Ken Starr | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Independent Counsel for theWhitewater Controversy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office August 5, 1994 – September 11, 1998 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Robert B. Fiske (Special Counsel) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Robert Ray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 39thSolicitor General of the United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office May 26, 1989 – January 20, 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | George H. W. Bush | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | John Roberts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Charles Fried | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Drew S. Days III | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office September 20, 1983 – May 26, 1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appointed by | Ronald Reagan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | George MacKinnon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Karen L. Henderson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Kenneth Winston Starr (1946-07-21)July 21, 1946 Vernon, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | September 13, 2022(2022-09-13) (aged 76) Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Democratic (before 1975) Republican (1975–2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who asindependent counsel authored theStarr Report, which served as the basis of theimpeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of members of theClinton administration, known as theWhitewater controversy, from 1994 to 1998. Starr previously served as a federal appellate judge on theU.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1983 to 1989 and as theU.S. solicitor general from 1989 to 1993 during the presidency ofGeorge H. W. Bush.
Starr received the most public attention for his tenure asindependent counsel whileBill Clinton was U.S. president. Starr was initially appointed to investigate the suicide of deputy White House counselVince Foster and the Whitewater real estate investments of Clinton. The three-judge panel charged with administering theEthics in Government Act later expanded the inquiry into numerous areas including suspectedperjury aboutClinton's sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky. After more than four years of investigation, Starr filed the Starr Report, which alleged that Clinton lied about the existence of the affair during asworn deposition. The allegation led to the impeachment of Clinton and the five-year suspension of Clinton's Arkansas law license.
Starr served as the dean of thePepperdine University School of Law.[1][2][3] He was later both the president and the chancellor ofBaylor University inWaco, Texas, from June 2010 until May and June 2016, respectively, and at the same time the Louise L. Morrison chair of constitutional law atBaylor Law School. On May 26, 2016, following an investigation into the mishandling by Starr ofseveral sexual assaults at the school, Baylor University's board of regents announced that Starr's tenure as university president would end on May 31.[4] The board said he would continue as chancellor, but on June 1, Starr resigned that position with immediate effect.[5] On August 19, 2016, Starr announced he would also resign from his tenured professor position at Baylor Law School, completely severing his ties with the university in a "mutually agreed separation",[6] following accusations that he ignored allegations of sexual assault on campus.[4] On January 17, 2020, Starr joined PresidentDonald Trump's legal team duringhis first impeachment trial.[7][8]
Starr was born nearVernon, Texas, the son of Vannie Maude (Trimble) and Willie D. Starr, and was raised inCenterville, Texas.[9][10] His father was aminister in theChurches of Christ who also worked as a barber.[11] Starr attendedSam Houston High School inSan Antonio and was a popular, straight‑A student. His classmates voted him most likely to succeed.[12][13] In 1970, Starr married Alice Mendell, who was raised Jewish but converted to Christianity.[14][15][16] They had three children.[17]
Starr attended theChurches of Christ–affiliatedHarding University inSearcy, Arkansas, where he was an honor student, a member of theYoung Democrats,[12] and a vocal supporter of Vietnam protesters.[18] He later transferred toGeorge Washington University, in Washington, D.C., where he received a Bachelor of Arts in history, in 1968. While there, he became a member ofDelta Phi Epsilon.[19]
Starr was not drafted for military service during theVietnam War, as he was classified4‑F, because he hadpsoriasis.[20] He worked in theSouthwestern Advantage entrepreneurial program and later attendedBrown University, where he earned a Master of Arts degree in 1969. Starr then attended theDuke University School of Law, where he was an editor of theDuke Law Journal and graduated with aJuris Doctor in 1973.[21]
After he graduated from law school, Starr was alaw clerk to judgeDavid W. Dyer of theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1973 to 1974.[16] From 1975 to 1977, he clerked forchief justiceWarren E. Burger of theU.S. Supreme Court.[16]
In 1977, Starr joined the Washington, D.C., office of the Los Angeles–based law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (nowGibson Dunn).[22] In 1981 he was appointed counselor toU.S. attorney generalWilliam French Smith.[16]
Starr was a member of theFederalist Society.[23]
On September 13, 1983, he was nominated byRonald Reagan to a seat on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated byGeorge MacKinnon. He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on September 20, 1983, and received his commission on September 20, 1983. He resigned on May 26, 1989.[24]
Starr was theUnited States solicitor general, from 1989 to 1993, underGeorge H. W. Bush.[24]
