. >> caller: kenneth starr is promoting brett kavanaugh's exemplary character but the same thing can be said for ted bundy. people who knew him, even elected official. i'm not saying brett kavanaugh is ted bundy, but they didn't know the real ted bundy. >> guest: i disagree with the comparison. we are talking about a situation where someone was carrying activity as an adult, the most heinous kinds of crimes and essentially living two lives. brett kavanaugh has been an exemplary public servant, ted bundy wasn't. he didn't hold office. he wasn't a federal judge who had gone through confirmation. a single fbi background check, the real brett cavanagh is the oneff we saw in the confirmati hearings and the real brett kavanaugh, people went to high school with him, young women who are now mothers who have said this is not the character of brett kavanaugh. this is not who we do in high school. accepting the argument, let's look at the high school episode, all the attributes to his character even in high school, and many decades. >> host: if the charges turn out to be true should brett kavan

. >> , kenneth starr is out with a new book. the

here now to react is former whitewater independent counsel kenneth starr and fox news contributor andyhink this bill that flake and is newfound democratic buddies is offering is unconstitutional? explain. >> well, all of the authority in the constitution in article two, all the executive authority is vested in the president. in our system, prosecution is an executive power. you cannot pass a constitutional bill that essentially takes away the president's executive power and the president's power to lead the executive branch and proposes it to someone else whether it's the prosecutor himself or another branch of government to oversee him. the reason people oppose this, laura, as a legal matter is that it's unconstitutional. but as a factual matter, as you suggest, this is pure grandstanding and theatrics under circumstances there is no reason to believe there is a threat to the mueller investigation. >> laura: think about any of the phenomenal young lawyers who have been waiting for confirmation. appellate courts judges, district court judges, military court. you just want to hold them

. >> dagen: former independent counsel, kenneth starr, who was also on "america's newsroom," believeshat whitaker's appointment is legal. >> it's a lawful appointment. under the vacancies act, the president has tremendously way in who he sees fit -- remember, this is the executive branch. there is only one key officer in the executive branch. >> dagen: in the meantime, "the wall street journal" is reporting that the department of justice is expected to report legal opinion. democrats say that whitaker's past criticism of robert mueller's russia probe raise questions about his objectivity. with "the wall street journal," the congressman is reporting that the doj's office of legal counsel opinion is supposed to -- an issue back in 2003, a nonconfirmed employee can be appointed as the acting director, because "acting director" is an inferior officer under the supreme court precedent. he >> adam: legally. >> dagen: again, how does the white house get this out of the way? earlier, it was said that whatever whitaker does and makes makes, decisions that he makes, are called into question bec

it was drafting around the kenneth starr investigation and it was the clinton justice department thatd, hey, we can't indict a sitting president. that 2000-era memo is having weight and implications right now in 2018, but it still has never been tested in a court of law. there are legal scholars who debate this issue, whether or not you can indict a sitting president, whether the nixon -- the nixon case says if a president is not above the law and you cannot say that the administration of due process and justice should fall victim to the president's position, well, then, you might say if no one is above the law it includes an indictment as well. there are others, as senator blumenthal suggests, you could probably indict and not have a trial until after his term, which would eliminate concern about the head of the executive branch having all of this time taken over by trying to defend an actual case. it is a debate, but as we see right now from mueller's team, as we've seen from his decision not to make any indictments or anything else before the midterm election, they seem to be abidi

and kim, you worked for kenneth starr, the independent counsel under a different statute and obviously president at that point, bill clinton lying became a huge part of the impeachment proceedings, he lied in a deposition, or accused of lying in a deposition. in that case he's got a talk in the moment. here you've got the written answers, big difference. >> there's a tremendous difference. although with respect to this grand jury testimony there were some, you know, rules set up that made it easier for him. but sure, i agree with benjamin that lawyers are going to craft these things in a way that makes them bullet proof for a perjury and obstruction of justice charge. there are lots of differences between the whitewater investigation and today. one is what you mentioned, under that investigation, actually a statute that insulated ken starr from bill clinton's influence. we don't have that here. we have a regulation that's internal that mr. whitaker technically, arguably has some power, unless someone holds him accountable. we don't know how much influence he's having. we don't even kno

. >> , kenneth starr is out with a new book. the title, "contempt: a memoir of the clinton investigation." you began and ended that book i thanking the people who are in the independent counsel office with you. when those people, brett kavanaugh. i wonder your thoughts this morning on this during the 20 happening on monday where we will hear again from brett kavanaugh and his accuser. >> guest: i of course don't know the accuser but i do know brett kavanaugh and i've been just reaffirmed in my firm belief in brett kavanaugh and his integrity and his character by the outpouring of support from those who have known them for all these years, not just people who have worked with him but people who grew up with him, including a lot of women who say this is not the brett kavanaugh who we knew, , who we went to school with and so forth. i hope there would be a balance in ultimate judgment, that we have this long and distinguished career, and then this one alleged episode from high school. school. but i believe in brett kavanaugh and hi

kenneth starr, the special counsel who investigated the clintons. thank you very much.ost: thank you for the call. let's go to tony in florida. republican line. good morning. thatr: i just want to say i'm afraid trump is going to make the same mistake nixon did. just look at history. i am afraid it is going to happen, the same thing if he fires mueller. host: this is from george. matthew whitaker is nothing but an unqualified political hack that trump chose to kill the mueller investigation. mueller needs congressional protection. the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell was asked about the mueller investigation and congressional action. [video clip] >> in the past you said that legislation to protect the special counsel was not necessary, has your view changed? >> no. there has been no indication. i talked to the present fairly often. indicationeen no that the mueller investigation will not be allowed to finish. it should be allowed to finish. we know how the president feels about the investigation, but he has never said he wants to shut it down. i have never heard