ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 5, 1996 TAG: 9610070050
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH
SOURCE: Associated Press
Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr said Friday that it was not a conflict of interest for him to appear at a law school founded by a political foe of President Clinton.
Starr said he was proud to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of the law school at Regent University, established by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson. He was the keynote speaker during the daylong event.
``To me, to appear at a law school at this kind of gathering is in fact an entirely appropriate thing to do,'' Starr told reporters.
Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, has questioned the suicide finding in the death of deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster. He asked on his ``700 Club'' television program whether the longtime friend of the president and first lady Hillary Clinton was murdered.
Asked whether his appearance at the Robertson-founded school might be criticized because he is investigating Foster's death, Starr said: ``I think it is odd to suggest that one should not mark a very special occasion in the life of an institution by somehow boycotting it.''
Stephen Gillers, professor of legal ethics at New York University Law School, defended Starr's appearance.
Starr has taught current issues in constitutional law as an adjunct professor at NYU, ``and we're lucky to have him, and they're lucky to hear him,'' Gillers said.
The White House, however, criticized the appearance.
``Americans will make up their own minds about whether they can trust Mr. Starr to be fair under these circumstances,'' said Mark Fabiani, special associate counsel to the president for Whitewater matters.
Starr's ``ties to sworn enemies of the President, including the tobacco industry, right-wing groups and the Republican Party, are well-documented,'' Fabiani said.
Afterward, Starr told reporters that the investigation is making significant progress. He declined to be more specific.
One topic Starr is looking into is Hillary Clinton's work on behalf of the savings and loan owned by her Whitewater real estate partners. One partner, James McDougal, recently began cooperating with prosecutors.
Starr has been investigating the Clintons' involvement in the Whitewater real estate venture and other matters since August 1994.
Last week, Clinton said ``there's a lot of evidence'' to support the allegation that Starr is hunting for information to implicate the Clintons in wrongdoing - regardless of whether the information is true.
Clinton also declined to rule out granting pardons in the Whitewater investigation, saying he would review any such requests after a Justice Department evaluation of the requests.
Starr's office also is investigating the Clinton White House's gathering of FBI background files on hundreds of former presidential appointees of Reagan and Bush administrations.
In addition, Starr is examining the handling of Whitewater-related papers from Foster's White House office after his July 20, 1993 death.
In his speech, Starr said judges face difficult challenges in the years ahead in addressing societal ills, making it important to have a moral dimension to legal education.
``Increasingly, judges are our modern priests, rabbis and village elders,'' Starr said. ``They are called upon to deal with the gloomy, often tragic results of a dysfunctional society.''
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