My Lies

As a private citizen, Kenneth Starr is now free to do something that he could not do as a special prosecutor, publicly rebut Bill Clinton's lies.


It was my task to complete the investigations begun by Bob Fiske, whom Ms. Reno had appointed during a period when the independent counsel law had lapsed. A three-judge panel appointed me pursuant to a 1994 law, which Mr. Clinton himself signed, that re-established the office of independent counsel. The sad and undisputed facts revealed by those investigations scarcely need retelling. Numerous criminal prosecutions and convictions dotted the legal landscape, including the conviction (and resignation) of a sitting governor of Arkansas; the convictions of Jim and Susan McDougal, business partners in Whitewater; and the guilty pleas of, among others, a former associate attorney general of the U.S. (and chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court).

Translation, there were real crimes, and Starr discovered them.

Six years later, the factual findings of our office's referral to the House of Representatives stand unrebutted. Those findings not only were accurate, they triggered profound concerns as to the basic integrity of witnesses, including the president himself, in the administration of justice. The result included an outgoing president's written recognition of his responsibility to our justice system, imposition of sanctions by a federal judge, and a suspension of his law license for an extended period.

Translation, Clinton lied, committed crimes and ultimately fessed up, even though he escaped criminal prosecution.