Silke Jasso
Ken Starr has reportedly died at the age of 76 according to a statement released by his family. Starr, who led the Whitewater investigation into former President Bill Clinton, died in Houston of complications from surgery.
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“We are deeply saddened with the loss of our dear and loving Father and Grandfather, whom we admired for his prodigious work ethic, but who always put his family first,” Starr’s son, Randall P. Starr said in a statement. “The love, energy, endearing sense of humor, and fun-loving interest Dad exhibited to each of us was truly special, and we cherish the many wonderful memories we were able to experience with him. He is now with his Lord and Savior.”
Starr was nominated by President Ronald Reagan for a seat in the United States Court of Appeals in 1981. He also went on to serve then-president George H.W. Bush as US solicitor general.
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He later ran onto the rise as dean of Pepperdine University School of Law and was president of Baylor University. During his time there he oversaw the opening of Baylor’s $250 million football stadium. His tenure ended after a heavy investigation into the school’s handling of sexual-assault cases.
But, Starr is probably most well known for leading Whitewater which was the investigation that began as a probe into a real estate investment by President Clinton and Hillary Clinton. It then branched out to encompass several other areas which included the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal.
The scandal involved the affair with Lewinsky which started when she was 24-years-old. She was then a White House intern. Clinton had denied the relationship but was impeached by The House on perjury and obstruction of justice charges that stemmed from the sex scandal. The Senate letter acquitted him of all the charges.
In 1994 Star was appointed independent counsel in order to investigate Whitewater. It started as an investigation of a failed Arkansas Land Development deal that was pursued by the Clintons. This was several years before Clinton became president. Starr also touched upon the death of Vince Foster, who was Clinton’s Deputy White House counsel. Several conspiracy theories came out, but it was ultimately ruled as suicide. Several people who were involved in the Whitewater scandal were convicted of charges that were related to the probe, but neither of the Clintons was ever criminally charged.
