Robert Ray succeeds Starr at independent counsel post

JANE FULLERTON
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

WASHINGTON -- Robert Ray took the oath of office Monday to succeed Kenneth Starr as the independent counsel concluding the wide-ranging Whitewater investigation, which has spanned five years and cost $47 million.
Just minutes after being sworn in, the former federal prosecutor appeared on the steps of the federal courthouse, telling reporters he accepted his new duty "with a keen recognition of the weightiness of the matters that have been entrusted to this office."
Starr, who did not appear publicly, released a letter of resignation telling the three-judge panel that appointed him that he had sought to carry out his obligations "in a thorough, comprehensive and professional manner."
While "much remains to be done" to complete his assignment, Starr acknowledged the public perception of the investigation, which led to President Clinton's impeachment by the House and acquittal by the Senate, as politically motivated.
"I have concluded that the office would be better served with a new person at the helm," Starr wrote. "In particular, the intense politicization of the independent counsel process has resulted in a marked diminution in public confidence in the administration of justice.
"To reduce the unfortunate personalization of the process, in particular in the wake of the inherently divisive impeachment proceedings, the wiser course, I believe, is for another individual to head the investigation."
For Starr, it was a quiet end to his tumultuous tenure overseeing a sweeping investigation that netted the convictions of 14 people, including the Clintons' Whitewater business partners, Jim and Susan McDougal; former Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, who resigned from office; and former associate attorney general Webb Hubbell, the first lady's former law partner.
Ultimately, the investigation turned to the president's relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, providing intimate details about the affair as part of an impeachment process that split largely along partisan lines.
Starr is expected to return to his private law practice with the prominent Washington firm of Kirkland & Ellis.
To replace him, the special three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit chose Ray, 39, a graduate of Princeton University and Washington and Lee University's law school, who began his career as an assistant U.S. attorney in New York.
Ray joined Starr's staff in April, moving over from the staff of independent counsel Donald Smaltz and his investigation of former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, where he was the lead prosecutor in the cases against Tyson Foods Inc. executive Archie Schaffer and lobbyist Jack Williams.
Ray began his statement by praising Starr's "extraordinary service to the country at great personal sacrifice over the past five years. He gave a lot to this country."
Flanked by his wife, Kristen, and colleagues from the independent counsel's office, Ray also pledged to try to wrap up the investigation quickly.
"We shall do our best to be thorough and fair, to discharge the weighty matters and mandates that have been given our office, and to continue the work of this investigation in a prompt, responsible and cost-effective manner," he said.
One of the three judges who appointed him also urged Ray to work quickly.
Judge Richard D. Cudahy noted that the special panel had considered only candidates from Starr's staff "in the interest of an expeditious but responsible wrap-up of the inquiry."
"There can be no more vital consideration now than closure with all deliberate speed," Cudahy wrote. "Within that framework, our selection of Robert Ray carries much promise."
But the two other members of the special panel, Presiding Judge David B. Sentelle and Judge Peter T. Fay, wrote a response urging Ray to conclude his work "regardless of how much time is involved" since "it is not the role of the courts to instruct or advise" the independent counsel on any course of action.
Ray will have several matters facing him as independent counsel, including a Supreme Court case stemming from the Hubbell case. The justices agreed last week to decide whether the independent counsel violated Hubbell's Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when Hubbell was forced, under a limited grant of immunity, to produce documents that prosecutors then used to build a tax indictment against him.
Ray will also have two other pending matters: the investigation into an alleged attempt to influence the testimony of White House volunteer Kathleen Willey and the investigation into Hillary Rodham Clinton's role in the firing of the White House travel office staff.
In addition, Ray will also oversee production of a final report on the independent counsel investigation -- which sprang from the Clinton's failed Arkansas land deal and grew to include the travel office firings, the handling of FBI documents, the suicide of Vincent Foster Jr. and, ultimately, the Lewinsky matter.

This article was published on Tuesday, October 19, 1999

RETURN to Clinton Crisis