Starr Delays Move to Pepperdine Until Inquiry Wraps Up

Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr, stung by a torrent of criticism that greeted his decision to resign this summer to become dean of the Pepperdine Law School, admitted Friday that he had made a mistake and said he would stay until his mission is “substantially completed.”

Even Starr’s own staff was stunned Monday when Pepperdine University announced that he planned to leave as the chief prosecutor of a wide-ranging investigation of political and historical importance involving allegations of criminal violations by President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

As criticism mounted, Starr and his top aides hurriedly called a press conference at which he conceded that, for the sake of public confidence in the investigation, it would be “inappropriate” for him to set a date for ending his role as independent counsel.

“My commitment is to the American people and to the pursuit of the truth,” he declared, “and I will seek to fulfill that commitment to the best of my ability and for as long as it takes. I deeply regret any action on my part that may have called that commitment into question.”

Although some sources close to the investigation had said that his original decision to resign by Aug. 1 indicated he had not found enough evidence to seek criminal indictments of the president or first lady, Starr insisted that it would be a mistake to draw any conclusions from that decision. He said Friday, as he had earlier this week, that the investigation has made substantial progress and is going “full speed ahead.”

Starr said he had informed Pepperdine officials that he would assume no duties at the law school until the investigation and any resulting prosecutions are being wrapped up.

Pepperdine President David Davenport said that the deanship would be waiting for Starr whenever he could assume it. “We are willing to give him an open-ended time frame,” Davenport said.

An interim law school dean will be appointed from within the faculty, Davenport said from Idaho, where he was vacationing with his family.

In addition to being made dean of the law school, Starr was named founding dean of Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy. Davenport said that the current interim dean of the public policy school would continue in that post until Starr arrives.

Controversy has swirled around Starr since he was named independent counsel in August 1994, and it is likely to continue, especially since he said that he would continue to practice law as a partner of the Kirkland & Ellis firm, which represents the tobacco industry and several other interests hostile to Clinton.

He has also been criticized for his relationship with a number of conservative organizations that have accused the president of wrongdoing, a criticism that is likely to intensify in the wake of reports that the Scaife Foundation is a major underwriter of Pepperdine’s new School of Public Policy.

Pepperdine President David Davenport confirmed Friday that the foundation gave $1.1 million toward the school’s $2.75-million start-up costs.

The foundation’s chairman is Richard Mellon Scaife, a conservative western Pennsylvania newspaper publisher who has used his fortune to press a media campaign to discredit Clinton and in an effort to prove that Deputy White House Counsel Vincent Foster was murdered. Official investigations have concluded that Foster committed suicide, but his death is being investigated by Starr.

Jeff Bliss, a Pepperdine spokesman, said that Scaife, who is also a member of the university’s board of trustees, did not know of Starr’s appointment as dean of the School of Public Policy until after it was made. “The Scaife gifts and the Starr appointment have nothing to do with each other,” he said.

Starr said he was aware that the Scaife Foundation had made a start-up grant to the public policy school but added that the foundation “has been funding organizations that have been sharply critical of this investigation.” While those organizations have criticized the Whitewater investigation for not producing more criminal charges, they have also made scathing attacks on both Clintons.

At his press conference, Starr appeared subdued and contrite, in contrast to earlier appearances when he exuded confidence and optimism. He said that events since Monday’s announcement had been a “learning experience.”

Mark Tuohey, who until recently served as Starr’s deputy, said that the episode had been “a chastening experience for Ken” but that his decision to stay on showed he would put it behind him “and is another indication of his adherence to responsibility.”

Starr, admitting that his original decision had been “unwise,” explained that he had believed he could discharge his responsibility as independent counsel by Aug. 1. After conferring with his colleagues, he said, he realized his mistake.

Although he repeatedly mentioned conferring with his staff attorneys about the decision, he said that he took responsibility for his actions.

“So,” he said, quoting the late New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, “when I make a mistake, it’s a beaut.”

Asked whether he might still complete his mission in time to go to Pepperdine by Aug. 1, Starr said: “I’m not going to comment at all, having learned the hard way. As we say in my native Texas, ‘My mama didn’t raise no dummy.’ ”

Many newspaper editorials and media commentators had criticized Starr’s earlier decision to resign this summer. And some of his staunchest Republican supporters had questioned the wisdom of the move.

Joseph DiGenova, a prominent Republican, former U.S. attorney and independent counsel, agreed with others who said that the decision must mean he had no grounds to seek prosecution against the president or first lady. In fact, said DiGenova, it would be “unseemly” to leave in the midst of the investigation if there was any chance either might be prosecuted.

Starr pointed out that his original mandate was to investigate James B. McDougal, the president and Mrs. Clinton, who were partners in the Whitewater land development in the Ozarks, and their relationships with three financial entities in Arkansas. The mandate was expanded to include Foster’s death, the firing of White House travel office workers, the disappearance and reappearance of FBI files and the truthfulness of testimony by the Clintons and several of their friends or aides.

Starr said that he could not predict how much longer his investigation, now 2 1/2 years old, would last. Asked if he would remain as independent counsel until his office makes a final report, he reiterated that he would remain until the investigation is complete and any prosecutions have been substantially completed.

Pressed to say if he would tell the American people immediately of a decision on whether to seek prosecution of President or Mrs. Clinton, Starr said: “At the time that we come to a conclusion, I will very carefully evaluate the fullness of my responsibilities, including what I take to be a serious responsibility, and that is the public information function.”

Legal experts and Pepperdine officials said that Starr would bring national distinction to Pepperdine Law School.

The independent counsel’s solid Republican connections and affinity for the conservative Christian values that are common at Pepperdine also made him an attractive candidate for the deanships at the university founded by Los Angeles businessman George Pepperdine 70 years ago.

Pepperdine, while nonsectarian, has ties to the Churches of Christ. Starr attended Harding University in Searcy, Ark., which also has ties to the Churches of Christ, a predominantly Southern denomination that believes in the literal interpretation of the Bible. The university’s charter specifies that its president must have Christian roots.

The law school fosters a more cooperative, less confrontational atmosphere than other law schools. That philosophy is also expected to hold sway in the public policy school, which Davenport said will examine not only government solutions to policy debates but also the contributions of the private sector as well as moral, ethical and spiritual approaches.

Pepperdine officials envision the public policy school as a more conservative, West Coast alternative to the liberal-leaning John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University, one of the nation’s most prominent schools devoted to policy studies.

Times staff writers Elaine Woo, Kenneth Reich and James Rainey in Los Angeles contributed to this story.