[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 106 (Friday, July 31, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 MR. STARR: NO OCTOBER SURPRISE, PLEASE

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                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 30, 1998

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, media reports this week suggest that 
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr may be close to wrapping up his four 
year, forty million dollar investigation of the President. If that is 
true, I can only say that it's about time. Even my Republican 
colleagues in the Senate, Mr. Orrin Hatch and Mr. Arlen Specter, said 
this week that it is time for this investigation to come to a close.
  While we have no way of knowing what action, if any, the Independent 
Counsel will take after he closes-up shop, one thing is for certain: if 
he intends to send any type of report to Congress, he should not do so 
before the mid-term elections.
  Each day, countless talking heads spend hours on end speculating 
about who's up and who's down in this investigation of the President. 
But almost no time is spent on issues that really matter in this 
election, like health care reform, tobacco legislation, and campaign 
finance reform. While the talking heads base their opinions on gossip 
and supposed leaks, the issues that matter in people's lives get 
overlooked.
  We have very few days left in this legislative session to get the 
people's work done, certainly not enough to consider or respond to 
anything that comes from the independent Counsel's office. If we were 
to receive a report before the upcoming elections, it could only be 
seen as an effort to influence the outcome of those contests.
  Mr. Starr is supposed to be an independent prosecutor, but all too 
often since he took office in 1994, he has seemed to wear his politics 
on his sleeve. Mr. Starr has chosen to continue representing clients, 
including tobacco companies, whose interests are adverse to those of 
President Clinton. Many in the Republican party would like nothing 
better than to play politics with a report from the Independent 
Counsel. That is especially true because we need only eleven seats to 
take back the House of Representatives this fall. Not only would it be 
wrong for the Independent Counsel to provide fuel for that fire, it 
would undermine whatever integrity his investigation may retain.
  If the Independent Counsel intends to send us a report, the right 
thing for him to do is to wait until the new Congress begins its work. 
Mr. Starr, for the good of our country, don't play politics with the 
timing of your investigation of the President. No October surprise, 
please.

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