The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr

by Ken Gormley

Ten years after one of the most polarizing political scandals in American history, author Ken Gormley offers an insightful, balanced, and revealing analysis of the events leading up to the impeachment trial of President William Jefferson Clinton. From Ken Starr’s initial Whitewater investigation through the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit to the Monica Lewinsky affair, The Death of American Virtue is a gripping chronicle of an ever-escalating political feeding frenzy.

In exclusive interviews, Bill Clinton, Ken Starr, Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, Susan McDougal, and many more key players offer candid reflections on that period. Drawing on never-before-released records and documents—including the Justice Department’s internal investigation into Starr, new details concerning the death of Vince Foster, and evidence from lawyers on both sides—Gormley sheds new light on a dark and divisive chapter, the aftereffects of which are still being felt in today’s political climate.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, Presidents, American History, Biography, Law

800 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Tony]

Well, there's impeachment in the air. And so, I thought I'd revisit the last one, the Clinton Impeachment.

When it was occurring in real time, I was riveted. And I was so revolted by Bill Clinton's doings - maybe especially by the finger-wagging "I did not have sex with that woman . . ." - that I may have constructed in my own mind that impeachment was justified.

But time adds perspective. I've come to respect the difference between crimes and high crimes and misdemeanors. Words, even one otherwise unused adjective, have to mean something. Clinton perjured himself, yes. And he was stiffly punished for it. But, I've now considered, it isn't like he actually asked a foreign government to help him in his next election, as ridiculous and far-fetched as that extreme example might be. Just sayin'.

Nothing in Dean Gormley's book altered my evolution of thinking.

One hundred pages in (and holiday disturbances safely shelved) I could not put this book down. It is based on interviews of almost all the players in this drama, and for that reason alone the book serves as a precious historical record. Gormley had previously written a book about Archibald Cox and the Watergate matter, so he had earned a well-deserved reputation for fairness and scholarly scruples. President Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, Linda Tripp, Kenneth Starr, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, grand jurors, defendants all talked. Seemingly everyone still alive cooperated. With one glaring exception: Hillary Clinton. Read into that what you will. I certainly did.

As I read this, my distaste for the Clintons resurfaced. In full. I had no previous dislike for Judge Starr and Gormley almost bends over backwards painting him in positive hues. One point Gormley makes though is that Starr wasn't a prosecutor, but a judge; and he didn't, therefore, have a prosecutor's sense of timing and balance. In the telling, indeed, Starr's actions compared poorly with those of his predecessor and successor, both prosecutors.

However, Starr hired prosecutors, and ones with impressive credentials and reputations. As I read through this though, I couldn't believe some of the things these prosecutors did, and didn't do. By turns shameful and embarrassing. And I know something about this line of work.

Clinton's lawyers and plaintiff lawyers were not more impressive. Except for Charles Ruff. From personal dealing with Mr. Ruff, I concur.

In any event, this was a page-turner, and presents an important lesson.

A few criticisms though. First, the title is just stupid: The Death of American Virtue. It assumes that a country, as opposed to a person, can have virtue, and having assumed that, seems to assume further that America was once virtuous but is no longer, because of this matter. Not that I have been totally innocent of hyperbole.

Second, the author, writing a major work with primary sources about one of the greatest sex scandals in American history, decided to editorially shield his readers from bad words. So he quotes Monica Lewinsky thusly: I'm not going to be the one who brings down this f___ing President. He does this repeatedly, even when someone says s___. He quotes one prosecutor as saying they should treat the steamy sexual material "in a sort of a grown-up way." And so should have he.

I feel bad now, having quibbled, so I won't even mention the repetition of themes or the use of ironically when he means coincidentally. Oops.

Those nits having been picked, let me say that this otherwise is a very important book. And a story well-told.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished reading Joe Gormley's book, "The Death of American Virtue: Clinton Vs. Starr."

