Ken Starr, a member of U.S. President Donald Trump’s legal team, leaves the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020.
Amanda Andrade-Rhoades | Bloomberg | Getty Illustrations or photos
Ken Starr, who led the Whitewater investigation into previous President Bill Clinton, died Tuesday at 76, his family members said in a statement.
Starr died in Houston of complications from surgery, the statement stated.
Starr was nominated by previous President Ronald Reagan for a seat on the U.S. Courtroom of Appeals for the Washington, D.C., circuit, and he served as U.S. solicitor normal below then-President George H.W. Bush.
He also held roles as dean of the Pepperdine College Faculty of Regulation and president of Baylor University, a tenure which ended in 2016 after an investigation into the school’s mishandling of sexual assault circumstances.
But he is very best regarded for leading Whitewater, the expansive investigation that started as a probe of serious estate investments by then-President Clinton and to start with woman Hillary Clinton, but branched out to encompass various other places — such as the notorious Monica Lewinsky sexual intercourse scandal.
That scandal associated the president’s extramarital affair with Lewinsky, which started off when she was a 24-calendar year-outdated White Property intern.
Clinton, who falsely denied the connection, was impeached by the Household on perjury and obstruction of justice costs that stemmed from the scandal. The Senate later on acquitted Clinton of all expenses.
Lewinsky tweeted out the next statement:
Starr in 1994 was appointed impartial counsel to investigate Whitewater, which started out as an investigation into the fallout from a unsuccessful Arkansas land enhancement deal pursued by the Clintons and their associates years ahead of Invoice Clinton became president.
Starr’s wide probe also touched on the death of Clinton deputy White Residence counsel Vince Foster, which sparked intrigue and bred conspiracy theories but was finally ruled a suicide.
Several people included in the Whitewater scandal were convicted of expenses related to the probe, but the Clintons on their own ended up hardly ever criminally billed.
Starr reportedly aided the defense group that reduce a deal sparing Jeffrey Epstein, the rich sex offender and accused sex trafficker, of significant federal charges. Critics referred to as that non-prosecution settlement a “sweetheart offer.” Epstein died by suicide in 2019, a month right after currently being arrested and indicted in New York on fees of abusing dozens of underage ladies.
Much more not long ago, Starr joined the authorized staff defending previous President Donald Trump in his first Senate impeachment trial in early 2020. That demo revolved all-around Trump’s attempts to have Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announce an investigation into President Joe Biden, who at the time was thought of a most likely Democratic presidential contender.
The Republican-majority Senate acquitted Trump on prices of abuse of ability and obstruction of justice. The chamber calls for a two-thirds vote to convict a president and take out them from office.
