Ken Starr, Bill Clinton’s former nemesis, argues for redemption
WASHINGTON — Ken Starr, a major force behind the push to impeach President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, now says the 42nd president’s legacy is due for a reappraisal — and, in hindsight, it wasn’t so bad.
Speaking at a panel discussion on the American presidency last week, Starr, now president and chancellor of Baylor University, said he regretted the taint that the Monica Lewinsky scandal left on history’s understanding of Clinton’s time in office.
“President Clinton was, and perhaps still is, the most gifted politician of the baby boomer generation,” Starr said. “He just has remarkable gifts.”
The remarks were first reported by The New York Times.
Reports of Starr’s reassessment come as presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has tried to revisit some of the more sordid accusations against Clinton in an effort to discredit his wife, who is gearing up to face him in the general election. An ad Trump released Monday features two women who accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault.
A former federal judge under Ronald Regan, Starr was appointed in 1994 to take over the congressional investigation into the failed Arkansas real estate deal involving the Clintons, known as Whitewater. That investigation morphed into the Monica Lewinsky scandal and almost derailed Clinton’s presidency.
Historian Ken Gormley, who also appeared on the panel and wrote a book about the Starr investigation, has said that the investigation signaled the beginning of today’s divided political landscape.
More recently, though, Starr has called for unity. In March, for example, as GOP leaders were vowing to block the appointment of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, Starr urged them to reconsider and praised Garland.