This book is surely the definitive account of the sad saga in U.S. history known as the Lewinsky scandal. Ken Gormley, a law professor, interviewed almost all the principle players in the drama (including some now deceased) -- President Clinton, Ken Starr and his wife, Lewinsky as well as both her parents, other prosecutors and judges, Linda Tripp, Susan McDougall, Webster Hubbell, Lew Merletti, head of the Secret Service, Henry Hyde and many many others. The only people who apparently declined the opportunity to speak to him were Hillary and Chelsea Clinton.

This book is exhaustive and exhausting but ultimately tremendously rewarding. Gormley has a flair for the dramatic. His descriptions of court scenes, the impeachment trial itself, the depositions and other background discussions read as if they come from the pages of a thriller. One knows the end -- but one is still gripped.

This is also a fair book. All of the main characters are given ample time to reflect and their views are fairly recounted. We get Clinton's extensive musings and his perspective years later, but also that of Starr and the other chief prosecutors.

Gormely also explodes a few minor bombshells. We learn that an investigation into the conduct of the Starr prosecutors concluded they had far overstepped their legal bounds in their first interrogation of Monica Lewinsky. They ignored her repeated requests to speak to her lawyer, bludgeoning her with crude threats of 27 years in prison while bringing her to the brink of mental collapse. Republican judges quashed the report and managed to keep it sealed to protect the privacy of the prosecutors who themselves had totally trashed the privacy of their victims.

This was not the only case of prosecutorial misconduct by the Starr team who in general comported themselves like bullies and thugs unbound by legal constraint, trampling over the privacy and rights of their victims while conducting their legal vendetta against the president.

We also learn about the strange and sinister death in prison of Jim McDougall, the rogue that set the Whitewater scandal in motion. McDougall was seriously mentally ill and a substance abuser -- also a crook and serial liar who would say anything to advance himself. But he did not deserve to die in a prison hole of medical neglect from a prison staff that was criminally negligent. His medical file strangely "disappeared" and was never recovered. Years later, a prison psychologist revealed that he had received a strange visit from an official invesigator who threatened him not to reveal what he knew.

None of the characters of this awful saga emerge looking very good. Clinton still refuses to take full responsibility for his serial womanizing, some of which comes across as crude sexual harrasment if not outright abuse. I was angry at Clinton at the time for wasting the opportunity history had given him to be a truly significant president. He was and remains a self-indulgent man with a vast sense of entitlement. Never in this book did I feel remotely sympathetic toward him.

Starr comes over as a sanctimonious, holier-than-thou crusader willing to do anything to bring the president down. Starr had acted as a legal adviser to Paula Jones before being appointed as special prosecutor, giving him a clear conflict of interest. He was clearly motivated by politics. Yet Starr was a "moderate" among the group of far-right zealots he hired as his senior prosecutors.

Lewinsky comes across as a victim. Sure, she made a big mistake but she was just a kid who deluded herself into thinking she was in love with a much older man who ought to have known better. She did not deserve to be hounded, trashed and victimized in the way that she was.

Susan McDougall, who went to jail for 18 months rather than telling Starr what he wanted to hear, is one of the few heroines of the story.

One thing that emerges clearly from this book is that when Hillary Clinton spoke of a "vast right-wing conspiracy" out to bring down her husband -- words that I had always previously dismissed as political hyperbole -- she was in fact speaking nothing less than the truth. Conservative financiers, judges, newspapers, activists, legislators, publicists, general trouble-makers and prosecutors, all motivated by acute hatred of the 42nd president, combined to bring about this crisis. The author demonstrates that numerous opportunities to settle the case honorably were sabotaged by right-wing extremists determined to press the scandal to a crisis and so depose a twice democratically-elected president.

So what was this all about in the end? Henry Hyde, himself an adulterer, who managed the House of Representatives "case" (if it can be called such) against Clinton took comfort in the fact that "were in not for the impeachment, George W. Bush would not have been elected president" in 2000.

