And she was, according to the Tripp tapes, desperate to continue the relationship after the President had slithered away.

"The Tripp tapes will be the final blow against Starr's case," said Representative Joe Scarborough, a Florida Republican who is undecided on impeachment.

To the Editor: Congress has justified the distribution of the Tripp tapes by characterizing them as "evidence" against President Clinton (front page, Oct. 3).

Moreover, it is difficult to conceive how the Tripp tapes could be considered as evidence against the President.

He attacked Ms. Lewinsky's credibility by playing one of the Tripp tapes in which she said she had lied her whole life.

He was so brazen sometimes, she couldn't help but love him (Lewinsky I, Pages 180-186; Tripp tapes, Pages 211-212).

Ms. Lewinsky has flatly denied the material on the Tripp tapes in a sworn deposition submitted in the Paula Jones case.

Papers also report the popular reaction to yesterday's release of the Tripp tapes.

The Tripp tapes are ambiguous.

Its package includes a long, exclusive excerpt from the Tripp tapes and an essay by George Stephanopoulos.