United States Senate Watergate Committee
Special committee | |
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Defunct United States Senate 93rd Congress | |
History | |
Formed | February 7, 1973 |
Disbanded | June 27, 1974 (abolished, when the committee's final report was published) |
Leadership | |
Chair | Sam Ervin (D) |
Ranking member | Howard Baker (R) |
Structure | |
Seats | 7 members |
Political parties | Majority (4)
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Jurisdiction | |
Purpose | To investigate "illegal, improper, or unethical activities" conducted by individuals involved with a campaign, nomination, and/or election of any candidate for President of the United States in the 1972 presidential election, and produce a final report with the committee's findings. |
Rules | |
Watergate scandal |
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Events |
People |
The Senate Watergate Committee, known officially as the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, was a
American print news media focused the nation's attention on the issue with hard-hitting investigative reports, while television news outlets brought the drama of the hearings to the living rooms of millions of American households, broadcasting the proceedings live for two weeks in May 1973. The public television network PBS broadcast the hearings from gavel to gavel on more than 150 national affiliates.
Working under committee chairman
Background
Shortly after midnight on June 17, 1972, five men were arrested inside the DNC offices.
Before the election, the House Banking Committee chaired by Wright Patman (D-TX) held hearings on Watergate but were stymied by Nixon Administration officials. A vote to issue subpoenas in October 1972 failed when several Democratic members joined all Republican members of the committee to oppose the vote.[4] The failure of the committee hearings formed an impetus for action in the Senate.
Members
The members of the Senate Watergate Committee were:
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The chief counsel of the Committee was Samuel Dash, who directed the investigation. The minority counsel was Fred Thompson. Members of the Senate Watergate Committee's professional staff included:
- Scott Armstrong
- David M. Dorsen (Assistant Chief Counsel)
- Rufus Edmisten(Deputy Counsel)
- Gordon Freedman
- James Hamilton (Assistant Chief Counsel)
- Terry Lenzner[5] (Assistant Chief Counsel)[6]
- Marc Lackritz
- Robert Muse
- Donald Sanders (Deputy Minority Counsel – Republican)
- Jill Wine-Banks (prosecutor's staff)[7]
Hearings
Hearings opened on May 17, 1973, and the Committee issued its seven-volume, 1,250-page report on June 27, 1974, titled Report on Presidential Campaign Activities. The first weeks of the committee's hearings were a national political and cultural event. They were broadcast live during the day on commercial television; at the start,
The hearings made stars out of both Ervin, who became known for his folksy manner and wisdom but resolute determination, and Baker, who appeared somewhat non-partisan and uttered the famous phrase "What did the President know, and when did he know it?" (often paraphrased by others in later scandals). It was the introduction to the public for minority counsel Thompson, who would later become an actor, senator, and presidential candidate.
Many of Watergate's most famous moments happened during the hearings. During former White House counsel John Dean's four days before the committee, he testified about the cover-up, who was involved including himself and events related to it, including him telling Nixon on March 21 that there was a "cancer on the Presidency") . Dean confirmed to Inouye that the Nixon White House kept a list of its enemies – including Weicker, who then called for added transparency in the executive branch. Meanwhile, FAA chairman and former White House deputy assistant Alexander Butterfield revealed the existence of the secret Nixon White House tapes and Ervin sparred with former Nixon chief domestic policy advisor John Ehrlichman about whether constitutional law allowed a President to sanction such actions as the Watergate break-in and a break-in at the office of the psychiatrist to Daniel Ellsberg, the former assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs who had leaked the Pentagon Papers.[10]
References
- ^ "Watergate Scandal, 1973 In Review". United Press International. September 8, 1973. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
- ^ "Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (The Watergate Committee)". Senate Historical Office. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- ^ "March 28, 1973: Watergate Leaks Lead to Open Hearings". Senate Historical Office. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- ^ Kenworthy, E. W. (1972-10-13). "PATMAN BALKED ON WATERGATE; Fails Twice to Get Enough Democrats for Quorum". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
- ^ The $100,000 Misunderstanding, Time, May 6, 1974
- ^ Senate Select Committee Final Report of the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, by Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, USA, 1974, pages III and VII. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
- ^ Kiernan, Laura A. (October 1, 1979). "A Watergate Lawyer Decides to 'Move On'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ a b Ronald Garay, "Watergate", Museum of Broadcast Communications. Accessed June 30, 2007.
- ^ "'Gavel-to-Gavel': The Watergate Scandal and Public Television", American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- ^ Summer of Judgment: The Watergate Hearings (Part 1 of 2) American Archive of Public Broadcast
External links
- Works by United States Senate Watergate Committee at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Coverage of the Watergate Hearings by the National Public Affairs Center for Television (NPACT) at the American Archive of Public Broadcasting