Whither Kenneth Starr?

So you thought you'd heard the last of Ken Starr, now that the impeachment operatic drama has moved to the Senate? Think again. Starr's cameo appearance to get Monica Lewinsky to sing on behalf of House prosecutors was the first hint that he's not yet through with the show. Tuesday Starr obtained a federal court's permission to pursue presidential friend Webster Hubbell on tax evasion charges in connection with Whitewater. Add to Starr's program a contempt case against ex-Whitewater partner Susan McDougal and an obstruction of justice case against Julie Steele for having allegedly lied in the Kathleen Willey case, and, says TIME Washington correspondent Viveca Novak, "the independent counsel could stay open for years."

That, however doesn't mean that Starr himself will be around. "Rumors continue to fly that Starr won't stay much longer," says Novak. Already, she reports, there are indications that Starr's top deputy, Jackie Bennett, is preparing to exit. "For the most part," says Novak, "the work of the counsel's office looks like a cleanup operation." But at a cost of $40 million and still counting, Starr's continuing investigations are sure to give Congress pause when it's asked to renew the independent counsel statute later this session.