Ken Starr Quotations

Higher educating has so many challenges, and private higher education has a special challenge of ever rising tuition costs.

In contrast to what most prosecutors do, we try to treat all individuals with complete fairness. We do not go out and hold press conferences and the like.

Lying under oath, and encouraging lies under oath, does go to the very heart and soul of what courts do. If we say we don't care, let's forget about courts, and we'll just have other ways of figuring out how to handle disputes.

There is no excuse for perjury - never, never, never. There is truth, and the truth demands respect.

Lawyers claim that their clients have been grossly mistreated, which is what criminal defense lawyers are paid to do.

The whole idea of equal justice under law means that you've got to play by the rules. It has nothing to do with the underlying subject matter. You just tell the truth.

I was assigned to do a job by the attorney general, and that was to find out whether crimes were committed.

The values of confidentiality of matters occurring before the grand jury is very important.

You're making me feel like a skunk at the garden party.

Don't blame the messenger because the message is unpleasant.

I don't believe anyone has leaked grand jury information.

I think the President inspires tremendous affection and loyalty by a wide range of people.

We were criticized throughout that investigation for being too thorough, for taking too long. But time has proved the correctness of that approach.

Government lawyers have a duty to disclose evidence of wrongdoing in the government.

I do not speak frequently or otherwise to the press.

We must combat misinformation that is being spread.

Whether the story reflects the facts is obviously a different matter.

We were in Little Rock. We were assessing a very important issue. In the midst of our discussions, we were receiving urgent inquiries from The Washington Post asking about interviews.

When we had highly sensitive information, the DNA on the dress, that was held within our office and the FBI. There was no dissemination of that information.

I am not here to accuse the media of anything.

As you may know, I'm a native Texan. In fact I'm a fifth generation Texan.

I said in sharp language that that practice was wrong.

I was privileged to serve as a judge.

In law, one's sense of calling or vocation will lead one to be interested in certain dimensions of Constitutional law.

Rights are in the power of the people.

With no institutional defender, independent counsels are especially vulnerable to partisan attack,

Major decisions during the Lewinsky investigation have not been easy. And given the hurricane force winds swirling about us, we were well aware that no matter what decision we made, criticism would come from somewhere.

On all nine of those occasions, the president fondled and kissed her bare breasts. He touched her genitals ... bringing her to orgasm on two occasions,

Since your last appearance before the grand jury in September 1996 we have been able to obtain a copy of this check and confirm it's your handwriting on the check. You signed this check, correct?

moving very quickly and we've made very significant progress.

no one is entitled to lie under oath simply because he or she does not like the questions or because he believes the case is frivolous or financially motivated or politically motivated.

further information gathered as part of your ongoing investigation.

I also know that there's a time and a season, and I think that time, had there been one, has long since passed.

I would say it is utterly incomplete and grossly misleading,

I think it is fair to say that the Act has been a worthwhile experiment. Like most experiments that are professionally conducted, it has yielded significant results, ... The results, I believe, support this conclusion: Jurisdiction and authority over these cases ought to be returned to the Justice Department. And who will oversee them? The Congress, the press and the public.

I thought we were to discuss a referral which we believe contains substantial and credible information of potential impeachable offenses by the President of the United States.

I think it was proper what I did. I think I had a duty to do what I did.

It isn't in the interest of the First Amendment for distortions, lies about career civil servants to be spread about. We don't know who is spreading them about. But lies and distortions have no place in our First Amendment universe.

My people have assured me ... that they had no indication whatsoever of any involvement (between Tripp and Jones' attorneys,)

I think he inspires just tremendous affection and loyalty by ... a wide range of people,

We must know that thewitness is telling the truth. Give us transparency. Give us the facts.

We were guided by Sam Dash, who had very strong views on that.

Unfortunately, we have seen already that a duly appointed career prosecutor, a career prosecutor, has already come under criticism and I think that's very unfortunate, ... Let's depoliticize it. Let's say that is now in the hands of very distinguished career prosecutor, Bob Ray.

