Kenneth Starr: Whitewater Independent Counsel and the Impeachment Investigation

Kenneth Starr

Kenneth Starr was a distinguished jurist, federal appellate judge, and Solicitor General who was appointed in 1994 as Independent Counsel to investigate the Whitewater land deal involving President Bill Clinton. His inquiry gradually expanded to examine allegations of sexual misconduct, perjury, and obstruction of justice related to the president's sworn testimony in the Paula Jones lawsuit. In 1998, he published the "Starr Report," which presented explicit findings and evidentiary detail that served as the primary basis for the House of Representatives' decision to impeach President Clinton. While lauded by supporters for upholding strict legal ethics, his relentless pursuit of private conduct sparked widespread debate regarding the ethics and scope of the Independent Counsel law.

Timeline

Category
Element

Year	Kenneth Starr
1946	Birth of Kenneth Starr (Period: July 21, 1946, Location: Vernon, Texas, United States)
1955	Vietnam War (Age: 8 years old, Period: 1960s–1973), Location: Vietnam, Southeast Asia)
1960	Sam Houston High School (Age: 13 years old, Period: Early 1960s – circa 1964, Location: San Antonio, Texas, United States) Participation in the Young Democrats (Age: 13 years old, Period: Mid-1960s, Location: Searcy, Arkansas, United States)
1964	Harding University (Age: 17 years old, Period: circa 1964 – circa 1966, Location: Searcy, Arkansas, United States)
1966	George Washington University (Age: 19 years old, Period: 1966 – 1968, Location: Washington, D.C., United States)
1968	Brown University (Age: 21 years old, Period: 1968 – 1969, Location: Providence, Rhode Island, United States)
1970	Duke University School of Law (Age: 23 years old, Period: circa 1970 – 1973, Location: Durham, North Carolina, United States) Marriage (Kenneth Starr, Alice Mendell, Age: 23 years old, Period: 1970, Location: United States)
1973	Commencement of career as a lawyer (Age: 26 years old, Period: 1973 – 1974, Location: Florida, United States)
1975	Law clerk to Chief Justice of the United States (Age: 28 years old, Period: 1975 – 1977, Location: Washington, D.C., United States)
1981	Appointment as Counselor to the Attorney General (Age: 34 years old, Period: 1981 – 1983, Location: Washington, D.C., United States) Activities as a Republican Lawyer and Judicial Figure (Age: 34 years old, Period: 1981–2022, Location: Washington, D.C., California, and Texas, United States)
1983	Appointment as United States Circuit Judge (Age: 36 years old, Period: 1983 – 1989, Location: Washington, D.C., United States)
1989	Appointment as Solicitor General of the United States (Age: 42 years old, Period: 1989 – 1993, Location: Washington, D.C., United States)
1994	Conflict of interest allegations regarding the Whitewater investigation (Age: 47 years old, Period: 1994 – 1999, Location: Washington, D.C., United States) Criticism regarding the exercise of investigative powers as Independent Counsel (Age: 47 years old, Period: 1994 – 1999, Location: Washington, D.C. and Arkansas, United States) Appointment as Whitewater Independent Counsel (Age: 48 years old, Period: August 1994 – 1999, Location: Arkansas and Washington, D.C., United States)
1997	Criticism surrounding the expansion of the investigation into the Monica Lewinsky scandal (Age: 50 years old, Period: 1997 – 1999, Location: Washington, D.C., United States)
1998	Questions regarding political neutrality surrounding President Clinton's impeachment (Age: 51 years old, Period: 1998 – 1999, Location: Washington, D.C., United States) Submission of the Starr Report to Congress (Age: 52 years old, Period: September 9, 1998, Location: United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., United States)
2003	September 11 attacks (Age: 57 years old, Period: September 11, 2001, Location: New York, New York, Arlington, Virginia, and Pennsylvania (United States))
2004	Assumption of office as Dean of Pepperdine University School of Law (Age: 57 years old, Period: 2004 – 2010, Location: Malibu, California, United States)
2010	Assumption of office as President of Baylor University (Age: 63 years old, Period: June 1, 2010 – May 31, 2016, Location: Waco, Texas, United States)
2012	Responsibility issues concerning the response to the Baylor University sexual assault scandal (Age: 65 years old, Period: 2012 – 2016, Location: Waco, Texas and Baylor University, United States)
2016	Resignation over the Baylor University sexual assault scandal (Age: 69 years old, Period: May 2016 – August 2016, Location: Waco, Texas, United States)
2020	Participation in President Trump's impeachment defense team (Age: 73 years old, Period: January 2020 – February 2020, Location: United States Senate, Washington, D.C., United States)
2022	Death of Kenneth Starr (Age: 76 years old, Period: September 13, 2022, Location: Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, Houston, Texas, United States) Death (Age: 76 years old, Period: September 13, 2022, Location: Houston, Texas and Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, United States)

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Category
Element

United States World

Group	List
1992 presidential election	Bill Clinton Al Gore Ross Perot James Stockdale James Carville George Stephanopoulos Mack McLarty Paul Tsongas Pat Buchanan James Carville George H.W. Bush
Political scandal	Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton Monica Lewinsky Kenneth Starr Newt Gingrich Linda Tripp Paula Jones John Roberts William Rehnquist Clarence Thomas
2000 U.S. Presidential Election	Al Gore George W. Bush Joe Lieberman Dick Cheney Karl Rove James Baker Katherine Harris John Paul Stevens Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia

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Kenneth Starr: Whitewater Independent Counsel and the Impeachment Investigation

Kenneth Starr

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