Short Answer
Kenneth Starr, best known as the independent counsel who investigated President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, served as one of Jeffrey Epstein’s defense attorneys during the 2006–2008 federal investigation. He played a key role in the negotiations that produced the controversial non-prosecution agreement.
In Detail
Background
Ken Starr was a federal appeals court judge, then Solicitor General under President George H.W. Bush, before becoming the independent counsel who investigated the Whitewater land deal and later the Monica Lewinsky affair. After completing that role, he returned to private legal practice.
Role in Epstein Defense
Starr joined Epstein’s legal team alongside Jay Lefkowitz, Alan Dershowitz, Gerald Lefcourt, and Roy Black. The team was assembled to resist federal prosecution by the Southern District of Florida, then led by U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta. Starr’s prominence gave the defense team significant institutional credibility and lobbying power in negotiations with the Department of Justice.
The NPA Negotiations
Starr was involved in the negotiations that resulted in the June 2008 non-prosecution agreement, which allowed Epstein to plead guilty to a single state charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution while shielding him and unnamed co-conspirators from federal prosecution. Starr participated in the extended discussions with Main Justice in Washington that ultimately secured the deal.
Later Career
After his work for Epstein, Starr became president of Baylor University, a position from which he resigned in 2016 following a sexual assault scandal involving the Baylor football program, in which he was criticized for not taking sufficient action. He later served as one of President Trump’s defense attorneys in the first impeachment proceedings in 2020.
Ken Starr died in September 2022 from complications following surgery.