LINDA TRIP GETS $595,000 IN PRIVACY SUIT

[AussieMark]

Linda Tripp Gets $595,000 in Privacy Suit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government will pay over half a million dollars to Linda Tripp, a central figure in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, as part of a settlement of lawsuits that accused U.S. officials of violating her privacy, court documents showed on Monday.
Tripp's secretly taped conversations with Lewinsky fueled the sex scandal that almost brought down former President Bill Clinton. Tripp transferred to a job at the Pentagon from the White House after news of her tape recordings became public.

Tripp sued the Defense Department and the U.S. government for privacy violations, including a charge that officials leaked information that she was interviewing for a job at a lower rank and salary than her old job.

Tripp also accused U.S. officials of leaking information from her security clearance.

Under the settlement, Tripp will be paid a lump sum of $595,000 and she will receive a retroactive increase in her pay grade which will be used to re-calculate her retirement benefits.

In exchange, the lawsuits will be dismissed.

"This is a long awaited first step toward holding the government accountable under the Privacy Act," Tripp said in a statement. "The government should never be permitted to use Privacy Act protected information to discredit a political opponent."

Tripp was fired from her job at the Pentagon in January 2001 after she refused to follow tradition and resign with other political appointees at the end of the Clinton administration.