Starr's letter to Dash

LITTLE ROCK — The text of independent counsel Kenneth Starr's letter to Sam Dash in response to Dash's resignation:

Dear Sam:

I have received your letter of today. As you know, I have the greatest respect and admiration for your integrity, your wisdom and the invaluable assistance you have provided throughout my tenure as independent counsel. You were there at the beginning, and save for a teaching sabbatical, you have been there throughout.

I am, of course, also gratified by your statement that you "found that I conducted [my]self with integrity and professionalism as did [my] staff of experienced federal prosecutors." As you and I frequently discussed, we are fortunate to have on our staff experienced and dedicated career prosecutors who have performed outstanding service at the highest levels of the Justice Department.

With deep respect, however, I must say that your letter reflects an inaccurate view of the law, as well as of the events that unfolded yesterday.

The fundamental legal point on which we part company is the following: Because the statute requires a written referral of information that "may constitute grounds for an impeachment" -- and you supported our referral -- it seems to me that it cannot reasonably be a violation of law to personally appear before Congress, at its invitation, to summarize and explain the substance of a referral and the process that went into it. Moreover, the statute speaks to this point. The second sentence of Section 595 (c) of the statute states: "Nothing in this chapter ... shall prevent the Congress or either House thereof from obtaining information in the course of an impeachment proceeding." For that reason as well, an independent counsel can hardly cite the independent counsel statute as a basis for refusing to cooperate and appear before Congress in an impeachment proceeding, as you suggest we should have done.

It is important to stress that I did not ask to appear before the committee. I was invited to appear. And as a practical matter, moreover, I believed -- and I think virtually all members of the committee would agree -- that it was thoroughly appropriate and worthwhile to provide an oral rendition of the key points of the written referral, to provide a general status report on the state of the overall investigation, and to discuss the process that went into the investigation and referral. No member of the committee expressed the objection that you have raised. And it is important to note that my status report on the overall investigation included exonerations for the president on several issues.

You suggest that by appearing, I harmed public confidence in the independence of the office. With respect, I disagree with that. Indeed, had I chosen to refuse the invitation to testify, I believe would have harmed public confidence in the office. A refusal to appear would have suggested that we have something to hide, or that we are unwilling to defend and stand by the written referral.

In addition, I emphasized yesterday that the House has the sole power to impeach. I said it over and over and over and over again. I could not have been more clear. I stated that Congress has the absolute and unfettered discretion to discard the referral, use it or hold hearings on other issues. As Congressman Graham said, a House member voting on impeachment may choose to consider a wide variety of factors, and I did not purport to provide any guidance on what factors a member should apply, or how to balance all of the factors. My abiding concern was merely the evidence, the law and the process that my colleagues and I used.

In closing, let me again thank you for your years of service. Today's developments will not alter my deep affection for you and profound appreciation for all you have done for us.

Sincerely,

Kenneth W. Starr

Independent Counsel