Tripp was working in the Pentagon when she befriended Lewinsky, the former White House intern who was having an affair with the president. In 1997, she made 22 hours of surreptitious recordings of Lewinsky speaking about the affair, and then handed them over to special prosecutor Ken Starr.
To Clinton’s supporters, Tripp became one of the primary villains of the impeachment episode — a false friend who had betrayed Lewinsky’s confidence out of partisan motives. Tripp, however, remained unapologetic about her role in the scandal.
Lewinsky recalled to Barbara Walters her feeling when she realized that Tripp had taped her: “Gutted and violated and betrayed. And scared.”
- I did not see a cause of death. Tripp had reportedly been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
