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Jewish World Review /Nov. 30, 1998/16 Kislev, 5759
Larry Elder
Ken Starr and the vast left-wing conspiracy
TO PARAPHRASE THE LAW-SCHOOL MAXIM: When the facts are on your side, pound on the facts.
When the law is on your side, pound on the law. When neither the facts nor the law is on your
side, pound on Ken Starr.
Thus, the tactic taken by the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee during the
testimony of independent counsel, Mr. Kenneth Starr. He endured 12 grueling hours of
testimony, during which Democrats failed to lay a glove on him.
In his book "The Best Defense," famed defense attorney Alan Dershowitz pulled no punches:
"In representing criminal defendants -- especially guilty ones -- it is often necessary to
take the offensive against the government: to put the government on trial for its misconduct.
In law, as in sports, the best defense is often a good offense."
The Democrats pounded and pounded. Why did you stop Monica Lewinsky from contacting her
lawyer? Answer: We didn't. Since the FBI did not arrest Lewinsky, she had no right to
counsel. Furthermore, assume the Feds improperly refused Monica Lewinsky's request to contact
her lawyer, who, by the way, helped her execute the false affidavit. The penalty? If
improperly denied the right to counsel, the accused may seek to exclude any and all evidence
obtained during the improper questioning. Unfortunately for the Democratic partisans, the
Starr referral included no such evidence from this encounter. There is, therefore, nothing to
suppress.
Well, what about your relationship with the Paula Jones lawyers? Starr stated that he
received phone calls from the Paula Jones legal team seeking his opinion on the
constitutional question of whether a sitting president could be sued civilly. Starr, by the
way, made public his opinion both on National Public Radio and on the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour
on PBS television. Perhaps, Ken Starr thought, maybe somebody might have been listening.
Why didn't you tell Attorney General Janet Reno about your contacts with the Paula Jones
lawyers before seeking permission to expand your inquiry to include the Monica
Lewinsky-related matters? Well, as stated, Starr had publicly stated his position on
immunity. Second, suppose Janet Reno denied Ken Starr jurisdiction? Reno would have likely
sought another independent counsel to investigate the Monica Lewinsky matter, and the
president goes back to square one.
At the end of the questioning, Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters hinted at perjury
charges against Starr! "After all," Congresswoman Waters reminded us, "Ken Starr testified
'under oath.'" Apparently, Waters found Starr less than truthful about the Lewinsky/FBI
interview. Does Congresswoman Waters share the same respect for the oath when it comes to the
president?
Independent counsel Ken Starr presented substantial and persuasive evidence that the
president committed perjury and obstructed justice. Congress impeached Federal Judges
Claiborne and Nixon for perjury. Federal prisons currently hold 115 people convicted of
perjury. And last year, in California alone, authorities filed more than 4,000 felony perjury
cases.
Did Ken Starr's testimony cause Americans to renew their disinclination to see the president
impeached? No. But, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll, of those who actually watched
the Starr testimony, 67 percent rated his performance as either good or excellent.
Unfortunately, only 38 percent of Americans did watch, thus continuing this national case of
jury nullification. In short, don't confuse me with the facts.
Too bad so few Americans watched. They missed a fair, decent and thorough man, finally
getting his "day in court" after years of attacks on his character, integrity and ethics.
Whatever may result from the impeachment inquiry, Ken Starr emerges as a renewed, resurrected
and honorable man. Ken Starr sat alone at his table, conferring with no one. No anxious aide
fed him answers or even supplied materials.
Following Starr's appearance, yet another blow. Former Watergate Chief Counsel Sam Dash, who
served as Ken Starr's ethics adviser, abruptly quit. Dash huffed that Starr should have
declined an invitation to appear. Really! Can you imagine had Starr refused to show?!
Gutless! Won't walk the walk! See, partisan witchhunt! Besides, had Starr not voluntarily
shown, he most assuredly would have been subpoenaed.
Another critic said Starr's performance "failed to electrify." Oh, is that the test? Funny,
some think Ken Starr's job was not to "electrify," but to put forth the facts in a
straightforward, non-sensational fashion.
At the end of Starr's testimony, Republican counsel David Schippers, a lawyer for 40 years,
stated that he was proud to be in the same room with Ken Starr. Hear, hear. But this
independent counsel cannot win. According to Starr's critics, there's Hitler, Stalin and Ken
Starr -- and not necessarily in that
Only three Democratic questions concerned the substance of the independent counsel's charges
--- that evidence suggests the president committed perjury and obstruction of justice.
Starr
11/19/98: Will the real hypocrite stand up!?
11/13/98: The Clinton 400
10/23/98: My evening with Chris Rock
10/15/98: Slavery is not funny
10/02/98: Clinton --- friend of the working woman
9/28/98: George Washington vs. the Grand Jury
9/18/98: It's the perjury, stupid
9/14/98: The "Larry List" of the most fascinating women in politics
9/07/98: Why blacks shouldn't support Clinton
8/27/98:The Brown bomber strikes Justice Thomas
8/21/98:So very clintonesque
8/17/98: Gary Coleman, hate criminal?
8/07/98: How much mea culpa?
7/24/98: ATM Al?
7/24/98: Advising the advisors
7/17/98: Camille Cosby's carelessness
7/9/98: Moses mugged
7/2/98: Al Campanis -- forever a racist?
6/25/98: And you thought "coke" was worse than smokes
6/19/98: Is Jasper ‘America'?
6/12/98: Guess who's not coming to dinner
6/5/98: What now, NOW?
5/29/98:What's next, ‘burger busters'?
5/21/98: 'Stuff' happens
5/18/98: This just in
5/11/98: Stepping up
4/30/98: Who's faking whom?
4/23/98:PRESIDENTIAL HOOP DREAMS
4/16/98:To spank or not to spank
4/10/98:TWA: TEACHING WHILE ASIAN