Lucianne Goldberg, key player in Clinton impeachment, dies at age 87
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Lucianne Goldberg, the agent who persuaded Linda Tripp to secretly record her conversations with Monica Lewinsky during the Bill Clinton affair scandal, dies aged 87
- Her son, journalist Jonah Goldberg, confirmed the news, saying his mother “died peacefully at home, surrounded by people – and pets! – who loved her’
- It was Goldberg who advised Pentagon assistant Linda Tripp to record her conversations with then-White House intern Lewinsky about the affair.
- Those 20 hours of recording became key evidence in the Kenneth Star investigation into Clinton about his affair and whether he committed perjury
- Clinton was impeached by the House on December 19, 1998 for denying under oath that he had sex with Lewinsky, but he was acquitted by the Senate
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Lucianne Goldberg, the conservative literary agent who played a pivotal role in exposing the affair between Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton, died Wednesday at the age of 87.
Her son, journalist Jonah Goldberg, confirmed the news Thursday, saying his mother “died peacefully at home, surrounded by people — and pets!” – who loved her.’
It was Goldberg who advised Pentagon aide Linda Tripp to record her conversations with Lewinsky, the then White House intern, when the then 24-year-old spoke about her affair with President Clinton.
Those 20 hours of recording became key evidence in the Kenneth Star investigation into Clinton about his affair with Lewinsky and whether he committed perjury by lying about the affair in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case.
Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998 for denying under oath that he had sex with Lewinsky, but he was acquitted by the Senate.
Lucianne Goldberg, the conservative literary agent who played a pivotal role in exposing the affair between Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton, died Wednesday at the age of 87.
It was Goldberg who advised Pentagon aide Linda Tripp to record her conversations with Lewinsky, the then White House intern, when the then 24-year-old spoke about her affair with President Clinton.
Goldberg, a longtime Clinton nemesis, had met Tripp while working on a proposal for a book about the death of Vince Foster, an aide to Clinton whose suicide sparked conservative conspiracy theories. It was Goldberg who told her friend that the recordings would be legal — they weren’t — and then encouraged her to break Lewinsky’s trust and give them to Starr. Goldberg later said she was glad Clinton had been caught “something.”
A New York literary agent, Goldberg was known for promoting books that others wouldn’t touch. The New York Times described her as “an agent with a penchant for right-wing, all-encompassing assault books” in an article published amid the fallout from the Lewinsky tapes.
Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998 for denying under oath that he had sex with Lewinsky, but he was acquitted by the Senate.
With Democratic ties in her early years, Goldberg worked as a press officer on Lyndon Johnson’s campaign for president in 1960. She then worked for the Democratic National Committee and John F. Kennedy’s inaugural committee.
In 1970, she founded the anti-feminist group “Pussycat League,” and during the 1972 presidential campaign, she was paid as a spy posing as a reporter on Democrat George McGovern’s campaign.
Goldberg was born Lucianne Steinberger in Boston. Her first marriage, to William Cummings, ended in divorce. Her second husband, newspaper director Sidney Goldberg, died in 2005.
Her survivors include Jonah Goldberg. Another son, Joshua Goldberg, died in 2011.