The real Ken Starr is an accomplished man of integrity.

Yes, I said it.

Ken Starr is a man of integrity.

I said these words at the close of my on-stage interview with Judge Starr at the Western Conservative Summit this past Friday.

I first met Judge Starr at a Weekly Standard conference at the Broadmoor in June 2017.  His on-stage interview with then-editor Stephen Hayes was fascinating, and I was struck by his insights on the nascent Mueller investigation. 

A former D.C. Circuit Judge (1983-1989) and U.S. Solicitor General (1989-1993) who argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court, Judge Starr became particularly pivotal in the last decade of the 20^thCentury as the Independent Counsel tapped in 1994 to head up an investigation into a corrupt land deal in Arkansas.  This “Whitewater Investigation” centered largely on then-President Bill Clinton, who committed acts of perjury and obstruction of justice resulting in his impeachment.

As I mentioned at the Summit, I was only an 8-year-old during the Clinton impeachment stage.  To me, Ken Starr is as much an historical figure as anything else.

At the 2017 event, I asked about an interview. Judge Starr (and, more importantly, his wonderful wife Alice) accepted my invitation.  As we talked, I took to the man’s personable and kind-hearted nature. I could s­­ense no ego; just a humble, gracious person.

Indeed, I found that Ken Starr was genuinely interested in and curious about me – at the time not-yet-27 while hosting radio six days a week – and I really appreciated that.  What’s more – I’d come to learn that this is fundamental to his character. 

At last year’s Weekly Standard conference, at this year’s Western Conservative Summit and at a private book signing I attended last Thursday, he again demonstrated this interest in, respect for and curiosity about others.  “Sit down and tell me a little bit about yourself,” he invited book signing attendees, then writing a personalized inscription.

Following my interview with Judge Starr at this year’s WCS, many attendees shared with me their surprised impressions.  “I didn’t realize how sharp he is.”  “He really knows his stuff and I learned a lot.”  “I had no idea how authentic and personable he is!”

Indeed, when you read his books, Contempt: A Memoir of the Clinton Investigation and Bear Country: The Baylor Story, and talk with him in-depth about pertinent topics, it’s obvious Judge Starr knows what he’s talking about, offers a unique perspective and is exceptionally honest about his opinions.

My radio interview Friday with Judge Starr is an even better example of this than our 16-minute on-stage conversation.  In-studio for 50 minutes, he shared his very first comments on news reports about his role as an attorney for Jeffrey Epstein in a 2008 Florida case. 

We discussed accusations of hypocrisy leveled against him for pursuing Clinton supposedly “for sexual immorality” while later failing to appropriately handle off-campus sexual misconduct by football players and representing a pedophile.  (We dismantled each of these misperceptions.)  We delved into how the Clinton investigation really went from a land deal to a blue dress.  He presented unique insights about pending testimony of current Special Counsel Robert Mueller before Congress – giving us the rare perspective that only a special prosecutor can do.

Judge Starr had a compelling, informed and thoughtful answer to every question I asked.  A six-minute soundbite on Fox News doesn’t do his intellect justice.

Ken Starr has carried tremendous weight on his shoulders in several big controversies, especially Whitewater and Baylor.  In Contempt, he recounts the vicious blows endured for years not only by Judge Starr himself, but by his family too.  One example: his daughter Carolyn, while attending Stanford University simultaneously with then-first daughter Chelsea Clinton, required 24/7 U.S. marshal protection. 

Though realistic and surely toughened, Ken Starr is neither vindictive nor hardened by his trial by fire.  Most men who’ve endured what he has probably would be, at least somewhat.  Yet this man – one of the most maligned and misunderstood Americans alive today – is no such thing.

Ken Starr is an honorable man of integrity who always answers when his nation calls.  I’m just glad I could introduce the WCS and my listeners to the real Ken Starr.

Jimmy Sengenberger is the host of Business for Breakfast on KDMT Denver’s Money Talk 1690 AM and The Jimmy Sengenberger Show on News/Talk 710 KNUS.  He is the President and CEO of the Denver-based Millennial Policy Center.