Ken Starr's heavy hitter

Fri, 17 Jul 1998 19:00:00 +0000

One of the key players behind independent counsel Kenneth Starr's vigorous investigation of President Clinton is his chief deputy, Jackie Bennett Jr., a career prosecutor with a Texas-honed reputation for bare-knuckle tactics. Until recently, Bennett, 41, had kept a low profile -- but then Starr identified him as the source of many media leaks from his office in his recent interview with Brill's Content magazine.

"Jackie has been the primary person involved in that," Starr told Steven Brill. "He has spent much of his time talking to reporters."

There's a certain irony to Bennett's role as a source, because he is also one of the few federal prosecutors in the country who has successfully subpoenaed reporters and forced them to testify.

Bennett, who was formerly with the Justice Department's Public Integrity Division, made his name in San Antonio in 1993 with the successful prosecution of former Democratic Rep. Albert Bustamante on racketeering and bribery charges. In that case, Bennett subpoenaed two reporters from the city's dailies, the Express-News and the Light, to testify about their stories.

Salon.com > Maria Recio

Ken Starr's heavy hitter