servant Paula Jones sued Clinton for sexual harassment in 1994.
She claimed that when the politician was governor of the state, he had sexually propositioned her and exposed himself.
Jones’s lawyers then summoned to court other women who had worked for Clinton who they suspected he had had affairs with – including Ms Lewinsky – in the hope of showing a pattern of behaviour.
Clinton’s claim under oath that he had never had ‘sexual relations’ with Ms Lewinsky was ultimately blown apart by Tripp’s recordings, which she passed on to Starr.
The prosecutor had been investigating Clinton over an unrelated property deal but, on receiving the reams of new evidence, he obtained permission to expand his investigation.
After famously going on TV to again deny an affair with Ms Lewinsky, Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice.
He denied having committing perjury and said the definition of oral sex was not encompassed by ‘sex’.
Clinton did then admit to having to having a relationship with Ms Lewinsky that was ‘not appropriate’.
Now, the scandal – and the story of the friendship between Tripp and Ms Lewinsky – has been retold in Impeachment: American Crime Story, which begins on the BBC tonight
Friend or foe? Sarah Paulson Linda Tripp, who exposed the affair. The role required extensive makeup and prosthetic effects for her face, and she also wore padding under her costume
The first episode depicts the meeting between Sarah Poulson’s Tripp and Ms Lewinsky, who is portrayed by Beanie Feldstein
Iconic: British actor Clive Owen (left) recreates the infamous moment Bill Clinton (right) addressed the nation claiming he did not have sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky
Clinton’s wife Hillary is portrayed by Edie Falco (pictured left). The show has already aired to critical acclaim in the US. Right: Mrs Clinton listening to her husband’s denials of sexual activity with Ms Lewinsky
Tripp, who was 24 years older than her friend, began recording her phone calls with Ms Lewinsky after consulting with literary agent Lucianne Goldberg (left). She is portrayed in the new TV drama by Margo Martindale
Whilst he was acquitted by the U.S. Senate, it was the semi-pornographic detail laid out in Starr’s report which robbed Ms Lewinsky of her dignity and made her the subject of ridicule.
She later told how she was the ‘Patient Zero of internet shaming’, adding that she was ‘branded as a tramp, tart, slut, whore, bimbo.’
Tripp’s decision to betray Ms Lewinsky’s trust by recording their private calls destroyed their friendship overnight.
When delivering her testimony in front of a grand jury, Ms Lewinsky made her feelings clear.
Asked if she had anything to add, Ms Lewinsky said: ‘I’m really sorry for everything that’s happened. And I hate Linda Tripp.’
Tripp later denied that she was even close with her Pentagon colleague, telling Fox News that it ‘wasn’t a friendship’. She added: ‘I wasn’t her mother on any level’.
The first episode of the new series, which is based on Jeffrey Toobin’s book A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President, shows the moment that Lewinsky is met by two FBI agents after Tripp had come forward with her recordings.
Ms Lewinsky is seen screaming telling the agents that ‘I want that treacherous b***h to see what she did to me’ as they try to remove Tripp from the next room.
The case made headlines around the world for days. Above: The Daily Mail’s coverage on January 23, 1998
Ms Lewinsky’s affair with Clinton began after she got a job in the White House as an intern in 1995, working first for the President’s chief of staff Leon Panetta. Above: The pair meeting at an event filmed by TV cameras
President Clinton greets Monica Lewinsky at a Washington fundraising event in October 1996
Bill Clinton hugs Monica Lewinsky at the Democratic Fundraiser in Washington, DC, October 23, 1996
Because she was a political appointee, Tripp was dismissed from her job at the Pentagon on the final day of the Clinton administration in 2001.
She and her first husband, Bruce Tripp, had divorced in 1990 after having a son and daughter together.
In 2004, she remarried and settled on a farm in Middleburg, Virginia.
Prior to being moved to the Pentagon in 1994, Tripp had worked in the White House during the administration of George Bush Senior.
Speaking of her actions in 2018, Tripp said: ‘It was always about right and wrong, never left and right
Clinton Library video of a 1997 photo op where Monica Lewinsky is seen with President Bill Clinton in the White House’s Oval Office
Ms Lewinsky was transferred to the Pentagon in April 1996 by her boss at the White House, who was concerned she had become too close to the President
‘It was about exposing perjury and the obstruction of justice,’ she continued. ‘It was never about politics.’
Tripp told DailyMailTV in 2017 that she was manipulative by getting Ms Lewinsky to speak about the one-and-a-half-year involvement with Clinton so she could record it.
But she maintained it was not to hurt the younger woman.
When news emerged of her former friend’s illness, Ms Lewinsky put the past behind her when she commented on social media.
She said on social media: ‘No matter the past, upon hearing that Linda Tripp is very seriously ill, I hope for her recovery.’
Linda Tripp passed away in April last year after suffering from pancreatic cancer. Above: She is seen speaking to Daily Mail TV in 2017
‘I can’t imagine how difficult this is for her family.’
Since the scandal, Ms Lewinsky has become an anti-bullying activist, television personality and fashion designer.
Impeachment: An American Crime Story has been co-produced by Ms Lewinsky herself.
She insisted during the show’s production that it should not shy away from scenes which portray her in a negative light.
The scriptwriter had initially left out an infamous scene in which Ms Lewinsky flashed a glimpse of her thong at Clinton for fear of ‘re-traumatising’ her, but she insisted that it go back in.
