Fred Thompson aided Nixon on Watergate?

Question

Fred Thompson gained an image as a tough-minded investigative counsel for the Senate Watergate committee. Yet President Nixon and his top aides viewed the fellow Republican as a willing, if not too bright, ally, according to White House tapes.

DOES THIS MEAN FRED THOMPSON IS SURE TO WIN THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY?

He denies global warming and says Bush is doing the right thing in Iraq.

Is Thompson their guy or what?

sorry, he denies global warming is caused by human activity. Making him and Ron Paul the only presidential candidates from any party with this stance on global warming.

Answer 1

Well that explains a lot of the hero worship they give Thompson. He is already programmed to step in as the next talking head for the GOP corruption machine.

Edit: Stick a fork in him he is done.

Answer 2

Fred Thompson did not "aid Nixon on Watergate." That is a gross departure from the facts. Not that the media ever really cares much about facts... Thompson was a prosecutor. He gave some discovery to the other side. Did he abuse his discretion? Only one who knows other than Thompson is dead. It's how stuff gets done. Read the US Constitution.

Answer 3

this will be a big issue, I mean it's really the ONLY ISSUE in modern history that's lead to an ACTIVE PRESIDENT being basically removed from office...

Republicans will have a hard time pushing "ethics and values" when this big link with one of the biggest political scandals of the 20th century will be slammed in their face at every turn...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070707/ap_on_el_pr/thompson_watergate

Democratic campaign commercial slogan against Thompson: "Do we want another Nixon?"

Answer 4

I disagree with the person above.

We already have a liar in the White house, now Thompson, a member of a committee investigating Nixon, told him the committee knew about the tapes. Even worse, HE WAS COACHED BY NIXON ON HOW TO EXAMINE NIXON'S STAR WITNESS!

God, I swear, Republicans are the biggest crooks, liars and money mongers. Will it never end with them??

It isn't relevant. Just like a Republican to say that!!

Nixon called Thompson DFumb. To the person above who said prove it, it is all on tape from the White House!! And he doesn't deny it!

Those tapes show Thompson played a behind-the-scenes role that was very different from his public image three decades ago. He comes across as a partisan willing to cooperate with the Nixon White House's effort to discredit the committee's star witness.

It was Thompson who tipped off the White House that the Senate committee knew about the tapes. They eventually cinched Nixon's downfall in the scandal resulting from the break-in at Democratic headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington and the subsequent White House cover-up.

Thompson, then 30, was appointed counsel by his political mentor, Tennessee Sen. Howard Baker, the top Republican on the Senate investigative committee. Thompson had been an assistant U.S. attorney in Nashville, Tenn., and had managed Baker's re-election campaign. Thompson later was a senator himself.

Nixon was disappointed with the selection of Thompson, whom he called "dumb as hell." The president did not think Thompson was skilled enough to interrogate unfriendly witnesses and would be outsmarted by the committee's Democratic counsel.

This assessment comes from audio tapes of White House conversations recently reviewed by The Associated Press at the National Archives in College Park, Md., and transcripts of those discussions that are published in "Abuse of Power: The New Watergate Tapes," by historian Stanley Kutler.

"Oh s---, that kid," Nixon said when told by his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, of Thompson's appointment on Feb. 22, 1973.

"Well, we're stuck with him," Haldeman said.

In a meeting later that day in the Old Executive Office Building, Baker assured Nixon that Thompson was up to the task. "He's tough. He's six feet five inches, a big mean fella," the senator told Nixon.

Publicly, Baker and Thompson presented themselves as dedicated to uncovering the truth. But Baker had secret meetings and conversations with Nixon and his top aides, while Thompson worked cooperatively with the White House and accepted coaching from Nixon's lawyer, J. Fred Buzhardt, the tapes and transcripts show.

"We've got a pretty good rapport with Fred Thompson," Buzhardt told Nixon in an Oval Office meeting on June 6, 1973. The meeting included a discussion of former White House counsel John Dean's upcoming testimony before the committee.

Dean, the committee's star witness, had agreed to tell what he knew about the break-in and cover-up if he was granted immunity against anything incriminating he might say.

Nixon expressed concern that Thompson was not "very smart."

"Not extremely so," Buzhardt agreed.

"But he's friendly," Nixon said.

"But he's friendly," Buzhardt agreed. "We are hoping, though, to work with Thompson and prepare him, if Dean does appear next week, to do a very thorough cross-examination."

Five days later, Buzhardt reported to Nixon that he had primed Thompson for the Dean cross-examination.

"I found Thompson most cooperative, feeling more Republican every day," Buzhardt said. "Uh, perfectly prepared to assist in really doing a cross-examination."

Later in the same conversation, Buzhardt said Thompson was "willing to go, you know, pretty much the distance now. And he said he realized his responsibility was going to have be as a Republican increasingly."

Thompson, who declined comment for this story, described himself in his book, "At That Point in Time," published in 1975, as a Nixon administration "loyalist" who struggled with his role as minority counsel. "I would try to walk a fine line between a good-faith pursuit of the investigation and a good-faith attempt to insure balance and fairness," Thompson wrote."

Fred Thompson aided Nixon on Watergate By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 23 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Fred Thompson gained

Answer 5

I rally hope Thompson gets the nomination. I just hope his poor health holds out long enough to run.

Answer 6

Well, studies at UCLA and UC Berkeley also say man has 0 to do with Global Warming. So, I have to agree with him there.
Watergate was 33 years ago, and Carter Pardoned everyone for it.
He will win the General Election.

Answer 7

So? Hillary aided Bill in the same way. He was already sure to win the Republican primary. The left is just scared to death of him.

Answer 8

Fred Thompson couldn't win a splinter at a log jam. I wonder if his new thing will be Watergate or Wonderbush?

Answer 9

Fred Thompson is a stand up guy. He has my vote. BTW do you have any proof of your accusations? I would like to hear it.

Oh, and no one denies global warming, it's the extent of it that is up for debate, and the causes. Interesting though that the Earth whatever concerts organized by Gore are powered by precisely the things he claims causes Global Warming. Gore is a drama queen who is trying to cause Global Panic, some patriot.

Answer 10

Bush is doing the right thing in Iraq, he doesn't deny global warming, just that man created it, which there is not enough evidence to believe that we did.
Stop just reading the headlines.........You act like Thompson was involved....he was on the council that investigated it.

Answer 11

I support any conservative who supports winning in Iraq. I support anyone who knows global warming is a fraud.

What he did over 30 years ago is not relevant to today. The Watergate thing is a dead issue