When theUnited States Senate Select Committee on Ethics needed someone to review Republican senatorBob Packwood's diaries, the committee chose Starr.[25] In 1990, Starr was the leading candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court nomination afterWilliam Brennan's retirement. He encountered strong resistance from theDepartment of Justice leadership, which feared Starr might not be reliably conservative as a Supreme Court justice. George H. W. Bush nominatedDavid Souter instead of Starr.[26]Starr also considered running for the United States Senate, from Virginia in 1994, against incumbentChuck Robb, but opted against opposingOliver North for the Republican nomination.[27]
In August 1994, pursuant to the newly reauthorizedEthics in Government Act (28 U.S.C. § 593(b)), Starr was appointed by a special three-judge division of theD.C. Circuit to continue theWhitewater investigation.[28] He replacedRobert B. Fiske, a moderate Republican who had been appointed by attorney generalJanet Reno.[29]
Starr took the position part-time and remained active with his law firm,Kirkland & Ellis, as this was permitted by statute and was also the norm with previous independent counsel investigations.[30][31] As time went on, he was increasingly criticized for allegedconflicts of interest stemming from his continuing association with Kirkland & Ellis.[30] Kirkland, like several other major law firms, was representing clients in litigation with the government, including tobacco companies and auto manufacturers.[32] The firm itself was being sued by theResolution Trust Corporation, a government agency involved in the Whitewater matter. Additionally, Starr's own actions were challenged because Starr had, on one occasion, talked with lawyers for Paula Jones, who was suing Bill Clinton over an alleged sexual harassment.[32] Starr had explained to them why he believed that sitting U.S. Presidents are not immune to civil suit.[32] When this constitutional question ultimately reached the Supreme Court, the justices unanimously agreed.[citation needed]
On October 10, 1997, Starr's report on the death of deputy White House counselVince Foster, drafted largely by Starr's deputyBrett Kavanaugh, was released to the public by the Special Division. The complete report is 137 pages long and includes an appendix added to the Report by the Special Division over Starr's objection.[33] The report agrees with the findings of previous independent counselRobert B. Fiske that Foster committed suicide atFort Marcy Park, in Virginia, and that his suicide was caused primarily by undiagnosed and untreated depression. As CNN explained on February 28, 1997, "The [Starr] report refutes claims by conservative political organizations that Foster was the victim of a murder plot and coverup," but "despite those findings, right-wing political groups have continued to allege that there was more to the death and that the president andfirst lady tried to cover it up."[34]CNN also noted that organizations pushing the murder theory included thePittsburgh Tribune-Review, owned by billionaireRichard Mellon Scaife, andAccuracy in Media, supported in part by Scaife's foundation.[35] Scaife's reporter on the Whitewater matter,Christopher Ruddy, was a frequent critic of Starr's handling of the case.[36]
The law conferred broad investigative powers on Starr and the other independent counsels named to investigate the administration, including the right to subpoena nearly anyone who might have information relevant to the particular investigation.[37] Starr would later receive authority to conduct additional investigations, including the firing ofWhite House Travel Office personnel, potential political abuse of confidentialFBI files,Madison Guaranty,Rose Law Firm,Paula Joneslawsuit and, most notoriously, possible perjury and obstruction of justice to cover up President Clinton's sexual relationship withMonica Lewinsky.[38] The Lewinsky portion of the investigation included the secret taping of conversations between Lewinsky and coworkerLinda Tripp, requests by Starr to tape Lewinsky's conversations with Clinton, and requests by Starr to compel Secret Service agents to testify about what they might have seen while guarding Clinton. With the investigation of Clinton's possible adultery, critics of Starr believed that he had crossed a line and was acting more as a political hit man than as a prosecutor.[37][39]
In his deposition for the Paula Jones lawsuit, Clinton denied having "sexual relations" with Monica Lewinsky.[40] On the basis of the evidence provided byMonica Lewinsky, a blue dress stained with Clinton'ssemen, Ken Starr concluded that this sworn testimony was false and perjurious.[40][41]
During the deposition in the Jones case, Clinton was asked, "Have you ever had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky, as that term is defined in Deposition Exhibit 1, as modified by the Court?" The definition included contact with the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of a person with an intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of that person, any contact of the genitals or anus of another person, or contact of one's genitals or anus and any part of another person's body either directly or through clothing.[41][40][42] The judge ordered that Clinton be given an opportunity to review the agreed definition. Clinton flatly denied having sexual relations with Lewinsky.[43] Later, at the Starrgrand jury, Clinton stated that he believed the definition of "sexual relations" agreed upon for the Jones deposition excluded his receivingoral sex.[40]
Starr's investigation eventually led to theimpeachment of President Clinton, with whom Starr sharedTime'sMan of the Year designation for 1998.[38][44] Following his impeachment, the president was acquitted in the subsequent trial before the United States Senate as all 45 Democrats and 10 Republicans voted to acquit.[45]
In 2004, Starr expressed regret for ever having asked the Department of Justice to assign him to oversee the Lewinsky investigation personally, saying, "the most fundamental thing that could have been done differently" would have been for somebody else to have investigated the matter.[46]
As with many controversial figures, Kenneth Starr was the subject of political satire. For example, the book,And the Horse He Rode in On by James Carville attempted to portray Mr. Starr's time as special prosecutor in comically negative light.