The conversation between the president and Ms. Lewinsky on December 17 was a critical turning point. The evidence suggests that the president chose to engage in a criminal act -- to reach an understanding with Ms. Lewinsky that they would both make false statements under oath. At that moment, the president's intimate relationship with a subordinate employee was transformed. It was transformed into an unlawful effort to thwart the judicial process. This was no longer an issue of private conduct.

We contacted Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder within 48 hours after Ms. Tripp provided us information ... About Ms. Tripp's tapes and the questions concerning their legality under state law. About the consensual FBI recording of Ms. Tripp and Ms. Lewinsky. About the indications that Vernon Jordan was providing employment assistance to a witness who had the potential to harm the president ... We discussed jurisdiction. We noted that it is in everyone's interest to avoid time-consuming jurisdictional challenges.

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.

extraordinarily important and that I failed to fully take that into account in terms of what I view and still do as essentially as a legal process and judicial process.

The grand jury is trying to get facts, evaluate facts. I can't comment on whether a privilege has been invoked but a privilege is a legal right that may be subject of litigation if one is invoked,

We try to carry on this investigation in a most professional way,

Either Monica Lewinsky lied to the grand jury, or President Clinton lied ... under any rational view of the evidence, the president lied,

Isn't it odd the Secret Service is willing totestify if it helps a president because they won't be pushed farther away,but that if it's something that may hurt a president, they won't testify.

The statute tries to cram a fourth branch of government into our three-branch system.

seek judicial relief from these tactics, including contempt sanctions, as soon as practicable.

After an extensive investigation, the office produced a report that addressed the many questions that confronted the difficult issues, it laid out new evidence, and it reached a definitive conclusion.

As Fiorello LaGuardia would say, when I make a mistake, it's a beaut,

This is a radical, radical departure from our history and from our traditions, and it amounts to an assault on the judicial branch of government.

This law intrudes deeply into political life. It goes too far,

According to Ms. Lewinsky, the president touched her breasts and genitalia, which means his conduct met the Jones definition of sexual relations even under his theory, ... On these matters, the evidence of the president's perjury cannot be presented without specific, explicit and possibly offensive descriptions of sexual encounters.

It was fair and right to go to someone who is in the midst of a very serious thing, ... She was in the process of committing serious offenses.

I totally disagree with that, ... That's an accusation...

It may prove to have the kind of long-term boomerang effect, damage on the institution of the Senate that thoughtful senators may come to regret.

That is false and you know it to be false,

The attorney general's refutation of the legal argument made by the White House ... speaks volumes about the far-fetched nature of the White House's submission,

It was not our place to reinvent the investigative wheel,

never suggests that the relationship between the president and Ms. Lewinsky in and of itself could be a high crime or misdemeanor...The propriety of a relationship is not the concern of our office.

At the outset, I want to emphasize that our referral never suggests that the relationship between the president and Ms. Lewinsky, in and of itself, could constitute a high crime or misdemeanor. Indeed, the referral never passes judgment on the president's relationship with Ms. Lewinsky. The propriety of a relationship is not the concern of our office.

I'm not going to be making any comment today.

In late 1997, we considered whether this evidence justified a referral to Congress, ... We drafted a report. But we concluded that it would be inconsistent with the statutory standard because of the difficulty of establishing the truth with a sufficient degree of confidence.

I have no recollection of that but I am happy to search my recollection ... I would have to search my recollection ... I cannot recall off the top of my head ... I would have to conduct an interview with my agents ... I would frankly have to search my recollections,

... in each case known to individuals outside my office.

I love Sam. I respect him. I admire him. He's a total man of principle. I have really profited from his judgment. I think it was a matter of principle. It was so important to him.

Charges have been made. We'll look into those charges but let's find out the facts. Let's find out the facts.

The jury has spoken and we accept the jury's verdict, ... we are getting our assessments.

a great gentleman, a real Southern gentleman and throughout our dealings with him he was always gracious and kind, and I think in these later years he wanted to end on a high moral note and end by telling the truth ... so we miss him.

And so I welcome any movement in the direction of our getting moreinformation sooner rather than later,