Starr Crossed by Old Camelot

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Dec 21, 1998 | by John Elvin

The dramatic departure of Sam Dash, Ken Starr's ethics adviser, following Starr's first day of testimony before the Judiciary Committee, is cause for deliberation.

In a curious fit of principle that made good on frequent threats, prominent Georgetown University law professor Sam Dash stalked away from his $400-an-hour taxpayer-funded role as ethics adviser to independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr. The dramatic, headline-grabbing departure provided much-needed ammunition to Starr's critics, who used it to soften the blows of Starr's congressional testimony. It also brought back dark memories of "a nightmarish episode in the history of our country" for retired law professor Jerry Zeifman, a lifelong Democrat who served as chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the final days of Richard Nixon's presidency. At the time, Dash was counsel to the Senate Watergate committee.

Director of Georgetown's Institute of Criminal Law and Procedure and a lifelong Democrat, Dash has courted a reputation as an expert on professional ethics and has been hailed as "a giant of American jurisprudence" by some Democrats involved in the impeachment process. His affiliation with Start took the edge off charges of partisanship in Starr's pursuit of evidence of misdeeds on the part of President Clinton. In the end, though, as he blasted Start for appearing to defend his referral before the House Judiciary Committee, Dash's gift of association had all the attributes of a Trojan horse.

"By your willingness to serve in this improper role, you have seriously harmed the public confidence in the independence and objectivity of your office," Dash lectured Starr in his letter of resignation. The letter produced an instant public uproar, while its author took refuge behind an answering machine, indicating he "will have no further statements." Insight attempted to reach him for comment by phone, fax and e-mail, all to no avail.

Starr's appearance, it should be noted, came at the invitation of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde of Illinois, who said he would otherwise have issued a subpoena requiring Starr to testify. Had Hyde not subpoenaed him the Democrats would have, they say, so Start had no choice and the Dash complaint would have been mooted instead of mooed over.

"When Dash says that he resigned because it was unethical for Ken Starr to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, that is outrageous," Zeifman says in a lengthy interview with Insight. "Sam Dash sandbagged Ken Start." Some other legal authorities quoted in the spate of news stories following the bow-out appeared to concur, criticizing Dash's public tongue-lashing of his client as inappropriate behavior in itself.

Though Zeifman declines to comment on his own current role, he is not viewing Dash strictly from a perspective of their relationship of 25 years ago. Of late, Zeifman has been mentioned in press reports as a consultant to Rep. Bob Barr, a Georgia Republican and former U.S. attorney serving on the Judiciary Committee, and also is known to be a resource on impeachment procedures guiding Hyde and his staff.

Zeifman, author of Without Honor: The Impeachment of Richard Nixon and the Crimes of Camelot, portrays Dash in conversation and in his book as something less than a model of ethical conduct. An example: When Dash was dogged by the press about having his niece on his payroll at the Senate Watergate committee, he called Zeifman to ask "a favor" -- could his niece be carried on the House payroll to get around the troublesome conflict?

That incident helped shape Zeifman's assessment of Dash as "a person of mediocre ability and little or no imagination," whom Zeifman says "exudes an air of insecure superiority that is rather amusing." Dash asserted his "superiority" by keeping Zeifman waiting hours for meetings and gave evidence of his insecurity through on- and off-the-record remarks to the press, noted in Zeifman's diary at the time in comments such as: "I learned that Sam Dash has told the press of our `confidential meeting of Wednesday....'"

Zeifman tells Insight, "In my entire 17 years as a congressional counsel, I have never known a committee staffer who gave as many off-the-record leaks to the press as Sam Dash." Based on past experience, Zeifman believes that "Dash should now be put under oath and questioned about alleged leaks" that are attributed in the press to "sources close to Starr."

He wonders if Dash is a "double agent." His explanation for the use of that term courses back through recent history, involving bizarre scenarios and dark suspicions, not to mention an intriguing and still-active cast of characters The keystone, which took Zeifman years of research, analysis and an entire book to explain, is the contention that the impeachment proceedings against President Nixon -- prevented from going to trial in the Senate by his resignation -- were orchestrated by an elite legal cabal loyal to the assassinated Kennedy brothers, John and Robert, as well as to pre-Chappaquiddick presidential contender Teddy. Many members of this tight circle of Kennedy-clan advisers and operatives served at high levels in the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon Justice Departments before going on to influential positions in academia and private practice.