Administrations/carter/Event

August 5, 1994investigationDOJ independenceprosecutorial accountabilityexecutive powerseparation of powersprosecutorial independenceseparation of powersDOJ politicization

D.C. Circuit panel removes Fiske and appoints Ken Starr as Whitewater independent counsel

A Special Division of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit replaced independent counsel Robert Fiske with former Solicitor General Kenneth Starr on August 5, 1994, despite AG Janet Reno seeking to reappoint Fiske. The three-judge panel was presided over by Reagan appointee David Sentelle. Starr expanded the investigation from Whitewater real estate to include Monica Lewinsky, ultimately producing an impeachment referral grounded partly in perjury allegations about consensual sexual conduct.

Sources

Judges Replace Fiske as Whitewater Counsel Judges Politics Examined in Appointment of Starr to Direct Probe The Independent Counsel Investigation, the Impeachment Effort, and What Congress Learned