The Starr report on whether President Clinton committed any so-called high crimes or misdemeanours was actually written by a Harvard-educated lawyer, Mr Stephen Bates (40), writes Joe Carroll.
Mr Bates, a writer of distinction, was chosen by Mr Kenneth Starr to compose the final version of the report. In doing so, he has had to go into what is being called "X-rated" material about steamy sex encounters.
Mr Starr and Mr Bates have a common Texas and religious background. Mr Bates writes frequently for the conservative religious right but is not seen as extremist or fanatic.
He is also the literary editor of a serious cultural journal, the Wil- son Quarterly. The summer issue has an article entitled "Is the Bible bad news for women?"
Mr Bates has also written for Playboy on censorship in cyberspace. He has been praised for his 1993 book, Battleground, a true story about a fundamentalist Christian mother's crusade to protect her children from schoolbooks she said promoted satanism and evolution.
He avoids speaking to the media. His father, a fertiliser dealer in Pecos, Texas, says his son asked the family not to speak to reporters lest they give ammunition to the "White House attack dogs" who have been accused of trying to discredit Mr Starr and his staff.
Ms Lynn Chu, who is Mr Bates's literary agent, says: "He's a terrific lawyer and a really good writer." She says that "he's very soft-spoken, middle-of-the-road politically, really smart. He's not going to make any mistakes."
His views on the media might be surmised from the title of one of his books. It is called If No News, Send Rumours: Anecdotes of American Journalism.
His former constitutional law teacher, Dr Abigail Thernstrom, says she has known Mr Bates for over 20 years. "He was a wonderful student. He's a gentleman out of the old school . . . There's not a strident bone in him. He's not an ideologue."
And as soon as publishers get their hands on the report and rush it out in book form, Mr Bates will have a best-seller to his credit as well.