A bad Tripp

[Chris Burford]

One of the more perceptive legal observations on the international news
networks, tonight is that all the sexual detail of the Starr report (easily
accessible I found at CNN.COM) can only be quoted because of Linda Tripp's
tapes. Otherwise as evidence it would just be "he said - she said". But
Starr only has the opportunity of using these sexual details to try to
prove perjury because they are corroborated by the Tripp tapes.

Tripp is said to be the link who was meeting Jones's lawyers the day before
they asked the catch all-question to Clinton.

My question for this list, is what are the politics of Linda Tripp? 

A few weeks ago the London based Observer, which under Will Hutton, is a
very serious paper, was convinced of the politics behind the affair and got
a quote from a leading Arkansas right winger about how they were prepared
to use the sexual connection to wing Clinton. 

The analysis described the conflicts in Arkansas between the economic and
class structure of the plains, and of the upland region, where Clinton
comes from. 

But more widely the Observer article really described the network of
right-wingers as a pretty disparate lot, including Moon and the Washington
Post (Perhaps the "International Terrorist Network" presented Clinton with
a more defined and satisfying target for bombing.)

So by this argument paradoxically the very amount of sexual detail in the
report points to a political connection.

What is known about Tripp's motivation and actions from a *political* point
of view?

What is known about the economic interests of her contacts?

Chris Burford

London

____________________

PS I just caught the pseudo-scientific accuracy of the statement that:

"According to the more sensitive RFLP test, the genetic markers on the semen, 
which match the President's DNA, are characteristic of one out
of 7.87 trillion Caucasians" 

Note the accuracy to 0.01 of a trillion. (BTW where are these trillions of
Caucasians?) This is clearly a statement of quite magical potency worthy of
the professional writer hired for the report.