Linda Tripp, the main instigator in uncovering the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal in 1998, broke nearly a decade of silence on Monday to tell the world what it was like to be a whistleblower in a high-profile controversy.
"A whistleblower armed with the truth wields enormous pressure on wrongdoings and folks who believe that they have a way to do whatever it is they want to do," Tripp said at an event marking National Whistleblower Day on Capitol Hill, ABC News reported.
"But it all comes at an enormous price for the whistleblower."
Tripp of course was referring to the years after she had made public tape recordings that exposed a secret affair between Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, and then-President Bill Clinton, The Washington Post reported.
At the time Tripp, a government employee, secretly recorded conversations with Lewinsky, who had confided in her as a friend.
Tripp turned over the phone tapes to independent counsel Ken Starr, an action that eventually helped bring about the House of Representatives' impeachment of Bill Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice.
Tripp said the years after that were filled with loneliness as she was isolated by those around her for the decision to speak up. She said she was the target of massive backlash.
"To those out there who say I did this for personal gain, I say, standing here 20 years later – What did I stand to gain then or now?" she said, according to ABC News. "I stood to lose everything, and in fact, I did. And yet, if I had to do it all over again, I would."
She opted to stay largely under the radar in the years that ensued, but granted a rare interview to the Daily Mail in which she said Hillary Clinton's role in the debacle was ruthless.
"She destroyed women so that their stories never saw the light of day," she said.
Despite this, Tripp said it was her duty to blow the whistle on Bill Clinton and Lewinsky.
"It was always about right and wrong, never left and right," she said, according to The Washington Post. "It was about exposing perjury and the obstruction of justice."
Tripp has not made a public appearance since 2000, The Washington Times reported.
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