Ken Starr, the independent counsel who investigated former President Bill Clinton, said Tuesday that “embarrassing information” should be scrubbed from special counsel Robert Mueller’s report before it’s released this week.
He referred back to the Starr Report 20 years ago, which contained graphic details of Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
“It’s true, there are protocols in place, but I certainly did not want the so-called Starr Report to be released to the public. I had no reason to believe it would be. Our transmittal letter made it clear it was sensitive information, embarrassing information,” Starr said on Fox News’ “Outnumbered Overtime.” “So there should be a process. As we have seen with Bill Barr, going through the report. Not just putting it out there without regard to privacy. Apart from legality, just privacy and basic human decency.”
“As frustrating as it is, people would want to see more, but the privacy of individuals is important. If they haven’t been charged with a crime, their names shouldn’t be dragged through the mud,” he said.
Starr has been a frequent commentator on the Mueller investigation. Earlier this month, Starr said Democrats were “eroding confidence in the rule of law” by unnecessarily criticizing the head of the Justice Department, Attorney General William Barr.
A redacted version of the full, roughly 400-page Muller report is due out Thursday. The redactions will cover details on grand jury material, foreign intelligence that could compromise sources and methods, and derogatory information about people who were not charged.
Some Democrats and Republicans have called for access to the full report and underlying documents. The Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee approved the use of a subpoena, which it is yet to use.