So we can thank Mr. Starr for eight years of Bush, the invasion of Iraq, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, the mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina and our massive national debt.

Thanks a lot Ken.

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painstaking recreation of the scandals of the Clinton Administration. Gormley, an historian and law professor, traces Bill Clinton's travails from Gennifer Flowers and the other "bimbo eruptions" during the campaign through Whitewater, Paula Jones, Chinagate and finally his affair with Monica Lewinsky, which triggered a messy, divisive impeachment. Gormley leaves no stone unturned, interviewing most of the participants and logging a detailed account of Ken Starr's investigations, Clinton's responses and the media and cultural circus they generated. Sometimes Gormley seems too eager to be "objective": he assumes Starr's good faith throughout, declining to believe that the conservative Republican and outspoken Clinton critic would have any but the purest motives in his role as special prosecutor. Nor is he particularly sympathetic towards Lewinsky, Jones, Linda Tripp or other women ensnared in the scandal. He more convincingly depicts Clinton as a natural dissembler who, faced with a legion of enemies, a lascivious press and allegations credible and otherwise, constantly dug himself deeper through evasiveness, intransigence and outright dishonesty (his own defensive, pettish interviews with Gormley don't help his case). That said, Gormley argues that the villains weren't Clinton (who understandably, if not always honorably, lashed out against embarrassing intrusions into his private life) or Starr (whom he shows as, at worst, willing to allow more partisan subordinates to drive his conclusions) but a scandal-mongering media and a ferocious Republican Congress seeking to punish Clinton for the crime of winning elections. Readers must judge, based on their own memories and partisan predilections, how convincing they find Gormley's account; that said, it's probably as balanced and thorough an account of Clinton's impeachment as we're likely to see.

[Jerome · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's often been a goal of mine the past ten years to really read about what I call modern presidential events. Historically speaking, we could look back to many American presidents of the past and ring off their personal scandals or major events hitting them personally in their time in office. The Petticoat Affair with Andrew Jackson, the Credit Mobilier Scandal in Grant's term, The Teapot Dome Scandal, etc. And why is that fact? Because so much has been written on these particular events, over and over again. What about the modern events? Not much is or can be written about them, because the results and effects are still being made out as it takes time to develop an opinion, lasting years after the event.

The journey for me began with taking a close look at the Iran-Contra Affair of 1986, yes Reagan and old Ollie North (and don't say I'm skipping Watergate, much has been written on that event). Well, what is next in line? What is the big event of the 1990s, the Clinton Presidency, the personal scandal/event hitting that presidency and the president in particular? Think no further than the Lewinsky scandal, of course. The only limiting factor of the scandal is that it occurred in 1998. For much of the early 21st century, not much could be written about the second term scandal, because it was still so fresh in our minds.

With this book coming out in 2010, however, Gormley does a great job at interacting with the (living) key characters and researching the thousands of documents to tell a complete story of the power of this scandal. And I feel that with it being a good ten years since the event (I consider that Gormley really pieced the work together in 2008) there has been enough time to let the dust settle and look back with an in-depth mindset and curiosity. And it doesn't matter what your stance on a President's policies are, you should just look at the facts and the actual events that occurred. Additionally, love him or hate him, Clinton's actions certainly brought about a change in politics.

Gormley takes the numerous facts and events, and writes a good tale with all of them. Taking it one step further, he decides to jump back all the way to Clinton's early Arkansas days (thus causing this book to balloon to an 800+ pages). Interestingly, he starts with comparing Clinton and Bart Starr, a la Lincoln and Davis, before turning another way with a close look at Clinton's personal escapades during his political service. Gormley keeps an even unbiased approach, not taking sides. There is also a fascinating conclusion at the end, extra information that no one could have predicted until at least 2004. Ultimately that analysis is what gets me and lead me to finish the work in its entirety, that analysis being the scandal's affect on the 2000 election. But you have to get to the end to understand it all. So much detailed information (you can see Ken Gormley serves in a law school) and so many facts cause one to really get involved in the work. Yet don't worry, Gormley provides about four sections of pictures to accompany you along the way.

