Ken Starr: History Will Not Be Kind to this Impeachment Process

In an interview with Fox News on Monday, former special prosecutor Kenneth Starr said that history would not be kind to congressional Democrats and their impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Starr condemned the Democrats for their lack of transparency, saying that this slide into secrecy would only do damage to the Constitution and the separation of government powers in Washington.

“The text of the Constitution just entrusts impeachment to the good judgment – whether it’s being exercised or not – of the House of Representatives,” Starr said. “But history, I think, will not judge this well. It should judge it not well. Democrats didn’t have a full debate on the floor of the House, and that just lends itself to – ‘Then let’s go to court and have this litigated.’ And of course, the chairman then says, ‘you go to court, you’re in contempt.'”

Starr said it was critical for Democrats to move forward in a way that maintained at least the illusion of fairness and objectivity.

“For Adam Schiff to essentially declare guilt is another procedural irregularity,” Starr noted. “He should try his best to give the appearance of fairness and open-mindedness. He’s already declared the president substantively guilty, as well as procedurally guilty.”

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Monday that she would finally bring the impeachment inquiry to a full House vote to “formalize the procedure,” Republicans have said it’s not enough to erase the damage done by 35 days of secret proceedings. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steve Scalise, and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows were among the many Republicans vowing not to put their stamp of approval on an already-ruined process.

Asked Monday about the Department of Justice’s investigation into the origins of the Trump/Russia probe, Starr said Americans should keep an open mind about what charges might or might not develop.

“During the Nixon years, we had an attorney general go to jail,” Starr recalled. “We’ve had FBI Directors who have been discredited. And that’s our system. We have checks and balances. Let’s not declare anyone guilty — as Chairman Schiff just basically did. That’s incompatible with our system of fundamental fairness. But I believe there’s a housecleaning underway. If criminal charges are brought, we’ll be able to read the indictment, just as we did during the Mueller investigation. We can read those indictments, evaluate them and of course, see what happens.”

The more we consider the timing of these two investigations – Pelosi’s impeachment inquiry and the DOJ’s criminal investigation into the Russia probe – the more we’re convinced that these are not coincidental events. Democrats must surely know that the bill for their hoax is coming due, sooner than later. Their only option, save complete surrender, is to fight fire with fire. In other words: Cover up the first hoax with another one.