REPRESENTATIVE SCHAKOWSKY CALLS ON RENO TO FIRE KEN STARR "Kenneth Starr is not 'independent counsel' for life. It's time to put an end to this"

In a letter to Reno, Schakowsky cited Starr's wasteful spending of taxpayers' dollars and his "personal and political vendetta" toward the president.

"Every American is in agreement. The President's behavior was deplorable and is deserving of reproach. But now that the end is in sight, I fear that Ken Starr will be driven to find other routes to carry on his partisan pursuit of the President. The Attorney General can and should stop Ken Starr in his tracks," Schakowsky said.(see letter that follows)

February 5, 1999

The Honorable Janet Reno
Attorney General of the United States
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Attorney General Reno:

I urge you to immediately take action to terminate Kenneth Starr's appointment as independent counsel.

First, after more than four years and $50 million, it is apparent that any further investigation of the President by Kenneth Starr will result in nothing more than a waste of taxpayers' dollars.

Second, after more than four years, it is evident that Kenneth Starr has perverted the meaning of "independent" counsel and is instead engaged in a personal and political vendetta. Stephen A. Saltzburg, an Assistant Attorney General under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, said that ". . . the independent counsel may be biased against the President and has strayed far from the path that justified his appointment."

Finally, before the Senate has even concluded the trial, the Office of Independent Counsel "leaked" the fact that it is considering a criminal indictment of the President. The American public should be spared from two more years of Kenneth Starr's crusade to drive the President from office.

Kenneth Starr is not "independent counsel" for life. It is time to put an end to this.

Sincerely,

Janice Schakowsky
Member of Congress