Mr. Starr, a former solicitor general in the first Bush administration and federal appeals court judge, was seen as a reliably conservative Republican as U.S. political rifts began to widen in the early 1990s. A federal appeals panel in 1994 named Mr. Starr as replacement for the independent counsel in the Whitewater inquiry, Robert B. Fiske Jr., who was selected by Attorney General Janet Reno.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist rejected Reno’s request to reappoint Fiske, saying that Reno should not have selected the independent counsel because Clinton nominated her to her post. The probe into the Whitewater Development Corp. looked into real estate investments by Bill and Hillary Clinton and associates Jim McDougal and Susan McDougal.
The Clintons did not face charges from the Whitewater dealings, but Mr. Starr significantly expanded his mandate. His team later disclosed allegations against Clinton of sexual harassment by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones (the case was settled out of court). Mr. Starr’s investigation also revealed Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and subsequent claims that Clinton lied under oath about the sexual nature of their encounters.
Clinton was impeached in December 1998 by the House of Representatives, but he was acquitted by the Senate.
After the Clinton impeachment, Mr. Starr would become president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. But in May 2016, Baylor removed Mr. Starr as president of the university after an investigation found that the college had mishandled accusations of sexual assault against its football players. Mr. Starr remained as chancellor and professor of law. The university also fired its football coach, Art Briles.
A statement from Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone made no mention of his dismissal. “Judge Starr was a dedicated public servant and ardent supporter of religious freedom that allows faith-based institutions such as Baylor to flourish,” she said.
To the Clintons’ defenders, Whitewater became shorthand for an ever-widening effort by political opponents to find evidence of wrongdoing using the powers of an independent counsel. But Mr. Starr’s investigation did bring convictions at a lower level, including a prison sentence for Susan McDougal for contempt of court after refusing to answer questions about Whitewater-related investments.
The Whitewater probe fueled a divide between the Clintons — who believed they needed to take special precautions to defend themselves against a hostile Washington establishment — and their critics, who saw Clinton’s defensiveness as obvious proof that something was awry.
Lewinsky, in a tweet Tuesday, wrote that thoughts of Mr. Starr “bring up complicated feelings,” but acknowledged that it was a “painful loss for those who love him.”
In 2010, Mr. Starr became the 14th president of Baylor. The university said that in his six years at the helm of the prominent Baptist institution, Mr. Starr oversaw the establishment of the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, renovations of three residence halls, and the construction of McLane Stadium for football games as well as an equestrian center, a track and field stadium, and an indoor tennis center.
But Mr. Starr’s tenure ended abruptly in a scandal…
Read More: Ken Starr, who led Whitewater investigation into Clinton administration, dies at 76
