NY Agent To Go Before Tripp Jury

New York literary agent Lucianne Goldberg and her son say they have been subpoenaed to appear before a Maryland grand jury investigating alleged wiretapping violations by Linda Tripp.

"We're going to go together so we can shop in Ellicott City," Mrs. Goldberg told The Washington Post. "I understand they have antique stores there."

Her son, Jonah, told the newspaper that he received a subpoena last Tuesday and that he expected to appear before the grand jury Nov. 12.

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The 20 hours of tapes triggered an investigation by independent counsel Kenneth Starr and led to President Clinton's public admission that he had an improper relationship with Lewinsky.

In Maryland, it is illegal to tape record a telephone conversation without the other person's consent. The felony is punishable by five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Although Tripp has told a federal grand jury that she knew she violated the Maryland law by recording conversations with Lewinsky, her testimony was made under a grant of immunity from Starr. That means the statement can't be used against her in the Maryland investigation.

Mrs. Goldberg said that in a September 1997 conversation, Tripp asked whether taping her calls with Lewinsky would be appropriate.

"She said she felt sleazy doing it," said Mrs. Goldberg. "She didn't ask me if it was legal or not. She said, `I just wondered if I'll get in trouble for doing something like that,' something to that effect."

Mrs. Goldberg said she then consulted someone who incorrectly told her that making telephone recordings of others was legal. Mrs. Goldberg said she relayed the inaccurate information to Tripp.

Jonah Goldberg was present for a meeting last year in his Washington apartment with his mother, Tripp and a Newsweek magazine reporter. He said the discussions at that meeting indicated that Tripp did not know taping the conversations was illegal.