Lucianne Goldberg
Encyclopedia
Lucianne S. Goldberg née
Lucianne Steinberger, also known as Lucianne Cummings (born April 29, 1935) is an American literary agent
, author and the publisher of the website Lucianne.com. An avowed critic of U.S. President Bill Clinton
, she helped bring the Lewinsky scandal
to light, which triggered impeachment proceedings
that nearly removed Clinton from office.
outside of Washington D.C., where her father was employed as a government physicist
, and her mother was a physiotherapist
. She attended high school in Alexandria, leaving at age 16 to begin working. She married her high school sweetheart, William Cummings; the couple separated after three years of marriage and later divorced.
won the Democratic nomination, she got a position at the Democratic National Committee
followed by a spot on Kennedy's Inaugural
Committee. She has said she served on Kennedy's White House
staff, but according to the Washington Post, her name does not appear on any staff records. In response, she explained that she worked in the Old Executive Office Building doing opposition research, then worked out of the National Press Club building in public relations.
to Lady Bird Johnson
through an auction house for $1000 ($ in today's dollars). She had come into possession of the note when acting as a messenger for Kennedy in 1960. Upon hearing of the auction, the First Lady became irate, and demanded that the note be returned to the White House. Cummings apologized and returned the note, then found out the next day that her income tax returns were going to be audit
ed by the Internal Revenue Service
.
In 1966, she married Sidney Goldberg, who was then the executive editor of the North American Newspaper Alliance
(NANA), a subsidiary of United Features Syndicate
. She took the name Goldberg upon her marriage and worked for the Women's News Service, also a subsidiary of United Features Syndicate.
, and in 1971 she and Sakol published Purr Baby Purr, a critique of feminism
.
During the 1972 presidential campaign
she joined the press corps covering Democratic
candidate George McGovern
claiming to be a reporter for the Women's News Service, though she was on leave of absence from that position. In actuality, Goldberg was being paid $1000 a week - $ in today's dollars - to spy on McGovern and those traveling with him on the campaign's planes. When recruited, she was told U.S. President
Nixon
himself had approved the spying, which was to include traditional political intelligence and information on personal habits: "'They were looking for really dirty stuff,' [she] said. 'Who was sleeping with whom, what the secret service
men were doing with the stewardesses, who was smoking pot
on the plane - that sort of thing. I was told to send it all along.'" Goldberg's role as a reporter-spy came to light in the Watergate
hearings that led to the resignation of Nixon.
Feminist Betty Friedan
alleged in June 1973 that Goldberg, as an organizer of the Pussycat League, had been attempting to derail the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment
by engaging in Watergate-style "dirty tricks" and by touring the country falsely telling women they would lose their husbands and rights to family support if the amendment was passed.
Kitty Kelley
, sued her in 1983 over proceeds from foreign sales of Kelley's unauthorized biography on Elizabeth Taylor
. Kelley ultimately won a judgment of $40,000, with the judge declaring that Goldberg was only guilty of "sloppy bookkeeping". Goldberg was also the U.S. agent for the memoirs of Prince Charles
' former valet
, which were blocked for publication in England by Queen Elizabeth. In the early 1990s Goldberg promoted a conspiracy theory
book about the suicide death of Clinton White House aide, Vincent Foster, and several books dealing with Clinton's purported sexual infidelities including one by Arkansas State Troopers
who alleged they had procured women to have sex with then-Governor Clinton. None of the Clinton-themed books were ever published. Goldberg was also the agent for former detective Mark Fuhrman
's bestselling account of the O.J. Simpson trial, Murder in Brentwood.
Goldberg has written several novels. Friends in High Places co-written with Sondra Robinson, was published in 1979. Her first solo novel Madame Cleo's Girls, a story of three high-priced call girl
s, was published in 1992, followed by People Will Talk in 1994. She has also ghostwritten
for celebrities; the romance novel Washington Wives (1987) penned under the name of Maureen Dean, wife of Watergate figure John Dean
) is one of her behind-the-scenes works.
in 1993 or 1994 while working on the proposal for the book on the death of Clinton aide Vince Foster. The two women became friends, and in 1997 Goldberg advised Tripp to secretly record former White House intern, Monica Lewinsky
, talking about her sexual relationship with Bill Clinton. Goldberg mistakenly advised Tripp that it was legal to record phone conversations in Maryland
without the consent of the other party.
