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Former federal judge Ken Starr, who also led the investigation that resulted in former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, died at age 76.
His death was the result of “complications from surgery,” according to a statement from his family.He died in Houston at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center.
Starr was widely known for leading an independent investigation into the Clintons.
His work resulted in Clinton’s impeachment after the House charged him with perjury and obstruction of justice for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
President Ronald Reagan appointed Starr as a federal judge. He later served as Solicitor General under George H.W. Bush.
His son Randall said, “We are deeply saddened with the loss of our dear and loving Father and Grandfather, whom we admired for his prodigious work ethic, but who always put his family first.”
“The love, energy, endearing sense of humor, and fun-loving interest Dad exhibited to each of us was truly special, and we cherish the many wonderful memories we were able to experience with him. He is now with his Lord and Savior,” he added.
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At 37, the former federal judge became the youngest person to ever serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and many thought Starr would eventually end up on the Supreme Court. Starr’s investigation of Clinton, however, likely ended any hopes of his appointment to the nation’s highest court.
During the investigation, the White House painted Starr as a right-wing fanatic who was investigating Clinton at the behest of Republicans. “The assaults took a toll,” Starr said of the Clinton administration’s attempts to taint his work. “A duly authorized federal law enforcement investigation came to be characterized as yet another political game. Law became politics by other means.”
Starr is survived by his wife of 52 years, Alice Mendell Starr. He is also survived by his three children, Randall P. Starr, Carolyn S. Doolittle, and Cynthia S. Roemer, and nine grandchildren: Grace, Christiana, Hewson, and Sandhana Doolittle; William and Charlotte Starr; and Sienna, Madison, and Colton Roemer, the family said. Starr is also survived by his sister, Billie Jeayne Reynolds, and brother, Jerry Starr.