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After five years as independent counsel, Starr resigned and returned to private practice as an appellate lawyer and a visiting professor atNew York University, theChapman University School of Law, and theGeorge Mason University School of Law.[47] Starr worked as a partner atKirkland & Ellis, specializing in litigation.[48] He was one of the lead attorneys in aclass-action lawsuit filed by a coalition of liberal and conservative groups (including theAmerican Civil Liberties Union and theNational Rifle Association of America) against the regulations created by theBipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, known informally asMcCain-Feingold Act.[49]
On April 6, 2004, he was appointed dean of thePepperdine University School of Law.[50] He originally accepted a position at Pepperdine as the first dean of the newly created School of Public Policy in 1996. He withdrew from the appointment in 1998, several months after the Lewinsky controversy erupted.[51] Critics charged that there was a conflict of interest due to substantial donations to Pepperdine from billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, a Clinton critic who funded many media outlets attacking the president.[35] In 2004, some five years after President Clinton's impeachment, Starr was again offered a Pepperdine position at the School of Law and this time accepted it.[50]
In 2005, Starr worked to overturn the death sentence ofRobin Lovitt, who was onVirginia'sdeath row for murdering a man during a robbery in 1998.[52] Starr provided his services to Lovittpro bono.[52] On October 3, 2005, the Supreme Court deniedcertiorari.[52]
On January 26, 2006, the defense team of convicted murdererMichael Morales (which included Starr) sent letters toCalifornia governorArnold Schwarzenegger requesting clemency for Morales.[53] Letters purporting to be from the jurors who determined Morales's death sentence were included in the package sent to Schwarzenegger. Prosecutors alleged that the documents wereforgeries, and accused investigator and anti-death penalty activist Kathleen Culhane of falsifying the documents.[53] Lead defense attorney David Senior and his team soon withdrew the documents.[53] Ultimately, clemency was denied, but the falsified documents were not used in the rationale.[54] Eventually, Culhane was criminally charged with forging the documents and, under a plea agreement, was sentenced to five years in prison.[55]
On May 4, 2006, Starr announced that he would represent theschool board ofJuneau, Alaska, in its appeal to theUnited States Supreme Court in a case brought by a former student, Joseph Frederick.[56] A high school student at that time, Joseph Frederick unfurled a banner at a school-sponsored event saying "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" as the Olympic torch was passing through Juneau, before arriving inSalt Lake City, Utah, for the2002 Winter Olympics.[56] The board decided to suspend the student.[56] The student then sued and won at theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which stated that the board violated the student'sfirst amendment right tofree speech.[56] On August 28, 2006, Starr filed awrit of certiorari for a hearing with the Supreme Court.[57] On June 21, 2007, in an opinion authored byChief JusticeJohn G. Roberts, the court ruled in favor of Starr's client, finding that "a principal may, consistent with the First Amendment, restrict student speech at a school event, when that speech is reasonably viewed as promoting illegal drug use."[58]
Starr representedBlackwater in a case involving the deaths of four unarmed civilians killed by Blackwater contractors inFallujah, Iraq, in March 2004.[59]
On December 19, 2008,Proposition 8 supporters named Starr to represent them in post-election lawsuits to be heard by theSupreme Court of California.[60] Opponents of the measure sought to overturn it as a violation of fundamental rights, while supporters sought to invalidate the 18,000same-sex marriages performed in the state before Proposition 8 passed.[60] Oral arguments took place on March 5, 2009, in San Francisco.[61]
Starr argued that "Prop. 8 was a modest measure that left the rights of same-sex couples undisturbed under California's domestic-partner laws and other statutes banning discrimination based on sexual orientation," to the agreement of most of the judges.[61] The main issue that arose during the oral argument included the meaning of the word "inalienable," and to which extent this word goes when used in Article I of the Californian Constitution.[61] Christopher Krueger of theattorney general's office said that inalienable rights may not be stripped away by the initiative process. Starr countered that "rights are important, but they don't go to structure ... rights are ultimately defined by the people."[62]
The court ultimately held that the measure was valid and effective, but would not be applied retroactively to marriages performed prior to its enactment.[63]