Goldberg urged Tripp to take the resulting 20 hours of tapes to Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr
who had a broad mandate to investigate improprieties by Clinton. Goldberg also brought the tapes to the attention of lawyers working on the Paula Jones
sexual harassment case against Clinton. The tapes became crucial to Starr's investigation on whether Clinton had lied about his affair with Lewinsky. (Ultimately, Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice because he stated in a sworn deposition in the Paul Jones case that he had never had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. He was not removed from office, however.)
Soon after the secret taping began in the fall of 1997, Goldberg arranged for Tripp to speak with Newsweek
reporter Michael Isikoff
, who had been investigating other allegations about Clinton's sex life. After the scandal became public in January 1998, Goldberg was interviewed frequently by the media. She declared that the tapes proved that Lewinsky and Clinton had had a sexual relationship, and previewed other highlights of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair such as the existence of a semen-stained dress which later proved to have Clinton's DNA.
The Washington Post called her "the producer and publicist" who set the stage for the scandal and the investigation, she called herself the "facilitator". Of Goldberg's role in the scandal, TIME magazine said; "At a minimum, she is forever sealed in history as the New York City literary agent who uttered to her friend the most ruinous sentence of the Clinton presidency: 'Linda, buy a tape recorder.' " Author Jeffrey Toobin
named her as one of the seven "Key Players" in the impeachment.
Goldberg said her actions in helping to disclose the Lewinsky-Clinton affair were motivated by her sense that general morality had declined, and that America needed "a wake-up call". She also said that the disclosure of Lewinsky's affair with Clinton helped to protect Lewinsky, who suffered from an obsessive infatuation with Clinton. During this time, Goldberg made no secret of her personal animus toward Clinton, saying she was glad Clinton was getting caught "at something", and that "[i]f it took this to get him, fine." She also said she was a political independent, though she was described in the press as having long standing ties to the Republican Party
.
faxed an unflattering "information sheet" on Goldberg to reporters within days after the story broke. Goldberg admitted that slurs on her own character were to be expected, '"I have never thought of myself as a victim in all this," she [said]. '"Never. Let them take their best shot."' She later said she had been worn down by the scrutiny.
Goldberg denied allegations made in the media that she was part of a vast right wing conspiracy to bring down the presidency of Bill Clinton. When Jeffrey Toobin published his 1999 book, A Vast Conspiracy, that also alleged Goldberg had told friends that she had an affair with Lyndon Johnson, and a Washington Post writer claimed he and others had overheard Goldberg bragging about an affair with Vice President Hubert Humphrey
as well, Goldberg threatened Tobin and Random House with libel suit, denied both affairs, and denied telling any such stories.
Goldberg was subpoenaed to testify before a Maryland grand jury that was contemplating indicting Tripp for making the recordings. Under Maryland law, knowledge that such recordings were illegal was a necessary element of the crime. Goldberg explained that she had given Tripp incorrect advice, telling her it was legal to make secret recordings. Charges against Tripp were later dropped.
Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore
later set up a webcam
focused on the windows of Goldberg's Manhattan apartment, that he called "I See Lucy Cam". Moore's project did not violate New York State's laws. Claiming that Goldberg did not respect the privacy rights of other people, Moore wrote, "`[s]he believes in keeping an eye on persons who are a threat to the country. So do we.'"
in the late 1990s, posting under the name "Trixie". She and other conservatives, including Matt Drudge
, left the site when the webmaster, in Goldberg's words, "let all the Y2K, gun-nut, Jew-baiting crazies take over [the forum] and flame the plain-old conservatives. She then founded her own website, Lucianne.com, and for a time, was a nationally syndicated talk radio
host whose show featured a Washington correspondent.
nominee for the New York City Council
seat representing district number six on Manhattan
's Upper West Side
, who although he lost the election to the current democratic incumbent Gale Brewer
, in doing so he came closer to winning the seat than other Republican candidates in recent history, and Jonah
(born in 1969), who is a best selling author and conservative political commentator. The children were raised in their father's Jewish
faith, while Lucianne who was raised an Episcopalian, remained a Christian
.
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Lucianne Steinberger, also known as Lucianne Cummings (born April 29, 1935) is an American literary agent
Literary agent
A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers and film producers and assists in the sale and deal negotiation of the same. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwriters and major non-fiction writers...
, author and the publisher of the website Lucianne.com. An avowed critic of U.S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, she helped bring the Lewinsky scandal
Lewinsky scandal
The Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging in 1998 from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a 25-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The news of this extra-marital affair and the resulting investigation eventually led to the impeachment of...
to light, which triggered impeachment proceedings
Impeachment of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton, President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice on December 19, 1998, but acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of...
that nearly removed Clinton from office.