If you lived through the scandal especially, this is a nice reflection on the event.

And for the record, what jumps out at me in the 2000s decade, the Bush Presidency, will be Dick Cheney, but that's another review forthcoming.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than a decade after its climax, the Clinton v. Starr episode in American history probably conjures up no more than a few spicy jokes to any more than a handful of people. World events and the troubled presidencies following Clinton's have made it easier to reflect on better times under his watch, and the legal imbroglios of both Clintons have been largely obscured by taboo actions between the forty-second president and an intern.

In completing this massive tome that strives for neutrality in untangling the complex scandals, I came to new and/or revised conclusions about Kenneth Starr's investigation of Bill Clinton.

1) Motivations on both sides were exacerbated by strong emotions and rushed judgment. In short, a lot of bad outcomes resulted from very stupid decisions by virtually everyone involved.

2) Monica Lewinsky was a young woman caught in a situation that she could not possibly have fully understood. However woeful her actions, no one should really care all that much what she did behind closed doors with another consenting adult; however, most everyone should care if that behavior behind closed doors snowballed into unlawful actions (i.e., a job for silence, signing a false affidavit), which no evidence exists to suggest this happened. In short, she's a sympathetic - if mildly pathetic - character who was, along with the president's wife and daughter, publicly humiliated.

3) Clinton was a popular leader who, despite his political opposition and the near-constant din resulting from legal matters, came into his own as president. Sadly, his second term collapsed by completely avoidable and frankly stupid behavior that squandered his mandate - particularly his ability to bring attention to important world events. The full attention of American media zeroed in on people and minutia related to tawdry riffraff, thus distracting the entire world from matters of true importance. As much as he wants to spend the rest of his life shaping his legacy and blaming the overzealousness of Starr and the OIC, Clinton and his fans must never be able to deny that his questionable behavior largely set everything in motion. A politician will always have detractors, though detractors can't spend five years whistling dixie, investigating you for no good reason.

4) Whitewater is about the most boring goose chase ever to involve a sitting president, about as fascinating as a trip to Des Moines. The larger-than-life Jim McDougal is the only person who made the whole episode even mildly sufferable, and his death in prison was an odd, unfortunate and unnecessary end to his life. Not to excuse the illegalities performed by McDougal, but the thing he was most guilty of was being a goofball.

5) Kenneth Starr remains this story's biggest mystery. Though a man of deep religious and political convictions, it seems his investigation was not motivated by either; however, his exceptional legal career did not equip him to investigate the president, and his shortcomings in this regard made up for a series of blunders that hurt his office and his reputation. Mix this with the nefarious characters in the OIC and/or those helping the investigation, and you have a big ugly cluster of a mess.

6) Politics is dirty. Any side trying to claim innocence on that score is being less than honest with you. It doesn't take 789 pages to understand that.

[Aaron Million · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting book about the scandals that engulfed, and threatened to derail, the Clinton presidency. Gormley interviewed almost every major player involved in the Whitewater, Paula Jones, and Monica Lewinsky scandals. Gormley does a superb job at deftly narrating and interweaving each of the sordid messes that resulted in a House impeachment of Clinton. Gormley steers clear of giving opinions, and does not take a side throughout this 690 page tome. He lets the facts speak for themselves - and gives equal treatment to Independent Counsel Kenneth Star and his fellow prosecutors, as well as to the entire Clinton White House, and also to Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky, and the McDougals. It is painful to realize how much time and money was taken up by this giant mess, when 9/11 occurred in the not-too-distant future.

