Report on possible Starr leaks due

Prosecutor dismisses a report he is preparing to step down

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, November 30) -- A special investigator probing accusations that Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's office leaked grand jury material could report to a federal judge as early as Monday. Meanwhile, reports indicate that Starr is considering stepping down in about four months, though he denied he plans to do so.


Starr testifying before the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month

A so-called "special master" was appointed to investigate allegations of improper leaks from the grand jury investigating whether President Bill Clinton tried to cover up a relationship with former intern Monica Lewinsky. The investigator, who has not been identified, will report to Chief U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson.

Meanwhile, sources have told CNN that Starr has begun to discuss when he might leave the special prosecutor's job once the investigation of his office is complete. He assumed the post in 1994.

Starr, though, said Monday he is not ready to quit. "I do not have any plans other than to do my job," he said, when asked Monday about a published report he might step down in the spring of 1999.

Starr also declined to say anything about the report on alleged leaks. When asked if he thought the Office of the Independent Counsel would be vindicated by the upcoming report, Starr replied, "As I said before, we've conducted ourselves properly and professionally."

Starr has rejected claims his office released material that should have been protected by grand jury secrecy rules. But if the report concludes that Starr's office knowingly made grand jury secrets public, the independent counsel and his deputies could face a contempt-of-court citation, said Michael Zeldin, a former special prosecutor. The findings could also open Starr and his lawyers to investigation by state licensing boards, he said.

The investigator has two other options: asking for more time to look into the matter, or concluding that the evidence is insufficient to suggest Starr's office did anything improper.

Proof could be difficult

Proving the leaks came from the prosecutor's office will be difficult unless reporters voluntarily give up their sources. Abbe Lowell, the chief lawyer for Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, said that is not likely to happen.

"Without having the press willing to do that, I don't know if anybody can find out for sure whether leaks were the responsibility of the independent counsel or somebody else," Lowell said.

In his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month, Starr denied White House accusations of illegal leaks from his office.

"That's an accusation, and it's an unfair accusation, and I completely reject it," Starr said.

But he has acknowledged briefing reporters confidentially -- something Johnson has said might constitute a violation of grand jury secrecy rules.

Friends recommend a spring exit

Meanwhile, friends of Starr are said to be suggesting March or April as a good time for him to step down, but Starr has yet to make that decision.

One source says Starr is determined not to make another "Pepperdine mistake" without first discussing his departure with this staff. That is a reference to his 1997 announcement that he would resign as independent counsel to take a dean's job at Pepperdine Law School in California.

Criticism from his staff and congressional Republicans following that announcement forced Starr to reconsider his decision, and he ultimately decided to stay on until his duties as independent counsel were complete.