Early life and education
She was born Lucianne Steinberger in Boston, Massachusetts to Dr. Raymond and Lucy (Moseley) von Steinberger. She grew up in Alexandria, VirginiaAlexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
outside of Washington D.C., where her father was employed as a government physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, and her mother was a physiotherapist
Physical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
. She attended high school in Alexandria, leaving at age 16 to begin working. She married her high school sweetheart, William Cummings; the couple separated after three years of marriage and later divorced.
Aide for Democrats
She worked as a general clerk in the promotion department of the Washington Post from 1957 to mid-1960, quitting to take a job as a press aide in Lyndon Johnson's unsuccessful 1960 campaign for president. After John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
won the Democratic nomination, she got a position at the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
followed by a spot on Kennedy's Inaugural
Inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
Committee. She has said she served on Kennedy's White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
staff, but according to the Washington Post, her name does not appear on any staff records. In response, she explained that she worked in the Old Executive Office Building doing opposition research, then worked out of the National Press Club building in public relations.
Public relations firm
In 1963, she opened up her own, one person public relations firm, Lucianne Cummings & Associates. She received national media attention in 1965 when she attempted to sell a handwritten note from Jackie KennedyJacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
to Lady Bird Johnson
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 during the presidency of her husband Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout her life, she was an advocate for beautification of the nation's cities and highways and conservation of natural resources and made that...
through an auction house for $1000 ($ in today's dollars). She had come into possession of the note when acting as a messenger for Kennedy in 1960. Upon hearing of the auction, the First Lady became irate, and demanded that the note be returned to the White House. Cummings apologized and returned the note, then found out the next day that her income tax returns were going to be audit
Audit
The general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, enterprise, project or product. The term most commonly refers to audits in accounting, but similar concepts also exist in project management, quality management, and energy conservation.- Accounting...
ed by the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
.
In 1966, she married Sidney Goldberg, who was then the executive editor of the North American Newspaper Alliance
North American Newspaper Alliance
The North American Newspaper Alliance was a large newspaper syndicate that flourished between 1922 and 1980.Founded by John Neville Wheeler, NANA employed some of the most noted writing talents of its time, including Grantland Rice, Joseph Alsop, Michael Stern, Lothrop Stoddard, Dorothy Thompson,...
(NANA), a subsidiary of United Features Syndicate
United Media
United Media is a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It syndicates 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its core business is the United Feature Syndicate and the Newspaper Enterprise Association...
. She took the name Goldberg upon her marriage and worked for the Women's News Service, also a subsidiary of United Features Syndicate.
Conservative activism and Watergate era
In 1970, Goldberg and her friend Jeannie Sakol founded an organization called the "Pussycat League" to oppose the women's liberation movementFeminist movement
The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...
, and in 1971 she and Sakol published Purr Baby Purr, a critique of feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
.
During the 1972 presidential campaign
United States presidential election, 1972
The United States presidential election of 1972 was the 47th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 7, 1972. The Democratic Party's nomination was eventually won by Senator George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign against incumbent Republican President Richard...
she joined the press corps covering Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
claiming to be a reporter for the Women's News Service, though she was on leave of absence from that position. In actuality, Goldberg was being paid $1000 a week - $ in today's dollars - to spy on McGovern and those traveling with him on the campaign's planes. When recruited, she was told U.S. President
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
himself had approved the spying, which was to include traditional political intelligence and information on personal habits: "'They were looking for really dirty stuff,' [she] said. 'Who was sleeping with whom, what the secret service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
men were doing with the stewardesses, who was smoking pot
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
on the plane - that sort of thing. I was told to send it all along.'" Goldberg's role as a reporter-spy came to light in the Watergate
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
hearings that led to the resignation of Nixon.
Feminist Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan was an American writer, activist, and feminist.A leading figure in the Women's Movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the "second wave" of American feminism in the twentieth century...
alleged in June 1973 that Goldberg, as an organizer of the Pussycat League, had been attempting to derail the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and, in 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time...
by engaging in Watergate-style "dirty tricks" and by touring the country falsely telling women they would lose their husbands and rights to family support if the amendment was passed.
Literary agent and author
Goldberg ultimately set up her own literary agency and became known as a promoter of "right-wing, tell-all attack books", according to The New York Times. One of her clients, celebrity biographerCelebrity biographer
Celebrity biographers are authors who specialize in writing sensationalized books about the lives of celebrities. Historically, biographies have been limited to a those who specialized in literary works on important personalities or those officially commissioned by a living person or if deceased,...
