Death of American Virtue - Ken Gormley [485]
Bennett played tight end: Jackie Bennett, interview by author.
Bennett had prosecuted: Jackie Bennett, interview by author; Maria Recio, “Starr’s Lieutenant Built His Reputation on Texas Court Cases,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 May 1991, 1.
“We prided ourselves”: Jackie Bennett, interview by author.
Starr drove: Ibid. Starr himself recalled crossing over the Arkansas River into Little Rock, and assuring Bennett that the job could be completed expeditiously. “I tend to be the eternal optimist,” Starr said. “A year or two struck me as a reasonable amount of time” (Ken Starr, interview by author).
For Fiske it “was an all-consuming job”: Robert B. Fiske, interview by author.
“The whole structure”: Ken Starr, interview by author.
“deep academic interest”: William S. Duffey, Jr., interview by author.
“wasn’t physically present”: Gabrielle Wolohojian, interview by author.
Prosecutors needed to arrange: Julie O’Sullivan, interview by author; William S. Duffey, Jr., interview by author.
“It was just harder to get”: William S. Duffey, Jr., interview by author.
gave Ken Starr high marks: Mark Tuohey, interview by author.
“I had no idea how”: Gabrielle Wolohojian, interview by author.
Picking up their families and moving: William S. Duffey, Jr., interview by author.
If Starr wanted: Dash was not the only Democratic figure from Watergate to whom Starr and his staff reached out. OIC lawyers also met with James Doyle, press secretary and spokesman for the legendary Archibald Cox, and asked if he was interested in joining the team. Doyle made several discreet phone calls and was advised to “stay away from it.” He therefore declined (James Doyle, interview by author).
“There was criticism”: Sam Dash, interview by author.
“a very collegial”: Mark Tuohey, interview by author.
“We never did”: Hickman Ewing, Jr., interview by author.
“I can’t think”: Jackie Bennett, interview by author.
“Ken worked almost”: Sam Dash, interview by author.
“To hear some people say”: Hickman Ewing, Jr., interview by author.
Hubbell had confessed to engaging: Plea Agreement, 6 Dec. 1994.
“I mean a chimpanzee could”: Rusty Hardin, interview by author.
They would forever regret: Jackie Bennett, interview by author.
Hubbell himself: Webster Hubbell, interview by author.
Starr’s naive expectation: Rusty Hardin, interview by author.
The Hubbell investigation: Starr’s office eventually evolved into teams, most of them working on familiar assignments. One handled the Hale plea and the transactions involving Capital Management Services, debriefing Hale in an attempt to flush out the truth. Another team dealt with the Hubbell case, attempting to recover ground despite the botched plea agreement. The “825 team” dealt with Hale’s bogus loan from Madison Guaranty in the amount of $825,000, which in turn encompassed the $300,000 loan from Hale to Susan McDougal; a $25,000 loan allegedly designed to pay off a Whitewater obligation for the McDougals (and the Clintons); and a loan of $150,000 that allegedly went to a corporation called Castle Sewer and Water, which was incorporated by Jim Guy Tucker. There were also separate teams devoted to the Whitewater investment and to Madison irregularities. And there was a team putting together the tax fraud case involving Jim Guy Tucker’s cable company (Hickman Ewing, Jr., interview by author). In Washington, none of the principal matters under investigation—dealing with Vince Foster, Treasury Office contacts, the Travel Office, or other sundry investigations—related to the original Whitewater matter.
into a closet: Rusty Hardin, interview by author; Robert Fiske to Randy Coleman, Re: Hale plea agreement, 19 Mar. 1994, Heuer papers.
a former public servant: Conason