[Kathleen Gilroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard the author being interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air and decided I had to read this book. Gormley has gone back and interviewed every living person who was involved in the Clinton vs. Starr matter, and he got candid answers from both Clinton and Starr. The story starts with the Whitewater real estate deal and moves through Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky, and the impeachment. I learned many things that I didn't know or didn't recall -- that Whitewater matter was largely concluded by the special prosecutor when a three judge panel removed Robert Fiske and replaced him with Kenneth Starr and that Starr was probably an inappropriate selection because he had written a brief in the Paula Jones case and had advised some of Clinton's opponents. The story of the first Lewinsky interview by the FBI is harrowing, as is the story of Susan MacDougal who spent 18 months in jail for refusing to testify before Starr's grand jury. Gormley draws no firm conclusions. He lets his readers make their own judgments about what happened based on his interviews with all of the players. This was one of those non-fiction books that is a gripping page turner. It is the most costly book I've downloaded for the Kindle but well worth the price.

[Susan Liston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I have to give this fellow five stars because I don't know how you write a book on what starts out with something that could have been oh-so-boring and evolves into something oh-so-tawdry and keep it a page turner all the way through. And at the same time stay as level and unbiased as he did. Quite a feat. For anyone confused about what the Whitewater thing was, anyway, and how it turned into a truly bizarre sex scandal soap opera taking place in the highest offices in the land, well, here you go. It's all here and you couldn't make it up.

[Nannie Bittinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched, interesting and seemed to be fairly presented but in the end, I had to quit. It was ust making me sick to read about these political types trying to see what they can get away with and everything is someone else's fault. I felt like I should take a shower! YUCK! No reflection on the author's talent intended. I'm not sure if that era was 'the Death of American Virtue' (Did it ever exist?)but it is certainly when the news media started publishing the obituary!

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is THE book on the Clinton scandal(s). It's as even-handed as one can be. Gormley thoroughly analyses all that went into the scandals of the Clinton years, how they were investigated, and how the President and his team responded to all of that. One really gets a sense of how good we had it in the 1990s: we could actually fight ruthlessly over what a guy did with his penis, all the while knowing that many of the people going after the guy with the uncontrollable penis could not control their own penises. This really was a political sausage fest. Now we fight over terrorism, wars, massive deficits, etc. Kind of hard to believe we all took the penis thing so seriously in light of our more difficult worldly situation. A few other things. Ken Starr wasn't the horrible person he was made out to be by others. Sure, a right winger of far right proportions, but seems to have done his job with an underappreciated fairness. He had real flaws, though: he was a HORRIBLE manager who did not focus on this task like he should have. He also filled the office with people who clearly were anti-Clinton (but then, aren't prosecutors usually "anti" whoever they're investigating?). You know who really IS a horrible person? Linda Tripp. There wasn't one thing in this book about her that made me like her even a little. I read this book along with a ideologically diverse crowd, and no one - left, right, or middle - seemed to think she was even slightly decent. Paula Jones? Ick. And although I like Bill Clinton in a lot of ways, all of the nonsense of this book came about because he couldn't control himself. It really is amazing considering he KNEW people were after him.
The Gormley could have better covered the impeachment trial, but "The Breach," which came out in late 90s/early 00s, does that just fine.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good comprehensive account of Clintons legal problems. Show the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Starr was knowledgeable, but he was not wise. One of Mr. Gormley's other subjects, Archibald Cox, was both knowledgable and wise. I thought the title a little overwrought. I think it's interesting that no one treasure's their experience in this matter. Only regrets. The only hero I saw was the Arkansan who made the speech on the floor of the senate. He is the one who had the bet handle on the problem. As a member of the unwashed masses, I can say that the folks who spun got drilled.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written book by a law professor on the whole Paula Jones/Clinton/Lewinsky/Kenneth Starr business.
Very well written and very informative. The author doesn't seem to side with anyone in particular: he is very even-handed. I think his opinion is expressed in the title -- no one involved exhibited any admirable traits. After half paying attention to each turn in the story back when it occurred, it is interesting to have all the details in one coherent picture.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating look at the long face-off between Bill Clinton and Ken Starr. This reads like a novel and you will look at all the protagonists in a different way after reading this. An impartial look at a turbulent time in US history.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathless. This book left me breathless; I was always in a rush to read the next page, the next chapter. No wonder nearly everyone spoke to the author, they could trust him to write an even-handed and balanced account. Wow, what an amazing read.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exhaustive look at the Whitewater and impeachment cycle. Well researched yet not overly dry in its style. A depressing look at a contributing factor in the rise of partisanship in Congress that overrode desires for comity amongst a few of the level-headed members serving at the time.

