Fred Thompson, 'mole' for Nixon White House
On the official Web site for his anticipated presidential run, former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) says that during the Watergate hearings he "gained national attention for leading the line of inquiry that revealed the audio-taping system in the White House Oval Office." A former assistant U.S. attorney in Tennessee, Thompson served as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee.But a story published in yesterday's Boston Globe reveals details about his role in the Watergate probe that suggests Thompson was something other than the good-government crusader he now makes himself out to be. It begins:
The day before Senate Watergate Committee minority counsel Fred Thompson made the inquiry that launched him into the national spotlight -- asking an aide to President Nixon whether there was a White House taping system -- he telephoned Nixon's lawyer.In fact, it wasn't actually Thompson who first discovered Nixon was taping conversations, nor was he the first to question the Nixon White House about it, according to the Globe. The initial revelation occurred during a private session between congressional investigators and Nixon aide Alexander Butterfield in response to a question by Don Sanders, a Republican staffer. The Globe reports:
Thompson tipped off the White House that the committee knew about the taping system and would be making the information public. In his all-but-forgotten Watergate memoir, "At That Point in Time," Thompson said he acted with "no authority" in divulging the committee's knowledge of the tapes, which provided the evidence that led to Nixon's resignation. It was one of many Thompson leaks to the Nixon team, according to a former investigator for Democrats on the committee, Scott Armstrong , who remains upset at Thompson's actions.
"Thompson was a mole for the White House," Armstrong said in an interview. "Fred was working hammer and tong to defeat the investigation of finding out what happened to authorize Watergate and find out what the role of the president was."
When Thompson learned of Butterfield's admission, he leaked the revelation to Nixon's counsel, J. Fred Buzhardt.Thompson got to ask the question during the public session at the behest of Sen. Howard Baker (R-Tenn.), whose 1972 re-election campaign he had managed.
Understanding Thompson's role in the Nixon case, the Globe says, "helps put in perspective" his recent role as an outspoken advocate for pardoning Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, convicted earlier this year of obstructing justice in the investigation into who leaked a CIA operative's identity. Thompson also served as an advisor for the defense trust of Libby, whose sentence was controversially commuted earlier this week by President Bush.
Labels: Election 2008
3 Comments:
Why on earth is this a "news" story all of a sudden when this has been common knowledge since the book was first published in 1975?
How do you paint this as helping Nixon, which clearly it didn't? He destroyed their careers!
I also think its funny that Thompson describes in absolutely pristine detail that whole sequence of events. In the book, he never once claimed to have discovered the fact about the recording devices. He does take credit for verifying as much as he could about that information, however.
Trying to crucify Thompson for a "leak" is just plain silly and a waste of energy. Watergate was a circus, with everyone trying to one-up the other committee members, counsel, and staffers with their "leaks" of which they built their careers.
Also, it is worth noting that Thompson was excluded from countless meetings on both sides of the committee because he would not shy away from calling out individuals who were responsible for "leaks".
In many ways, Thompson was a lone ranger during Watergate, who acted reluctantly, responsibly, and always doing what he felt was right. Few of those characteristics can be said of most others involved with the hearings.
A few thoughts in response to Anonymous:
Why on earth is this a "news" story all of a sudden when this has been common knowledge since the book was first published in 1975?
Because now Thompson is probably running for president and cites his Watergate role among his qualifying credentials. Also, many of our readers are young people who weren't around during Watergate and may not have read Thompson's book.
How do you paint this as helping Nixon, which clearly it didn't? He destroyed their careers!
It's helpful to any defense to get information about questioning in advance. By sharing that information, Thompson was obviously trying to help Nixon, regardless of whether or not he succeeded. In fact, as he wrote in his book and as the Globe article points out, Thompson was "looking for a way to justify [his] faith in the leader of [his] country and [his] party, a man who was undergoing a violent attack from the news media, which [he] thought had never given [Nixon] fair treatment in the past."
I also think its funny that Thompson describes in absolutely pristine detail that whole sequence of events. In the book, he never once claimed to have discovered the fact about the recording devices. He does take credit for verifying as much as he could about that information, however.
Perhaps he does that in the book, but the Web site for his presidential campaign exploratory committee suggests he helped expose the taping system and Nixon's role in the coverup.
Also, it is worth noting that Thompson was excluded from countless meetings on both sides of the committee because he would not shy away from calling out individuals who were responsible for "leaks".
If Thompson was calling out leakers when he himself was one, doesn't that make him a hypocrite?
To call this a "leak" is simply erroneous (hence the "quotes"); and that is what makes this a non-story that will dissipate before he even announces his candidacy.
People won't care for two reasons, Thompson's memoir has gone unchallenged for decades, simply because there is no question as to his accuracy and attention to detail; and because Thompson did nothing but act as a responsible attorney.
Attacking this aspect of Thompson will only make him stronger.
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