This is a column of opinion and analysis by 13WMAZ's Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Randall Savage.
NIneteen years ago, the name Kenneth Starr and his expanded mission dominated household discussions throughout the United States.
Starr was the independent council tapped with investigating Whitewater, an Arkansas real estate deal that collapsed and took a savings-and-loan company down with it. Bill and Hillary Clinton lost money in the process.
Prior to becoming president, Bill Clinton served as governor of Arkansas. Hillary Clinton, an attorney, handled some real estate dealings, including Whitewater.
While the real estate probe didn't result in criminal charges, the investigation did lead Starr to an affair between Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
With a sexual scandal in hand, Starr secured charges of lying under oath and obstruction of justice against Clinton. The president was impeached by the House of Representatives, but he was acquitted by the Senate.
After the impeachment derailment, Starr became dean of the Pepperdine Law School in California. He later became president of Baylor University in Texas. Starr lost his Baylor job because of alleged mishandling of complaints about sexual misdeeds involving athletes and others.
Since then, Starr has written a book about his almost five-year Clinton probe. It's called "Contempt: A Memoir of the Clinton Investigation".
Recently, Starr has been making media appearances, touting his 338-page book and, in some instances, comparing his Clinton probe with Robert Mueller's current investigation into President Trump's 2016 campaign and possible Russian tampering with it.
Earlier this week, Starr told Tucker Carlson, a Fox News host, that he wasn't pleased with reports that Mueller has partisan Democrats on his staff.
"I have great confidence in Bob Mueller as a person, so I'm in the school that Mueller is a good and decent man," Starr said. But he added that he thinks Mueller needs to answer questions about the integrity of his staff. "I do have concerns about the people around him."
Starr also said he doesn't think Trump should attack Mueller and Attorney General Jeff Sessions with his tweets. "I think it's wrong," Starr said. "The president shouldn't be doing that."
On several occasions, Trump has called the Mueller probe a witch hunt, and he's attacked Sessions for recusing himself from the investigation. Trump also complains that the Mueller investigation has lasted too long.
The Mueller probe isn't two years old yet. On the other hand, Starr spent four and a half years investigating Clinton.
During what some at the time also called a lengthy witch hunt, Starr obtained impeachment charges against Clinton. Starr believed he had sufficient evidence to get Clinton removed from office.
That, of course, didn't happen. So Starr isn't one to predict successful impeachment and removal actions against Trump. That's true, he cautions, even if Mueller gathers what many see as insurmountable evidence against the sitting president.
