Kenneth Starr – 1946–
An attorney and former judge, Starr was appointed independent counsel in 1994 to investigate allegations of possibly impeachable offenses committed by President Bill Clinton in connection with certain real estate dealings. Four years and $40 million later, the “Starr Report” cleared Clinton of wrongdoing in connection with the real estate issue, but detailed his sexual liaison with a 21-year-old former White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. Starr concluded that Clinton had violated his oath of office by perjuring himself in a sworn deposition he had given in a sexual harassment civil lawsuit brought against him by a former Arkansas state employee, Paula Jones.
He also alleged that the president had lied about the affair to a grand jury. Based on the Starr Report, Congress voted, along party lines, to impeach President Clinton, who was acquitted on February 12, 1999, in a Senate vote also along party lines.