You gotta know when to fold 'em...
by Jon Worley

When the whole Monica Lewinsky deal blew up in January, I told everyone around me that Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr had raised the bet and then called. He had nowhere else to go but to initiate the final sequence. This is always a horrible situation for a prosecutor to be in, so I was fairly confident the Prez had no real worries.

Six months down the line, my prognostication is looking better and better. And like the addictive gambler who mortgages his house for one spin on the roulette wheel, Starr keeps tossing out silly indictments.

Like, say the tax evasion charges against Web Hubbell, Hubbell's wife and their tax attorney. When Starr turned the case into the judge, the judge asked Starr if any of the evidence came from sources other than Hubbell's own papers, which Hubbell had turned in as part of an immunity agreement. Starr and his team hemmed and hawed a bit, and the judge gave a pretty stern warning about infringing on the fifth amendment.

A few days, and a few caustic statements to the press later (amusing bits that went something like "I can do whoever I want in my pursuit of truth, justice, the American way), the judge in Arkansas tossed out all the charges, saying that since the only evidence against Hubbell came from his own files, the files which Starr had seized as part of an earlier criminal case, Starr's prosecution amounted to stomping on Hubbell's right against self-incrimination (the fifth amendment). And in any case, Starr's prosecutorial charter didn't cover things like the tax records of people vaguely connected to Whitewater.

This, of course, did not dissuade Starr, who promptly rejected the judge's argument and appealed, saying once again that he could do whatever he wanted because God himself had appointed him high chancellor of determining what is right and good. Or something to that effect.

Here's the deal: If Starr had any real sense as a political prosecutor (which is what he is), then he would quit dealing with the small fry (Hubbell, the McDougals and Jim Guy Tucker are the main folks who got snared in the whole Whitewater morass) and get on with actually going after important people. See, his job is to investigate the President. At least, I thought it was. Starr keeps pounding on fairly unimportant people, assuming that if he hits hard enough they'll tell him something that he wants to hear. Legal torture, in a very real sense. Ask Susan McDougal, who just got released from jail for reasons of health. Hell, ask Jim McDougal, who kept making up new stories until he died. While I'm sure that Starr subscribes wholeheartedly to James Dobson's theory of beating children into submission, this is not a proper way to run an investigation. Intimidation always works against you.

And so there is the very real chance that the only person doing serious time after all is said and done will be Starr himself. The admitted leaks from his office violated the spirit, if not the letter, of the grand jury secrecy laws, and no one is completely sure how many illegal wiretaps Starr undertook in getting Lewinsky and others on tape. And then there's the question of how many witnesses were paid off before their grand jury testimony, and if Starr knew about it. Will he be prosecuted? If any democrat can find jurisdiction, you betcha.

That's what this attack dog mentality breeds: more and more killing. I bet if you sat Starr down and made him watch Boyz N' the Hood, he'd miss the parallels. Once you start sniping, it takes an act of bravery and courage to stop. Starr has been sniping away, and I don't see many men or women of honor on the democratic side who will look the other way when Starr's time comes due. Hell, I'm not the vindictive sort, but I'd love to see the guy up against the wall. There are very few political figures of any party that I find truly venal, but Starr's on the list. Not because he's investigating Clinton. I know plenty of journalists (personally) who have taken cracks at finding not-so-nice stuff out about our Prez. It's his job, and I understand that. But Starr has corrupted the entire independent counsel operation. He's got too much of that "I am the law" attitude. He isn't the law. The Constitution is. He doesn't decide whether or not Clinton is guilty of anything. The Senate will, if it comes to that. He is simply the gatherer of facts. And I think he's forgotten that simple idea.

He's forced this confrontation, and he's out of chips. Unless those last two cards come up winners (and the Supreme Court hasn't been too kind of late), the bill will come due. And Ken Starr won't like the looks of that at all.

Jon Worley is far too obsessed with Ken Starr. And never you mind that fascinating picture of Starr sharing a quick smooch with Brady Anderson that's sweeping across the Internet. The other guy is actually Vince Foster.

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