[Teri Uktena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reads, not as an exploration of what actually happened, but the behind the scenes bible for a Broadway show. It's all the in depth background stories of all the key players which is great for the actors who want to have an idea of what their motivations could be. However, this does not make for an even understandable narrative. If I didn't already know the bones of what was happening I would be completely lost in this. The narrative style is a hindrance to understanding as well. Entire sentences start in a somewhat past time frame, then refer to the far past, even the birth date of a person, before coming back to the present and then moving back to the recent past. I understand it was a writing style fad of the time, but it makes complicated narratives unreadable.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of mine loaned this book to me quite a while ago, and I long delayed reading it for two main reasons. The first of the reasons is that this book is simply massive, at almost 700 pages before its copious endnotes. My industrial reading process can go through books of two-hundred to three-hundred pages without much difficulty at all, but a book more than 400 pages presents some serious questions about when I am going to be able to read this in the midst of my urgent and far easier reading. The second, and more substantial, concern was the fact that this friend had loaned me a variety of books [1] that, for the most part, were stridently leftist and that is not very enjoyable at all. Yet, I found this to be a surprisingly good book. Part of the reason why this book is good is that the author lets the various participants tell their own story and whatever side you happen to agree with you view as persuasive. So I read this book and likely found something far different than the person who loaned it to me. And yet if we both liked it, that's not so bad.

The contents of this book are, it should be noted, expansive. After a prelude looking at the impeachment vote and a contrast of the backgrounds between Bill Clinton and Ken Starr, the author begins by looking at the White Water real estate investment that was at the origin of Clinton's legal troubles and the Ken Starr's controversial career as an independent prosecutor. The second part looks at the Paula Jones case and its origins. The third part of the book looks at the Monica Lewinsky scandal and how it was added to the Paula Jones case to ensnare the president thanks to his inability to control himself. The fourth part of the book looks at the grand confessional where President Clinton tried to save his marriage and his presidency in the face of a humiliating scandal. The fifth part of the book looked at the blundering impeachment trial against Bill Clinton and how it could have succeeded more, and closes with an epilogue that demonstrates Clinton learned nothing from it. Among all the pages there are a host of major and minor characters, and the reader is placed in the point of view of having to choose which of the stories to believe.

So, how do I take it? In light of the 2016 presidential campaign, the corruption of the Clintons is not surprising. Likewise, the demonizing that Ken Starr suffered for being a decent and honorable man is not surprising in light of the way that the ugly forces of the "progressive" left have treated anyone of decency in the public sphere. This book is more grim and ugly and disappointing, in that it demonstrates the point at which our political order in the United States lost any sort of ability to stare into the vacuum of itself and projected its own sins on to enemies, and that includes just about everyone where except for a few people who come off rather well (Starr and the Lewinskys and the plucky Arkansas federal judge come off the best--most everyone else does not come off all that well at all, the Clintons and their associates perhaps worst of all). This is a long book, and it is a difficult book that few will likely read to completion, yet it is a worthwhile book and it has something to say about the horrors of our political age. At 52 chapters it almost certainly goes on a bit long and I have to admit my own interest flagged towards the end, but this is still a worthwhile book and one that will reveal to the reader where they stand in our troubled political times, if you want to know. You may not really want to know.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

[Robert P. Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a masterpiece. That author has spoken with so many of the participants, has seemingly read everything that was read about this and has written a dispassionate and compelling story.

He has attempted to be fair to all the participants involved. He does an excellent job of discussing Star and Star's involvement I the investigation.

