“I imagine it’s a painful loss for those who love him,” Monica Lewinsky said in a tweet Tuesday following Ken Starr’s death at age 76
Monica Lewinsky is speaking out following the death of Ken Starr.
The former U.S. solicitor general, who spearheaded the impeachment investigation into former President Bill Clinton, died Tuesday of complications from surgery at the age of 76.
“As i’m sure many can understand, my thoughts about ken starr bring up complicated feelings…,” Lewinsky, 49, wrote on Twitter. “But of more importance, is that i imagine it’s a painful loss for those who love him.”
as i’m sure many can understand, my thoughts about ken starr bring up complicated feelings… but of more importance, is that i imagine it’s a painful loss for those who love him.
— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@MonicaLewinsky) September 13, 2022
In response, Philippe Reines — a former longtime senior advisor to Hillary Clinton — tweeted, “Would love to see the first draft.” Lewinsky wrote back, “This actually was -essentially—the first draft (i futzed w/ order a wee bit)… but therapy next week will be… interesting.”
After being appointed by a federal appeals panel in 1994, Starr — a conservative Republican — led the Whitewater investigation which probed the real estate investments of Bill and Hillary, 74. The investigation later expanded to include the then-president’s affair with Lewinsky, a White House intern, according to CNN.
In light of his investigation, Bill, 76, was impeached on perjury and obstruction of justice charges by the House although he was acquitted on all charges by the Senate, the outlet reported.
In an essay Lewinsky wrote for Vanity Fair in 2018, she described the time she crossed paths with Starr for the first time almost 20 years since the investigation.
this actually was -essentially—the first draft (i futzed w/ order a wee bit)… but therapy next week will be… interesting.
— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@MonicaLewinsky) September 13, 2022
During their chance encounter at a New York City restaurant, Lewinsky took the opportunity to speak her truth.
“I finally gathered my wits about me — after an internal command of Get it together,” she explained in Vanity Fair. ” ‘Though I wish I had made different choices back then,’ I stammered, ‘I wish that you and your office had made different choices, too.’ In hindsight, I later realized, I was paving the way for him to apologize. But he didn’t. He merely said, with the same inscrutable smile, ‘I know. It was unfortunate.’ ”
Starr died of complications from surgery at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, Texas, according to a statement from his family.
“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,” Starr’s son, Randall, said in the statement on behalf of him and his sisters, Carolyn S. Doolittle and Cynthia S. Roemer.
“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,” the statement continued.
Starr also served as a member of former President Donald Trump’s legal defense team during his Senate impeachment trial in 2020.
He was also the president of Pepperdine University from 2004 to 2010 and later became the 14th president of Baylor University from 2010 to 2016.
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