Kitty Kelley
Kitty Kelley
Kitty Kelley is an American journalist and author of several best-selling unauthorized biographies of celebrities and politicians. Her subjects have included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the British Royal Family, the Bush family, and Oprah Winfrey...
, sued her in 1983 over proceeds from foreign sales of Kelley's unauthorized biography on Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
. Kelley ultimately won a judgment of $40,000, with the judge declaring that Goldberg was only guilty of "sloppy bookkeeping". Goldberg was also the U.S. agent for the memoirs of Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
' former valet
Valet
Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...
, which were blocked for publication in England by Queen Elizabeth. In the early 1990s Goldberg promoted a conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
book about the suicide death of Clinton White House aide, Vincent Foster, and several books dealing with Clinton's purported sexual infidelities including one by Arkansas State Troopers
Arkansas State Police
The Arkansas State Police is the state police agency for Arkansas, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state. It was created to protect the lives, property and constitutional rights of people in Arkansas...
who alleged they had procured women to have sex with then-Governor Clinton. None of the Clinton-themed books were ever published. Goldberg was also the agent for former detective Mark Fuhrman
Mark Fuhrman
Mark Fuhrman is a former detective of the Los Angeles Police Department , known for his part in the investigation of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman and his subsequent felony conviction for perjury...
's bestselling account of the O.J. Simpson trial, Murder in Brentwood.
Goldberg has written several novels. Friends in High Places co-written with Sondra Robinson, was published in 1979. Her first solo novel Madame Cleo's Girls, a story of three high-priced call girl
Call girl
A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who is not visible to the general public; nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency...
s, was published in 1992, followed by People Will Talk in 1994. She has also ghostwritten
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
for celebrities; the romance novel Washington Wives (1987) penned under the name of Maureen Dean, wife of Watergate figure John Dean
John Dean
John Wesley Dean III is an American lawyer who served as White House Counsel to United States President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. In this position, he became deeply involved in events leading up to the Watergate burglaries and the subsequent Watergate scandal cover-up...
) is one of her behind-the-scenes works.
The Tripp tapes
Goldberg met Linda TrippLinda Tripp
Linda Rose Tripp was a central figure in the Lewinsky scandal of 1998 and 1999 that led to the impeachment and subsequent acquittal of U.S. President Bill Clinton.-Early life and government employment:...
in 1993 or 1994 while working on the proposal for the book on the death of Clinton aide Vince Foster. The two women became friends, and in 1997 Goldberg advised Tripp to secretly record former White House intern, Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...
, talking about her sexual relationship with Bill Clinton. Goldberg mistakenly advised Tripp that it was legal to record phone conversations in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
without the consent of the other party.
Goldberg urged Tripp to take the resulting 20 hours of tapes to Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr
Kenneth Starr
Kenneth Winston "Ken" Starr is an American lawyer and educational administrator who has also been a federal judge. He is best known for his investigation of figures during the Clinton administration....
who had a broad mandate to investigate improprieties by Clinton. Goldberg also brought the tapes to the attention of lawyers working on the Paula Jones
Paula Jones
Paula Corbin Jones is a former Arkansas state employee who sued U.S. President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment. The lawsuit was dismissed before trial on the grounds that Jones failed to demonstrate any damages...
sexual harassment case against Clinton. The tapes became crucial to Starr's investigation on whether Clinton had lied about his affair with Lewinsky. (Ultimately, Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice because he stated in a sworn deposition in the Paul Jones case that he had never had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. He was not removed from office, however.)
Soon after the secret taping began in the fall of 1997, Goldberg arranged for Tripp to speak with Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
reporter Michael Isikoff
Michael Isikoff
Michael Isikoff is an investigative journalist for NBC News, formerly with the United States magazine Newsweek. He joined Newsweek as an investigative correspondent in June, 1994, and has written extensively on the U.S...
, who had been investigating other allegations about Clinton's sex life. After the scandal became public in January 1998, Goldberg was interviewed frequently by the media. She declared that the tapes proved that Lewinsky and Clinton had had a sexual relationship, and previewed other highlights of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair such as the existence of a semen-stained dress which later proved to have Clinton's DNA.