I think though that try as anyone would that a fair reader cannot walk away with any other conclusion that Star and his investigators acted in a less than honorable fashion.

First, his appointment as the special prosecutor should never have happened. The removal of Fisk and his replacement by Star was something that was objectionable. Star was associated with conservative groups and the author reveals that one of the three judges on the three judge panel was in strong disagreement with the decision ro remove Fisk and replace his with Star.

Second, Star was ill suited to be the special prosecutor. His background was not conducive to that role, he didn't want to devote all his energies to the job, and he never took control over the investigation.

Third, I believe one revelation in the book was about the investigation into how the OIC behaved when they braced Monica Lewinsky. The investigation was highly critical of the behavior of the OIC, the report though was suppressed.

Fourth, if Star's initial appointment was suspect, extending his investigation to the Lewinsky investigation is indefensible. He and his fellow prosecutors had close connections to the individuals and groups using the Jones case as a way of getting at Clinton.

Fifth, there was a frantic nature to the investigation. Star should never have sent over the report to Congress without putting conditions as to when it could be released. Star near the end engaged in prosecutorial abuse, indicting Hubbell again and again, and indicting a friend of Kathleen Wiley in order to get the friend to change her testimony. Star should never have testified, in a partisan fashion, to Congress.

Clinton and his aides do not come off well. It is clear how reckless Clinton behaved and how, when the scandal emerged, how he decided to lie about it in order to survive. It is unfortunate that Clinton didn't resign. It is unfortunate that Hillary Clinton decided twice to run for President. There could have been no better person for our current President to run against than Clinton. All the good things the Clintons did cannot offset the responsibility they bear for paving the way for Trump to get into the White House.

Overall, this is an outstanding book that does an excellent job of discussing all the different parts of the investigation and scandal.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I thought I had followed this episode closely at the time, most of what is revealed in this excellent book was new to me. It is a horrifying tale of a turning point in American history, when partisan politics became so toxic that the president was pursued into a closet in an effort to unseat him. Laws were repeatedly broken in the guise of upholding the law. One wonders why anyone would want to be a politician after witnessing this persecution. And one’s faith in the rule of law is utterly destroyed by this story. The only saving grace is that the vast majority of Americans were appalled by the way the president was treated and few supported the effort to force him out of office. The author of this book has done a remarkable job with this complex undertaking. He interviewed everyone at length and he tells the story in a consistently engaging way. Although he remains sympathetic to Starr to the end, he also makes it clear that he made many grave errors and was irresponsible for taking so long with the investigation because he viewed it as a part-time job.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure everyone would be interested in reading nearly 700 pages (plus a 100 pages of footnotes) on the Clinton Scandal(s), but this is THE BOOK to learn about what really happened. All the major participants were interviewed from Ken Starr and Henry Hyde to Bill Clinton and Susan McDougal. No one comes across as a villain or a hero, because unlike what the media reported, the story is not that black and white. Even though many people think they already know everything there is to know, a lot of new and interesting information is revealed, including the strange and mysterious death of Jim McDougal in prison to the sealed investigation into misconduct by the Starr prosecutors. But the sad part is how different history would be if none of this had happened. Henry Hyde said it best at the end, "If it were not for the impeachment, George W. Bush would not have been elected president."

[Devin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting and incredibly thorough account of the scandals which plagued the Clinton administration (Whitewater, troopergate, and primarily the Lewinsky affair). Gormley managed to secure interviews with nearly all of the people involved from every side of these events, and the research is presented with an eye towards objectivity.

As someone who was a teenager when the Clinton / Lewinsky scandal happened, reading this book as an adult provided a robust understanding of the deeper political contexts in which these events occured, rather that just rehashing the broad strokes (Cigar, Blue Dress, etc etc).

Highly recommended — just make sure you're prepared for a deep dive on this one.

