Out of Work Linda Tripp May Be Out of Home Pending Foreclosure

Linda Tripp is facing foreclosure on the home where she recorded the telephone calls with former White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky that triggered the impeachment of President Clinton.

CitiMortgage Inc. filed a foreclosure action in Howard County Circuit Court against Tripp late last month, noting a mortgage balance of $116,098.61, including late charges and interest.

Attorney Joseph Murtha, who defended Tripp in the state’s unsuccessful prosecution on wiretap charges, said she hasn’t lived in the house for months and has been out of work since she was fired from the Department of Defense.

Tripp secretly recorded Lewinsky confiding a sexual relationship with Clinton. Tripp lost her job at the Pentagon after she refused to resign like other political appointees on the last day of Clinton’s term, her lawyer has said. The Defense Department said her termination letter was routine and that she was not singled out.

“It’s been very difficult for Linda to focus on where her career goes from this point in her life,” he said.

Tripp, who now lives in Middleburg, Va., had hoped to find another government job but has not been rehired, Murtha said.