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Lewinsky-Tripp tapes paint a muddled pictureWASHINGTON (AllPolitics, October 2) -- If anyone was hoping the Lewinsky-Tripp tapes would tie up the sex-and-perjury scandal in a nice neat bundle, think again. The heavily edited tape transcripts, released Friday as part of Independent Counsel Ken Starr's supporting evidence, seem like many conversations between close friends. They are marked by fits and starts, inside jokes, ambiguous half-finished phrases and references to unnamed people. Many of the Lewinsky-Tripp exchanges are the age-old laments of women complaining about "man trouble." Some of it is explicit, even after the House Judiciary Committee's editing. More of the transcripts have the flavor of give-and-take of someone confiding in a friend who tries to be, at turns, supportive, sympathetic, analytical and even philosophical. "I'm just questioning the whole experience," Lewinsky tells Tripp at one point. "I'm like why -- why did I have to go through this?" Lewinsky continues, "I don't feel any better about myself. I don't have any more feelings of self-worth or more self-esteem." Tripp: "Well, the you-know-what of the you-know-what found you awfully attractive." Lewinsky: "But big (redacted) deal.... He finds anybody attractive." Tripp tries to be supportive. "Oh, that's not true." "It is true," Lewinsky replies. "I guarantee you that given the opportunity with anybody, he'd let anybody ... (redacted)." In another conversation, Lewinsky describes an argument, apparently with Clinton. "I mean Linda, he got so mad at me, he must have been purple," Lewinsky says. "Uh, what precisely pissed him off?" Tripp asks. "I think it was my -- you know, I was ready -- you know, I was a cannon ready to shoot," Lewinsky says. In that same conversation, Lewinsky quotes Clinton as saying, "I have an empty life except for my work and it's a (deleted) obsession." "He said that?" Tripp asks. "Mm-hmmm," Lewinsky says. Tripp: "He has an empty life except for his work?" Lewinsky: "Right. And then I said, I said, 'Well, don't you get any warmth and da da da from your wife?" Tripp: "You didn't?" Lewinsky: "I did. He said, 'Of course I do.'" Much of the Lewinsky's and Tripp's conversations revolve around Lewinsky's attempts to return to a job at the White House, but Lewinsky also says at one point she has had enough of government work. "I cannot work for the government anymore," Lewinsky says. "It's no longer an option for me." |
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MORE STORIES:Friday, October 2, 1998
• Jordan's testimony on job search conflicts with Lewinsky • Currie's testimony shows her to a be friend and enabler • Lewinsky's mother worried Clinton was 'using' her daughter • Lewinsky-Tripp tapes paint a muddled picture • Tripp audio tapes excerpts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 • Clinton attorneys raise settlement offer in Jones suit • Democrats announce alternative proposal for impeachment proceedings • McCurry's last briefing • Next at bat: Joe Lockhart • Florida candidate calls opponent fake • Senate defeats Internet sales tax • Senate panel OKs online privacy law • Clinton hits fund-raising trail • Roseanne offers at least $1 million for Monica appearance • In search of a Monica-free zone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