[David Snashall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book about these dramatic events in recent history. The cast of "zany" characters involved, like Jim McDougall and his wife Susan, Linda Tripp, Bill Ginsberg, not to mention Monica, Bill & Hilary, make this saga into something of a soap opera. They were pitted against the zealots of the OIC overseen by the hapless Ken Starr, who allowed his staff to run his show. I hope someone has bought the rights to the story as it would make an excellent House of Cards style mini series.
Ken Gormley has done a great job, it kept me riveted for all 700 pages. Given the stylish and interesting writing style, I assumed he was a journalist and was amazed to find out he is in fact a law professor. One of the best books I have read for some time.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was loathe to jump into this subject matter again, having lived through the media horror show when it happened; but the author, through exhaustive research, interviews with almost all the players (except Hillary), and fantastic writing made it not only palatable, but a riveting and completely addicting read. I learned a lot and got a much deeper perspective on that whole episode in our nation's history. My only caveat is that his descriptions at two points in the book of federal Judge Susan Webber Wright were borderline lascivious, and definitely unnecessary. Other than that, I highly recommend this book.

[Charles DeWitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few writers could delve into a subject as fraught as l’affaire Lewinsky with Mr. Gormley’s grace, fair-mindedness, erudition, and patriotic shame, let alone any law professors. The book’s jacket puts it succinctly: “Ten years after one of the most polarizing political scandals in American history, author Ken Gormley offers an insightful, balanced, and revealing analysis of the events leading up to the impeachment trial of President William Jefferson Clinton.” My review is available here.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

The moral of this story, from my reading, is that you should be honest when consulting with your lawyer. If either Ms. Lewinsky or Mr. Clinton had been honest with their respective attorneys, their attorneys would have kept them out of the legal trouble that ultimately occured. If Clinton's attorney knew of the relationship he wouldn't have permitted Clinton to make misleading statements at the deposition. Likewise Lewinsky's attorney wouldn't have let her sign the affidavit denying a sexual relationship if she had told him the truth.

[Mary Ronan Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book went back to the library unfinished along with Susan Schmidt's Truth at Any Cost, which I didn't even start. Gormley's book appears from the 100 or so pages I read to be scrupulously balanced but it was too painful to read about the sleaze and grime of the second Clinton administration. I had to live through it and once is enough.

I didn't give it any stars because I didn't read enough of it to really judge and it would be unfair to give it only one star because I didn't like the subject matter.

[Barb Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This engaging, in-depth examination of the Whitewater investigation and ensuing impeachment is almost impossible to put town--over 700 pages, and we all know how it comes out, but it is a real page-turner! The people involved pop to life in the text, with close descriptions of their actions and motivations at the time, and with reflective statements from interviews long after the events. The intransigence of the opposing parties may not have been born here, but certainly came of age during these events. An essential read for anyone interested in American politics, current events or history.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most striking thing about this book is how well it reads. While I read a bunch of history books, I hardly ever say to myself, "I could not put it down." Here, however, I am glad to say that I could not put this book down. The subject matter is very interesting and the writing is just first-rate. This is history at its best--extremely well written, balanced and well-reasoned, and completely leaves no stone unturned. This is a must read for anyone who might be interested in the Clinton Wars of the 90s.

[Marti Garlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a first-rate legal thriller, and though nonfiction, it reads like a novel whose plot you think you don't know, yet of course you do. It is a balanced, thoroughly researched book that leaves the conclusions about which are the heroes up to its readers. My opinion: nobody in this sorry saga, this national nightmare, is a hero. bad decisions, poor judgment all the way around. It truly describes the loss of American virtue with all players pretty sure of their righteousness a decade hence. I highly recommend this book.

[Washington Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gormley's signal contribution is his heroic evenhandedness. "The Death of American Virtue" is a restrained, fair-minded, soup-to-nuts history of the largely fruitless investigations of Bill Clinton that shadowed so much of his presidency. All but the most unregenerate partisans should deem this book fair. The book made our top 10 list for 2010.


Read David Greenberg's rave review here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...