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WHISTLEBLOWER DEAD

Linda Tripp dead at 70 – Clinton impeachment whistleblower who convinced Monica Lewinsky to save blue dress passes away

CLINTON sex scandal whistleblower Linda Tripp has died at the age of 70, reports claim.

Tripp had been gravely ill and on her deathbed Tuesday night, according to a Facebook post from her daughter, which was later made private.

 Linda Tripp died Wednesday at the age of 70 after falling gravely ill, reports claim
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Linda Tripp died Wednesday at the age of 70 after falling gravely ill, reports claim
 Tripp recorded the secret conversations between Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton that led to his impeachment
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Tripp recorded the secret conversations between Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton that led to his impeachmentCredit: Handout - Getty

reported Wednesday she had passed away with her husband Dieter Rausch and their daughter Allison Foley at her bedside.

"My mommy is leaving this earth. I don't know myself if I can survive this heartache,"  Foley wrote Tuesday night.

"Please pray for a painless process for the strongest woman I will ever know in my entire lifetime."

There was no immediate information on what caused Tripp's illness, including whether or not the played a role.

Diane Spreadbury, a close friend of Tripp for more than two decades, told the outlet she received word her pal "died with a smile on her face."

"We had discussed death many times and spoke of it together when she faced breast cancer 18 years ago," said Spreadbury.

"It wasn't something that she was afraid of."

 Tripp was said to have died 'with a smile on her face', a close friend of hers said
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Tripp was said to have died 'with a smile on her face', a close friend of hers saidCredit: AP:Associated Press
 Tripp convinced Lewinsky to keep the infamous blue dress the then-White House intern said she wore during a sex act
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Tripp convinced Lewinsky to keep the infamous blue dress the then-White House intern said she wore during a sex actCredit: AP:Associated Press
 Lewinsky offered her sympathies to Tripp's family, saying: 'No matter the past, I hope for her recovery'
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Lewinsky offered her sympathies to Tripp's family, saying: 'No matter the past, I hope for her recovery'Credit: Handout - Getty

The former White House and Pentagon aide secretly taped the private phone calls of Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton that would eventually lead to the president's impeachment in 1998.

Clinton, however, was not convicted in a subsequent Senate trial.

Lewinsky, a former White House intern who worked at the Pentagon with Tripp, extended well wishes to her former colleague and her family on Wednesday after learning she was gravely ill.

"No matter the past, upon hearing that linda tripp is very seriously ill, I hope for her recovery," she tweeted.

"I can't imagine how difficult this is for her and her family."

Tripp, who has been called a "whistleblower" for exposing the relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky, pushed back against the allegations in 2018.

She told the in an interview she regretted "not having the guts to do it sooner."

"It was always about right and wrong, never left and right," she said.

"It was about exposing perjury and the obstruction of justice. It was never about politics."

 Tripp said in 2018 that she regretted 'not having the guts' to blow the whistle on Clinton and Lewinsky's affair sooner
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Tripp said in 2018 that she regretted 'not having the guts' to blow the whistle on Clinton and Lewinsky's affair soonerCredit: AP:Associated Press

There won't be a funeral for Tripp due to the coronavirus pandemic - she'll be privately interred, and a memorial service will be held at a later date, a close friend told the Mail.

Tripp is survived by her husband and daughter, as well as a son named Ryan.

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