During the presidential administration of William Jefferson Clinton, Waas wrote some of the very first investigative stories critical of Whitewater Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. Some conservative media outlets, among them, the now defunct "Weekly Standard" and the editorial pages of the "Wall Street Journal" harshly criticized his reporting of both Starr's investigation and the resulting impeachment saga. The "Journal's" editorial page disparaged his stories for primarily appearing in "an Internet magazine called "Salon" (paid circulation zip)." "Washington Post" media critic Howard Kurtz wrote, however, that "what has infuriated the president's detractors is that Waas (who will reveal only that he's in his thirties) and his colleagues are starting to draw blood. The Justice Department has asked Starr to investigate the allegation of payments to [one of Starr's own key witnesses, and the story has moved up the media food chain to "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post"." And in sharp contrast, media critics writing for the "Online Journalism Review", the "American Journalism Review", and "The Washington Post", praised the very same reporting. In "The Washington Post", columnist John Schwartz wrote that reporting by Waas and his colleagues in Salon was "one crucial element that keeps guys like me coming back: investigative reporting." Schwartz explained: "This year... "Salon" dove into investigative reporting, the hard digging that can yield amazing things. They chose one of the biggest stories around: the continuing scandals surrounding the Clinton administration."