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Judge allows Tripp trial to proceed, but limits Lewinsky testimony

The conversations Tripp taped were used during impeachment hearings to prove Monica Lewinsky's relationship with President Clinton

May 5, 2000
Web posted at: 2:36 p.m. EST (1836 GMT)

By Raju Chebium
CNN Interactive Correspondent

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Maryland judge on Friday allowed Linda Tripp's state wiretrapping trial to proceed, but limited the testimony of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The trial is set for July 10th.

Howard County Circuit Judge Diane O. Leasure, who barred another witness from testifying, ruled Lewinsky can testify on the matter of consent, a key ingredient of the Maryland wiretapping law.

Under Maryland law, it is illegal to record a telephone conversation without the other party's consent. The tapes, which Pentagon worker Tripp turned over to Kenneth Starr, expanded the independent counsel's investigation of the Whitewater matter to include the Lewinsky scandal and led to President Clinton's impeachment by the House and acquittal in the Senate.

FULL TEXT: State v. Tripp Opinion |  Order (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

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The judge had been considering whether state prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli established his case against Tripp using evidence independent of the immunized testimony she provided Ken Starr. At the request of the Office of the Independent Counsel, a judge granted Tripp immunity during Starr's investigation of the president.

Leasure ruled in December that Tripp's immunity deal was not approved by a judge until a month after the agreement was reached, in February 1998, and did not cover the playing of the tapes for Newsweek magazine in January after the deal was struck.

Tripp's attorney, Joseph Murtha, argued that tainted evidence had been used in the prosecutor's presentations to the grand jury. He has asked for the charges to be dismissed, or that key testimony be excluded if the case is allowed to move forward.

Starr says he should have been more informative during probe (12-19-99)

One year later, a defining moment fades from the national consciousness (12-17-99)

Lewinsky testifies in Tripp wiretap hearing (12-16-99)

The Linda Tripp Web site

Office of Independent Counsel Web site

White House Web site

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