Clinton investigator Ken Starr dies at 76


Ken Starr, a former U.S. solicitor general and the independent counsel who led the Whitewater probe and other investigations during the Clinton administration, died Tuesday in Houston. He was 76.
Starr's wife, Alice, said he spent the last 17 weeks hospitalized with an undisclosed illness and died of complications from surgery. In an email sent to friends and family, she described her late husband as a "brilliant, kind, and loving man" who "felt compelled to always respond to the call to serve his country, even when it meant enduring harsh criticism for his service."
The Texas native became a federal judge at 37 and argued more than three dozen cases before the Supreme Court while serving as U.S. solicitor general during the George H.W. Bush administration. He then transitioned to the role of independent counsel, investigating then-President Bill Clinton. The probe initially focused on real estate transactions made during Clinton's time as the attorney general and governor of Arkansas before looking at Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky while she was a White House intern.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a report filed with the House of Representatives at the end of the investigation, Starr said Clinton lied under oath about this affair and obstructed justice. In December 1998, Clinton was impeached by the House, but later acquitted by the Senate.
Starr went on to serve as dean of Pepperdine University's law school in California and president of Baylor University in Texas; he resigned after an investigation determined the school mishandled sexual assault allegations made against members of the football team. Starr was back in the spotlight in 2020, when he served on former President Donald Trump's impeachment team during his first Senate trial.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Citizenship: Trump order blocked again
Feature After the Supreme Court restricted nationwide injunctions, a federal judge turned to a class action suit to block Trump's order to end birthright citizenship
-
Loyalty tests: The purge at the FBI
Feature Kash Patel is conducting polygraph tests on FBI agents to weed out anyone speaking badly about him
-
The all-seeing tech giant
Feature Palantir's data-mining tools are used by spies and the military. Are they now being turned on Americans?
-
Japan's prime minister feels pressure after election losses
Speed Read Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office
-
Norman Tebbit: fearsome politician who served as Thatcher's enforcer
In the Spotlight Former Conservative Party chair has died aged 94
-
President diagnosed with 'chronic venous insufficiency'
Speed Read The vein disorder has given Trump swollen ankles and visible bruising on his hands
-
'Bawdy' Trump letter supercharges Epstein scandal
Speed Read The Wall Street Journal published details of Trump's alleged birthday letter to Epstein
-
Fed chair Powell in Trump's firing line
Speed Read The president considers removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
-
Trump trashes supporters over Epstein files
speed read The president lashed out on social media following criticism of his administration's Jeffrey Epstein investigation
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year