Alan Dershowitz, a professor emeritus at Harvard University and one of the nation's foremost authorities on constitutional law, had a unique professional relationship with Ken Starr, the prosecutor whose investigation led to the House impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998.
In the late 1990s, Dershowitz worked against Starr — who died Tuesday at age 76, according to a family statement — in the Clinton impeachment proceedings.
And then, some 20-plus years later, Dershowitz and Starr worked together on the impeachment defense of former President Donald Trump.
Starr ''was a great scholar, great thinker, and just a wonderful man," Dershowitz told Newsmax on Tuesday evening while appearing on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."
Going further with his recollection, Dershowitz — who is promoting a book, "The Price of Principle" — fondly remembers Starr being "very religious" in his personal life and "deeply, deeply principled" about the legal profession.
There were also a number of disagreements between the two legal minds, Dershowitz said, but Starr "wasn't disagreeable," personality-wise.
Dershowitz then used a Yiddish word to describe Starr's honorable persona: "He was a mensch."
From a political and philosophical standpoint, Dershowitz said he and Starr "disagreed about almost anything ... but the arguments [Starr] always made were sound and compelling."
Starr's patient, cerebral approach to professional life paved the way for him to serve as solicitor general of the United States during George H.W. Bush's presidency (1989-93).
And after leaving the political scene, Starr had two high-profile stints as the law school dean at Pepperdine University and president of Baylor University.
"This man did everything," Dershowitz marveled.
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