Linda Tripp, central figure in Bill Clinton’s impeachment, dies

Linda Tripp speaks to the press after concluding her testimony before the federal grand jury investigating then-President Bill Clinton. With her are her daughter Allison (left), son Ryan and spokesman Philip Coughter (rear).(WILLIAM PHILPOTT/AFP via Getty Images)

The Daily News reports:

Linda Tripp, a key player in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, died Wednesday, the Washington Post reported.

News of her illness was announced late Tuesday on Facebook by her daughter Allison Tripp Foley.

“My mommy is leaving this earth. I don’t know myself if I can survive this heartache,” Foley wrote. “Please pray for a painless process for the strongest woman I will ever know in my entire lifetime, Linda Rausch. Dear friends and family, please direct all questions to Thomas Foley at this time. Dieter and I are both by her bedside.”

Foley did not disclose the nature of her mother’s illness, though reports say she was battling pancreatic cancer. Foley has not returned a Daily News request for comment.

Trip married architect Dieter Rausch in 2004.

Tripp, 70, gained the trust of infamous White House intern Monica Lewinsky when both women were working in the nation’s capital during the Clinton campaign. She began recording conversations between the two in which Lewinsky, then 22, spoke of a sexual relationship she was having with the 42nd president, who was 30 years her elder. That evidence figured into Clinton’s impeachment in 1998.

Upon hearing news of Tripp’s illness, Lewinsky put their difficult history behind her and wished Tripp well.

“No matter the past, upon hearing that linda tripp is very seriously ill, i hope for her recovery," Lewinsky tweeted. "i can’t imagine how difficult this is for her family.”

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.

— Monica Lewinsky (@MonicaLewinsky) April 8, 2020