Starr in the spotlight

In his first in-depth television interview since recommending impeachment against US President Bill Clinton, independent counsel Kenneth Sta...

In his first in-depth television interview since recommending impeachment against US President Bill Clinton, independent counsel Kenneth Starr defended himself against charges he was partisan and prudish. Starr and several of his prosecutors discussed internal debates, tactics and the controversy surrounding their office, on ABC8217;s 20/20 programme.

Starr described Clinton as 8220;extraordinarily talented, wonderfully empathetic,8221; and denied he was on a puritan crusade against the President. 8220;He is extraordinarily likable as a person, and the issues that we have had to face have been issues that, you know, are difficult,8221; he said. 8220;I was assigned to do a job by the attorney general, and that was to find out whether crimes were committed in this sexual harassment lawsuit,8221; he said.

Starr has alleged 11 impeachable offenses including perjury and obstruction of Justice related to events surrounding the President8217;s affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Clinton admitted in August to havingan affair with Lewinsky when she was 22, but denied having sex with her when he testified under oath in January. The President, however, asserts he did not commit perjury, which could constitute an impeachable offense.

In the interview, Starr called perjury an attack 8220;on the very heart and soul of what courts do. As long as we have the courts I think any judge worth his or her salt would say, We cannot tolerate perjury8217;.8221;The interview is part of Starr8217;s attempt to improve his image, which has taken a beating from Democrats in Congress and the White House, who have accused him of being out to get the President. The independent counsel also admitted his office did not do well in its handling of Lewinsky8217;s former friend, Linda Tripp.

He was asked what he thought about Tripp leaving his office in January and going home and talking to lawyers for former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones, who was pursuing her own sexual harassment suit against the President. 8220;I think we could have had better control ofher,8221; he said, adding that he did not know Tripp was talking to Jones8217; lawyers. He also told interviewer Diane Sawyer he believed extramarital sex was wrong. 8220;I think it8217;s wrong at a moral level, and I just also think it8217;s injurious to one8217;s self.8221;

But he denied he was a prude or a 8220;moral crusader8221;. In his testimony to the House Judicial Committee on November 19, Starr omitted the explicit sex that filled his September report to Congress, and that sparked widespread criticism. But he defended his 453-page referral, saying his staff made a 8220;professional judgement8221; to include the graphic sexual detail about Clinton and Lewinsky.