The investigation of alleged White House sex and cover-up - including 10 new lawyers and a bigger Washington office - has pushed up costs for Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, a news magazine reported Monday.
Starr, who took on the task of investigating the scandal in January in addition to his four-year-old investigation of the Whitewater affair, has also had to pay per diem expenses for grand jury witnesses and travel, according to U.S. News and World Report's May 25 edition.The magazine said Starr has added 10 new attorneys to his staff since the sex-and-perjury probe began and has doubled his office space in Washington, bringing the monthly rent to $43,000.
The independent counsel's office has also paid $640 in per diem appearance fees to grand jury witnesses and an additional $9,258 in travel costs during the first four months of 1998, the magazine reported.
The latest investigation centered on accusations that President Clinton had a sexual affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and then pressured her and others to cover it up. Clinton and Lewinsky have denied the affair and Clinton has said he never asked anyone to lie.
The magazine said the total cost of Starr's investigations, which began in 1994 under the supervision of Starr's predecessor Robert Fiske, has reached $35 million.
Starr's office did not return a telephone call Monday seeking confirmation of the figures.
There are 28 lawyers on Starr's staff, with six in Little Rock and 22 in Washington, according to the report. Starr's four deputies and his spokesman each earn just under $118,400; his associate counsels and one special litigation counsel earn from $60,000 to $117,000, the magazine reported.
Starr's pay is capped at $118,400 per year, the report said.
Overall expenses for FBI agents have accounted for 39 percent of Starr's total costs, according to the magazine.