[03/04] Tripp's son says Lewinsky account was ``fictional'' WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The son of Linda Tripp, the woman who betrayed Monica Lewinsky over her relationship with President Clinton, on Thursday defended his mother's actions and said Lewinsky's version of events was ``fictional.'' ``The things she said came across to me as fictional,'' Ryan Tripp told ABC-TV's ``Good Morning America'' when asked to comment on Lewinsky's interview with Barbara Walters, which was broadcast by ABC on Wednesday night. ``I was there ... She (Lewinsky) was the one that was always calling my mom, telling her what she had to do, what she should do. It's the complete 180 (degree turn) from what I have read from excerpts and from the interview,'' he said. The former White House intern, whose affair with the president nearly led to his removal from office, gave her first television interview over the scandal to the prime-time news program ``20/20.'' On Thursday, the book ``Monica's Story, written by British author Andrew Morton, went on sale. Lewinsky, who said the affair with Clinton had left her feeling used and hurt, was scathing in her criticism of Linda Tripp who taped her conversations about the affair and handed them over to investigators. Asked to respond to the public perception that his mother was known as the betraying friend, Ryan Tripp said the public did not grasp the facts in the case. ``She (Linda Tripp) had Monica Lewinsky calling her daily saying 'I am going to lie, the president of the United States is going to lie, everyone is going to lie. Who are you to tell the truth and who is going to believe you','' Tripp said. ``People might not accept what she (Linda Tripp) did but as I see it -- I am her son and maybe I am a bit biased -- I did not see any other option for her.'' Lewinsky has been in the spotlight for more than 13 months as a central character in the sex scandal that led to Clinton's impeachment by the House on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. He was acquitted in a Senate trial last month. Lewinsky's first televised appearance was on video before the Senate impeachment trial last month ago. Last Updated: 03/04/99 09:46 EST Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication and redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. http://legalnews.findlaw.com/news/19990304/bcclintonscandaltripp.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Copyright � 1994-1998 FindLaw Inc.
