ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 22, 1997 TAG: 9702240048
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
Bowing to intense criticism, Whitewater special prosecutor Kenneth Starr on Friday reversed his decision to quit and promised to keep working ``full steam ahead'' investigating allegations of wrongdoing by President Clinton, his wife and others.
``When I make a mistake, it's a beaut,'' Starr said, paraphrasing former New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.
The decision brought praise from conservatives and new speculation that the investigation may still yield high-level prosecutions. Just days ago, Starr's decision to quit churned just the opposite speculation: that he was leaving because the investigation was not likely to go any further.
White House aides, reportedly gleeful days ago at the prospect of Starr's departure, declined to comment on his decision to stay.
Starr and his staff are examining allegations of wrongdoing by Clinton, his wife and others in their Arkansas investments, in the firings of the White House travel office to make way for Clinton friends, and in the collection of private FBI files on members of the Bush administration.
``There were a lot of heart-to-heart talks in the last few days'' between Starr and his aides, said one lawyer familiar with concerns expressed by Starr's lieutenants that their boss see the investigation through.
Starr declined to say how soon he would decide if the president or his wife should face prosecution. ``I think it would be a mistake to place any time frame on that,'' he said.
Joseph diGenova, a former U.S. attorney and a former independent counsel, said Starr was trying to clean up the mess he created with his Monday announcement that he would step down in August to become dean of Pepperdine University's law school in California.
``This is big spilled milk, and he's trying to mop it up,'' diGenova said. ``It was absolutely necessary for him to do this. He had an obligation not only to the public and the court that appointed him, but also to his staff, many of whom have stayed on at his request, longer than they anticipated.''
DiGenova said that Starr's decision to quit was a disservice to his staff in Little Rock, Ark., and in Washington. Prosecution teams form close bonds, and ``you can let people down very easily as a manager if you aren't sensitive to that,'' he said.
Attorney Theodore Olson, a Starr friend, characterized Starr's reversal as an ``evolutionary process'' that came about following discussions this week with colleagues and acquaintances such as himself.
``I think that he's now accepted the fact that that burden that he accepted before is one that he will have to carry for a while,'' Olson said. ``I respect him more today for admitting a mistake and correcting it.''
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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