Starr was an advisory board member for the legal organizationAlliance Defending Freedom.[64]
In 2007, Starr joined the legal team defendingPalm Beach billionaireJeffrey Epstein, who was accused of the statutory rape of numerous underage high school students.[65] Epstein would later plea bargain to plead guilty to several charges of soliciting and trafficking of underage girls, serve 13 months on work release in a private wing of the Palm Beach jail, and register as a sex offender.[66] Starr said he was "in the room" when then-US attorneyAlex Acosta made the deal that yielded the plea bargain for Epstein and later described Acosta as "a person of complete integrity," adding that "everyone was satisfied" with the agreement.[67]
On January 16, 2020, Starr was announced as a member of then-PresidentDonald Trump's legal team for hisSenate impeachment trial.[68] He argued before the Senate on Trump's behalf on January 27, 2020.[69]Slate journalist Jeremy Stahl pointed out that as he was urging the Senate not to remove Trump as president, Starr contradicted various arguments he used in 1998 to justify Clinton's impeachment.[69] In defending Trump, Starr also claimed he was wrong to have called for impeachment against Clinton for abuse of executive privilege and efforts to obstruct Congress and also stated that the House Judiciary Committee was right in 1998 to have rejected one of the planks for impeachment he had advocated for.[69] He also invoked a 1999Hofstra Law Review article by Yale law professorAkhil Amar, who argued that the Clinton impeachment proved just how impeachment and removal causes "grave disruption" to a national election.[69]Starr was called as a witness by Sen.Ron Johnson on a senate hearing concerningelectoral fraud amidst Trump'sattempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.[70] When Trump was impeached for a second time in 2021, Starr condemned the impeachment as "dangerous" and "unconstitutional".[71]
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Starr was the Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean and Professor of Law atPepperdine University, when on February 15, 2010,Baylor University announced that it would introduce Starr as its newest president.[15] Starr became Baylor's 14th president, replacingJohn Lilley who was ousted in mid‑2008.[72] Starr was introduced as the new president on June 1, 2010.[73]
His inauguration was held on September 17, 2010, whereStephen L. Carter was the keynote speaker.[74] Within his first two weeks in office, Starr was "leading the charge" to keep the university in theBig 12 Conference for athletics.[75] Starr was additionally named chancellor of Baylor in November 2013, a post that had been vacant since 2005. He became the first person to hold the positions of president and chancellor at Baylor at the same time.[76]
In September 2015, Baylor's Board of Regents initiated an external review of the university's response toreports of sexual violence to be conducted by thePepper Hamilton law firm. Baylor had been accused of failing to respond to reports of rape and sexual assault filed by at least six female students from 2009 to 2016. Former football playerTevin Elliot was convicted of rape. Elliot is currently serving a 20-year sentence after his conviction in January 2014.[77] Another student, Sam Ukwuachu, was convicted but has since had that conviction overturned and was retried, only to see it reinstated by the Texas Court of Appeals in 2018.[78] Pepper Hamilton reported their findings to the regents on May 13, 2016,[79] and on May 26, the regents announced Starr's removal as university president, effective May 31.[80]
The May 26, 2016, announcement of personnel changes by the Board of Regents said Starr was to have continued as Chancellor and also as a faculty member at Baylor Law School.[5] Starr announced his resignation as Chancellor on June 1, effective immediately.[5] He told an interviewer that he took that action "as a matter of conscience."[5] He said he "willingly accepted responsibility" and "The captain goes down with the ship."[5] He resigned his position as the Louise L. Morrison Chair of Constitutional Law in Baylor Law School on August 19, 2016.[81]
In May 2022, Starr was admitted toBaylor St. Luke's Medical Center inHouston, due to an unspecified illness.[82] He died there from complications from surgery on September 13, 2022, at the age of 76.[38][83]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 1983–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by William Curtis Bryson Acting | Solicitor General of the United States 1989–1993 | Succeeded by William Curtis Bryson Acting |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by Charles Nelson | Dean of thePepperdine University School of Law 2004–2010 | Succeeded by Tom Bost |
| Preceded by David E. Garland Acting | President ofBaylor University 2010–2016 | Succeeded by David E. Garland Acting |
| Vacant Title last held by Robert B. Sloan2006 | Chancellor ofBaylor University 2013–2016 | Position abolished |
