Monica Lewinsky (left) grew up in affluent Beverly Hills, where her father is a doctor and her mother a writer. She graduated with a degree in psychology in 1995 and was selected to be one of 250 unpaid White House interns.

After nine months the 22-yearold transferred to the Pentagon to work as an assistant to spokesman Ken Bacon. Last year he advised her to seek a career elsewhere. She was interviewed by the US ambassador to the UN, Mr Bill Richardson, for a job in his office, but she chose a PR post with Revlon on the recommendation of Mr Vernon Jordan, a trusted Clinton adviser.This job offer has now been withdrawn.

Linda Tripp (right), who is 48, first worked in the White House under President Bush and continued under President Clinton. She worked in the office of the legal counsel and was questioned about the suicide of leading legal aide, Vincent Foster, in 1993. She transferred to a Pentagon post in 1994 and helped organise ceremonial events.