Papers raise doubts about credibility of Linda Tripp

The latest documents from independent counsel Mr Kenneth Starr not only reinforce Mrs Linda Tripp's reputation as a back-stabber…

The latest documents from independent counsel Mr Kenneth Starr not only reinforce Mrs Linda Tripp's reputation as a back-stabber but also raise questions about the credibility of a key witness in his investigation of President Clinton.

Despite her pivotal role in his investigation, Mr Starr makes little mention of Mrs Tripp in his 445-page report. This is partly because Ms Lewinsky is the star witness.

But the Starr team has its own reasons to be circumspect with Mrs Tripp, because of suspicion that she lied about her handling of the tapes she made of her conversations with Ms Lewinsky.

The independent counsel is investigating whether Mrs Tripp was telling the truth when she told his prosecutors that she had not altered or made any copies of the dozens of tapes she gave Mr Starr.

READ MORE

President Clinton certainly felt he was a victim of Mrs Tripp's scheming. During his grand jury testimony he kept voicing his suspicions that she was responsible for feeding information about Ms Lewinsky to Ms Paula Jones's lawyers.

In her grand jury testimony Ms Lewinsky said it was Mrs Tripp who urged her not to clean the semen-stained blue dress that proved a sexual relationship between her and Mr Clinton.

More crucially, Mrs Tripp was the trigger for Mr Starr's investigation into Mr Clinton's relationship with Ms Lewinsky, and the alleged cover-up that followed.

According to the Starr report, Mrs Tripp came forward in January with information that Mr Vernon Jordan was helping Ms Lewinsky find a job in exchange for her silence on her affair with the President.

Armed with this information, Mr Starr asked Attorney General Ms Janet Reno for permission to expand his Whitewater investigation.

But if Ms Lewinsky's testimony is true, Mr Starr launched his investigation into the Clinton-Lewinsky relationship on the basis of false information provided by Mrs Tripp.

Mr Starr's investigators fitted Mrs Tripp with a hidden tape recorder on January 13th, when she met Ms Lewinsky for a drink and the two discussed their strategies for dealing with the Paula Jones lawsuit.