Tripp became a close confidante of
Monica Lewinsky, another former White House employee, while both were working in the Pentagon's public affairs office. In January 1998, Tripp gave the tapes to
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Tripp disclosed to Starr that she was aware of the relationship between Lewinsky and Clinton, that Lewinsky had submitted a false affidavit denying the relationship to the federal court in Arkansas in the
Clinton v. Jones lawsuit, and that Lewinsky had attempted to
suborn Tripp's perjury in that suit to conceal what she knew of the Clinton–Lewinsky relationship and of Kathleen Willey from the federal court. As Tripp explained, she was being solicited to commit a crime to conceal evidence in the Jones civil rights case. Jones' lawsuit, initially filed in April 1994 through her attorneys
Joseph Cammarata and Gilbert K. Davis, eventually resulted in the landmark
US Supreme Court decision in
Clinton v. Jones that held that sitting US presidents do not have immunity against civil lawsuits for acts done before they take office that are unrelated to the office. Tripp also informed Starr of the existence of a navy blue dress that Lewinsky owned that was soiled with Clinton's semen. During their friendship, Lewinsky had shown the dress to Tripp and said she intended to have it dry-cleaned. Tripp convinced her not to do so. Based on Tripp's tapes, Starr obtained approval from Attorney General
Janet Reno and the special court overseeing the independent counsel to expand Starr's investigation into the Clinton–Lewinsky relationship, look for potential incidents of perjury, and investigate Lewinsky for perjury and suborning perjury as a witness in the lawsuit that
Paula Jones had brought against Clinton. Eventually, both Clinton and Lewinsky had to appear before a
grand jury to answer questions, but Clinton appeared via
closed-circuit television. At the conclusion of Lewinsky's interrogation, the jurors offered Lewinsky the chance to offer any last words. She said, "I hate Linda Tripp."
Indictment by Maryland Tripp was a resident of
Hickory Ridge, while she made her surreptitious recordings of the conversations with Lewinsky, and 49 Democrats in the Maryland Legislature signed a letter to the state prosecutor to demand for Tripp to be prosecuted under Maryland's wiretap law. Before the trial, the state court ruled that because of the immunity agreements that the independent counsel's office had entered with Tripp, Lewinsky, and others, a substantial amount of the evidence that the prosecution had intended to use was inadmissible. At a pre-trial hearing, the prosecution called Lewinsky as a witness to try to establish if her testimony against Tripp was untainted by the independent counsel's investigation. However, the Maryland state court ruled that Lewinsky, who "admitted that she lied under oath in a federal proceeding and has stated that lying has been a part of her life," was not credible and that Lewinsky's proposed testimony against Tripp was "bathed in impermissible taint." As a result, all charges against Tripp were dismissed on May 26, 2000, when the prosecution decided not to proceed with the trial of the case.
Arrest record controversy Tripp had been arrested in 1969 when she was 19 years old in
Greenwood Lake, New York, on charges of stealing $263 in cash as well as a wristwatch worth about $600. The charges were dismissed before they could come to trial. Years later, Tripp answered "no" to the question "Have you ever been either charged or arrested for a crime?" on her form for a
US Department of Defense security clearance. In March 1998, shortly before Tripp was scheduled to appear before the grand jury in the Lewinsky investigation, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
Kenneth Bacon and his deputy, Clifford Bernath, leaked how Tripp had answered that question to
Jane Mayer of
The New Yorker. The Department of Defense then leaked other confidential information from Tripp's personnel and security files to the news media. The Department of Defense inspector general investigated the leaks and found that Bacon and Bernath had violated the Privacy Act of 1974. The US Department of Defense inspector general concluded that both Bacon and Bernath should have known that the release of information from Tripp's security file was improper.
Termination from government employment On January 19, 2001, the last full day of the Clinton administration, Tripp was fired from her job in the Pentagon. She claimed that the firing was vindictive, but the Clinton administration said that all political appointees such as Tripp are normally asked to submit their resignation when a new administration takes over. Those who refuse to do so may be fired.
Lawsuit and settlement Tripp sued the US Department of Defense and the US Department of Justice for releasing information from her security file and employment file to the news media in violation of the
Privacy Act of 1974. On November 3, 2003, Tripp reached a settlement with the federal government. The settlement included a one-time payment of more than $595,000; a retroactive promotion; and retroactive pay at the highest salary for 1998, 1999, and 2000. She also received a pension and was cleared to work for the federal government again. Her rights to remain part of a class action against the government were preserved. ==Later years==