Starr-Crossed Spending

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have got hold of the records showing how independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr has spent more than $40 million, so far, investigating President Clinton, and a number of the expenditures prove to be eyebrow-raisers. Among other things it’s clear that some people have done very well indeed off this 50-month-long probe. If nothing else, it seems obvious that greater oversight on how the independent counsel’s office spends public money is needed.

The independent counsel law sets no limits on how long an authorized investigation can run or how much can be spent, though the General Accounting Office regularly audits the counsel’s books to make sure federal procurement guidelines are met. Starr’s staff of 57 includes 27 lawyers. That does not seem excessive, nor does the money spent on office space, necessary travel and the like. But in January of this year Starr’s office paid nearly $57,000 for a copying machine, instead of leasing one for $1,299 a month, justifying the expense with the claim that the machine would be needed “for at least 40 months.” That envisions continuing the investigation until at least May 2001, four months after Clinton’s term expires and well beyond when the independent counsel law comes up for congressional review.

Even more questionable is Starr’s hiring of five private investigators--cost, $729,000--to supplement the work of government investigators. Starr has the resources of the FBI at his disposal and has used dozens of its agents, which would certainly seem enough to get the job done. And has his office really needed an “ethics consultant” at $400 an hour, a law professor who refuses to discuss the nature of his consultations, calling them “secret and confidential”? The bill for those services so far has come to just under $400,000, not bad for moonlighting.

So far as is known, Starr’s long investigation of Clinton has yielded pretty sparse results, outside of the sordid Monica Lewinsky affair that came to Starr’s attention only nine months ago. Maybe something else will turn up in the 31 more months of investigation indicated by the copier purchase. Whether it does or not, Congress ought to start thinking about putting some responsible cost controls on any future independent counsel investigations.