The Washington Post called her "the producer and publicist" who set the stage for the scandal and the investigation, she called herself the "facilitator". Of Goldberg's role in the scandal, TIME magazine said; "At a minimum, she is forever sealed in history as the New York City literary agent who uttered to her friend the most ruinous sentence of the Clinton presidency: 'Linda, buy a tape recorder.' " Author Jeffrey Toobin
Jeffrey Toobin
Jeffrey Ross Toobin is an American lawyer, author, and legal analyst for CNN and The New Yorker.-Early life and education:...
named her as one of the seven "Key Players" in the impeachment.
Goldberg said her actions in helping to disclose the Lewinsky-Clinton affair were motivated by her sense that general morality had declined, and that America needed "a wake-up call". She also said that the disclosure of Lewinsky's affair with Clinton helped to protect Lewinsky, who suffered from an obsessive infatuation with Clinton. During this time, Goldberg made no secret of her personal animus toward Clinton, saying she was glad Clinton was getting caught "at something", and that "[i]f it took this to get him, fine." She also said she was a political independent, though she was described in the press as having long standing ties to the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Repercussions
In the aftermath of the disclosures about the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, Goldberg was subjected to media attacks on her personal character and past business dealings. The Democratic National CommitteeDemocratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
faxed an unflattering "information sheet" on Goldberg to reporters within days after the story broke. Goldberg admitted that slurs on her own character were to be expected, '"I have never thought of myself as a victim in all this," she [said]. '"Never. Let them take their best shot."' She later said she had been worn down by the scrutiny.
Goldberg denied allegations made in the media that she was part of a vast right wing conspiracy to bring down the presidency of Bill Clinton. When Jeffrey Toobin published his 1999 book, A Vast Conspiracy, that also alleged Goldberg had told friends that she had an affair with Lyndon Johnson, and a Washington Post writer claimed he and others had overheard Goldberg bragging about an affair with Vice President Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
as well, Goldberg threatened Tobin and Random House with libel suit, denied both affairs, and denied telling any such stories.
Goldberg was subpoenaed to testify before a Maryland grand jury that was contemplating indicting Tripp for making the recordings. Under Maryland law, knowledge that such recordings were illegal was a necessary element of the crime. Goldberg explained that she had given Tripp incorrect advice, telling her it was legal to make secret recordings. Charges against Tripp were later dropped.
Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
later set up a webcam
Webcam
A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...
focused on the windows of Goldberg's Manhattan apartment, that he called "I See Lucy Cam". Moore's project did not violate New York State's laws. Claiming that Goldberg did not respect the privacy rights of other people, Moore wrote, "`[s]he believes in keeping an eye on persons who are a threat to the country. So do we.'"
Later career
Goldberg was a prominent presence on the Clinton-bashing website, Free RepublicFree Republic
Free Republic is a moderated Internet forum for activists, and chat site for self-described conservatives, primarily within the United States. It presents articles and comments posted pseudonymously by registered members, known as "Freepers", using screen names...
in the late 1990s, posting under the name "Trixie". She and other conservatives, including Matt Drudge
Matt Drudge
Matthew Nathan Drudge is the American creator and editor of the Drudge Report, a news aggregation website. Drudge is self-described as being conservative and populist. Drudge has also authored a book and hosted a radio show and a television show.-Early years:Matthew Drudge was raised in Takoma...
, left the site when the webmaster, in Goldberg's words, "let all the Y2K, gun-nut, Jew-baiting crazies take over [the forum] and flame the plain-old conservatives. She then founded her own website, Lucianne.com, and for a time, was a nationally syndicated talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
host whose show featured a Washington correspondent.
Personal life
Lucianne was married to Sidney Goldberg, a wealthy newspaper executive with United Features Syndicate from 1966 until his death in 2005. The couple had two children, Joshua (1967–2011) who was the editor of her website's as well as the 2009 RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee for the New York City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
seat representing district number six on Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
, who although he lost the election to the current democratic incumbent Gale Brewer
Gale Brewer
Gale Arnot Brewer is a member of the New York City Council. She is a Democrat representing the Upper West Side and the northern part of Clinton in Manhattan.-Career:...
, in doing so he came closer to winning the seat than other Republican candidates in recent history, and Jonah
Jonah Goldberg
Jonah Jacob Goldberg is an American conservative syndicated columnist and author. Goldberg is known for his contributions on politics and culture to , of which he is editor-at-large...
(born in 1969), who is a best selling author and conservative political commentator. The children were raised in their father's Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
faith, while Lucianne who was raised an Episcopalian, remained a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
.
External links
- Excerpt from Goldberg's first book, Purr Baby, Purr
- "Goldberg a Veteran at Recording Gossip", George Lardner Jr., (February 4, 1998), The Washington Post.