OT/KB Bet the Clintonistas are going to love this:
XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SUN JAN 21, 2001 19:25:41 ET XXXXX
BUSH CONSIDERS TRIPP HIRE
**Exclusive**
Moving quickly upon taking office, President George W. Bush on Saturday issued an order that blocked many of the last-minute executive orders and rules laid down by outgoing President Clinton.
But one controversial Clinton action has caused a deep divide inside of Bush's inner circle: Whether to rehire Linda Tripp!
Tripp, a 20-year government employee, was let go by Clinton late last week in a move her lawyers called a "vengeful" act of punishment for her role in the Lewinsky mess.
Now, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal, President Bush is considering hiring Tripp anew.
Bush's father asked his son this weekend if there is anything that can be done to help Tripp, according to sources.
Tripp began working in the White House under former President Bush. She stayed on after Clinton took office, receiving a political appointment, pay raise and a new job at the Pentagon in 1994.
MORAL DILEMMA
"We have to do something for her, she is a federal whistleblower who got the short end of a very big stick," one of Bush's top advisers said this weekend in Washington. "We have to make this right. We have to do it quickly."
Added a second Bush source: "I don't think anyone here is advocating her return to the White House, but she should not be standing on the unemployment lines."
Not all Bush advisers are advocating a Tripp hire, according to insiders, and the president himself is said to have expressed concern about igniting any new Lewinsky controversy.
"Hiring Tripp could be seen as throwing dirt in Bill Clinton's face and this is not the tone we want out of the gate," said an insider.
Tripp lawyers plan to personally lobby administration officials in coming days.
Tripp claims she is no longer able to find work after the Clinton White House "orchestrated and executed" a "vicious smear campaign" against her.
Developing... |
