Starr: ‘Would Be Very Surprised’ if Kavanaugh Believes President Is Immune from Prosecution

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” former Whitewater Special Counsel Ken Starr stated he “would be very surprised” if Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who co-wrote the Starr report, believes that the president is immune from prosecution.

Anchor Erin Burnett asked, “Does Judge Cavanaugh, Ken, think President Trump is immune from prosecution?”

Starr answered, “I don’t know what he thinks. However, I would be very surprised if that were his view. What I read that law review article as saying is, Congress should consider this, that is, this is a policy question. It’s not for the Supreme Court to decide such an issue and to grant immunity, that we think it’s a good idea because it’s very difficult for the president to carry on his very important duties with a criminal investigation underway. I happen to agree with that proposition. It is very difficult. It’s one of those, this is a shame for the president to be deflected this way. And yes, I was in charge of the Whitewater investigation, so, I saw it. It is very, very disruptive. But that’s exactly the role of Congress, to say, you know, let’s have a timeout. That, of course, is what President Clinton argued in the civil context…but the Supreme Court rejected that 9-0. So, the court has spoken, and essentially has turned it back, and I think that’s exactly what Judge Kavanaugh was saying, by the way, during the Obama administration.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett