Starr to Leave Post Next Week, Sources Say

With his five-year, $47-million investigation of President Clinton winding down, independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr will formally step aside next week and be replaced by one of his assistants, Robert Ray, sources familiar with Starr’s plans said Thursday night.

Ray, a federal prosecutor who joined Starr’s office early this year, was selected by a panel of three federal appeals court judges to succeed the controversial special prosecutor, the sources told Associated Press.

The judges, who interviewed several of Starr’s deputies, have not issued a formal order yet, but they told the prosecutor’s office of their plans this week, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

That cleared the way for Starr, who has hinted for months of his desire to step down, to return to private law practice.

Starr’s office declined to comment Thursday night.

Ray will try to wrap up an investigation that has ranged from allegedly fraudulent land deals in Arkansas to impeachment charges of presidential perjury and obstruction of justice in the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal.

ABC News first reported the selection of Ray, who came to Starr’s office after working for independent counsel Donald C. Smaltz. Smaltz’s office unsuccessfully prosecuted former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy but won a number of convictions against companies and individuals who had provided gifts to the Cabinet officer.

Starr’s office has two pending investigative matters: an alleged attempt to influence the testimony of presidential accuser Kathleen Willey and possible false statements regarding Hillary Rodham Clinton’s role in the purge of White House travel office employees.

In addition, Starr’s successor must produce a final report on the Whitewater scandal--a document that could prove to be a political headache for Mrs. Clinton if she follows through on plans to run next year for a U.S. Senate seat from New York.

During Starr’s tenure, his office convicted 14 people, including the Clintons’ Whitewater business partners, James B. and Susan McDougal, and then-Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, who resigned his office.

Starr’s investigation of the Lewinsky scandal--the president’s affair and subsequent cover-up--led to the first presidential impeachment since 1868.

But Starr’s long tenure was marred by questions over whether he conducted his investigation properly.

Starr subpoenaed the first lady in front of a federal grand jury. The president’s supporters depicted Starr as a right-wing zealot who abused his prosecutorial powers.

Susan McDougal said Starr’s investigators tried to get her to tell lies that would falsely implicate the Clintons in wrongdoing.

The constant attacks took their toll. Public opposition to Starr soared. The prosecutor said the campaign against him infected the judicial process, leading to deadlocked juries who refused to convict.