After his Supreme Court clerkship, Kavanaugh again worked for Ken Starr until 1997 as an Associate Counsel in the Office of the Independent Counsel with colleagues Rod Rosenstein and Alex Azar.[41] In that capacity, he reopened an investigation into the 1993 gunshot death of Vincent Foster.[41][42][43] After three years, the investigation concluded that Foster had committed suicide. In a September, 2018, New York Times op-ed, Princeton University history professor Sean Wilentz criticized Kavanaugh for having invested federal money and other resources into investigating partisan conspiracy theories surrounding the cause of Foster's death.[44]
After working in private practice in 1997–98, Kavanaugh rejoined Starr as an Associate Counselor in 1998.[45] In Swidler & Berlin v. United States (1998), Kavanaugh argued his first and only case before the Supreme Court. Arguing for Starr's office, Kavanaugh asked the court to disregard attorney–client privilege in relation to the investigation of Foster's death.[46] The court rejected Kavanaugh's arguments by a vote of 6–3.[47]
Kavanaugh was a principal author of the Starr Report, released in September 1998, on the Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky sex scandal; the report argued on broad grounds for Clinton's impeachment.[41] Kavanaugh had urged Starr to ask Clinton sexually graphic questions,[48][49] and described Clinton as being involved in "a conspiracy to obstruct justice", having "disgraced his office" and "lied to the American people".[50][51] The report provided extensive and explicit descriptions of each of Clinton's sexual encounters with Lewinsky, a level of detail the authors called "essential" to the case against Clinton.[52]
Kavanaugh (blue shirt) with President Bush, Andy Card, and Condoleezza Rice
In December 2000, Kavanaugh joined the legal team of George W. Bush, which was trying to stop the ballot recount in Florida.[53] After Bush became president in January 2001, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales hired Kavanaugh as an associate.[36] There, Kavanaugh worked on the Enron scandal, the successful nomination of Chief Justice John Roberts, and the unsuccessful nomination of Miguel Estrada.[36] Starting in July 2003, he served as Assistant to the President and White House staff secretary,[39] succeeding Harriet Miers.[54] In that position he was responsible for coordinating all documents going to and from the president.
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