In September of 2018, Ken Starr published his book "Contempt: A Memoir of the Clinton Investigation."
Two months later, the Democrats won the House of Representatives.
I doubt anyone in recent history had better timing for a memoir.
The first interesting takeaway, in 1990, he was the runner-up to David Souter for an appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Some conservatives thought he wasn’t conservative enough.
If Ken Starr had been appointed to the Supreme Court, I think he would have been a far more reliably conservative justice than Justice Souter. As solicitor general, and as a private attorney, he argued before the high court 36 times.
He was the solicitor general of the United States from 1989 to 1993. From 1983 to 1989, Starr was a judge of United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Of course, he is mainly known for his work as the independent counsel from August 1994 to September 1998.
This investigation led to Bill Clinton’s impeachment.
The second main takeaway is that Brett Kavanaugh drafted the report, which definitively confirmed Vince Foster’s suicide. Instead of receiving praise for being fair to Clinton, Kavanaugh was attacked in his confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court.
Another interesting story is how Monica Lewinsky got caught. On page 175, Starr wrote in his book:
"As the FBI team listened in, the Monica-Linda conversation turned quickly to Monica’s request that Linda draft and file a false affidavit regarding Kathleen Willey. Monica was counting on Linda’s friendship. Her rationale was entirely political: we need to protect the president whom we both serve."
Outside of the Lewinsky scandal, the independent counsel ended up convicting 15 people in relation to Whitewater. Starr uncovered a series of crimes in Arkansas.
Jim Guy Tucker resigned as Governor of Arkansas in 1996 when he was convicted of conspiracy and mail fraud. Tucker’s tax attorney, John Haley, also plead guilty to a misdemeanor in 1998 in a reduced sentence as part of a plea bargain in cooperation with the investigation.
Tucker and Haley conspired to fake a bankruptcy to avoid paying taxes.
William J. Marks, Sr. was the third man in Tucker's fake bankruptcy scheme. If not for Ken Starr, Tucker, Haley, and Marks would hidden $3 million dollars in taxes to the government.
In 1994, David pleaded guilty to defrauding the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Hale’s company, Capital Management Services, provided federally subsidized loans.
In 1993, Hale accused President Clinton of pressuring him in 1986 to loan $300,000 dollars to bail out the Whitewater project. From 1985 to 1987, Capital Management Services would provide about $3 million in fraudulent loans including to Jim Guy Tucker and Clinton’s partners in Whitewater Jim and Susan McDougal.
Jim McDougal went into business with Bill and Hillary Clinton in Whitewater.
When Hillary worked at the Rose Law firm, she handled McDougal’s legal work. In 1997, Jim McDougal was convicted of 18 felonies from his saving and loan Madison Guaranty.
Jim’s wife Susan McDougal was convicted of four felonies. At least $50,000 of David Hale’s $300,000 dollar loan ended up paying Whitewater expenses. She refused to testify in the Starr investigation and went to jail for 22 months. Bill Clinton pardoned her in 2001.
Webster Hubbell was forced to resign as associate attorney general of the United States in 1994. This is the number three position in the Justice Department.
Hubbell defrauded his partners at the Rose Law Firm and over-billed his clients out of $482,000 dollars. One of those clients was McDougal’s Madison Guaranty. Hubbell refused to cooperate with Starr’s investigation.
Bill Clinton pardoned Stephen Smith in 2001. In 1995, Clinton’s former aide plead guilty to misapplying a loan. In 1986, Smith and Jim McDougal submitted a fraudulent loan proposal.
Bill Clinton pardoned Chris Wade in 2001.
He was the real estate broker involved in Whitewater.
Bill Clinton pardoned Robert W. Palmer in 2001. He was a land appraiser at Madison.
He conspired with Jim McDougal to falsify appraisals.
Madison Bank CEO John Latham tried to conceal a loan worth half a million dollars. Another employee at Madison, Larry Kuca, plead guilty to fraud.
Neal Ainley was Arkansas banker who conspired to hide cash withdrawals from Bill Clinton’s 1990 gubernatorial campaign.
Then there was a conspiracy to bribe David Hale from Eugene Fitzhugh and Charles Matthews.
President Clinton stayed in office, but Ken Starr brought down some of Clinton’s associates. Ken Starr was a great lawyer and a patriot.
Clinton was held in contempt of court, his law license was suspended, and he paid significant legal fees.
Thanks to Ken Starr, when people think of Bill Clinton, they think of Monica Lewinsky.
Robert Zapesochny is a researcher and writer whose work focuses on foreign affairs, national security and presidential history. He has been published in numerous outlets, including The American Spectator, the Washington Times, and The American Conservative. When he's not writing, Robert works for a medical research company in New York. Read Robert Zapesochny's Reports — More Here.
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