Fun little piece in today's
Boston Globe about
Fred Thompson's role as minority counsel for the Senate Watergate Committee. It turns out that Thompson, who has made no secret of his affection for
Scooter Libby, was himself practiced in the art of improper leaks. He was the guy who, by his own admission, tipped off
Tricky Dick that the committee investigating him knew about the White House's taping system. And that didn't make him any friends among those trying to put a stop to it:
"Thompson was a mole for the White House," Armstrong [Scott, former Senate investigator] 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."
Does one sense a pattern here?
Fred Thompson seems to like the idea of a secretive, if not always law abiding, Executive Branch.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. The problem with this article is that it took basic quotations out of context and did not go into it with an objective viewpoint. First example, Thompson, in his book, singled out Armstrong for a showboat and called him a leak source. So now we have he said/she said. The author of the article used two clearly unbiased sources with Dean and Armstrong. Dash? The author took one passage, leaving out the fact that overall, they had a good relationship. In fact, the committee went over the questions with those they were interrogating before they went on national television. It was not a sense of Thompson leaking the information early. Another problem, in his book, Thompson points out that it was Sam Ervin (D-NC) that wanted Thompson to ask the question, for the bipartisan show.
This article has turned into nothing more than a common hit piece.
Tommy at 6:38PM on Jul 5th 2007
2. LOL! David Knowsnuthin,
First, Libby didn't leak anything and Fred didn't even know the man before he rightly took up his cause as a wrongful prosecution.
Second, Fred didn't break any laws at all in contacting Nixon's attorney.
Anyone notice a pattern here?? Idiots refuse to do their own homework past what they wrongheadedly think satisfies their twisted viewpoint.
Here you go Davy, see if you hear anything familiar;
Regurgitating The Apple: How Modern Liberals "Think"
http://www.heritage.org/Press/Events/ev030507a.cfm
Chris at 8:05PM on Jul 5th 2007
3. An attorney's job is to win for his client. Playing fair isn't in the rulebook.
Steve Bonomo at 8:15PM on Jul 5th 2007
4. Exactly what is Fred Thompson famous for currently except playing a tough macho guy on TV? His record as sentaor of Tennessee was unremarkable..he in fact supported many big government projects (something conservatives are supposed to be against, yeah right).
As to the Nixon administration, that was ages ago and he was a minor player there.
If Republicans are salivating over this guy entering the race, they must truly loathe the current crop of GOP contenders..or just be incredibly desperate.
David S. at 8:51PM on Jul 5th 2007
5. Considering his experience, Fred will be every bit as good as Reagan. The problem with that is, few Americans remember what a crappy president Ronny really was. The spin and glossing over of the facts of his administration make those years seem far better than they really were and are anything but true.
So, by all means America elect another actor. (Fred is a better actor, but then Reagan wasn't good at that either.)
IMDaugur at 4:34AM on Jul 6th 2007
6. Libby the Liar's chief defender is Freddie the Mole. Not that he had a chance anyway, but this ought to put a fork in Fred.
No wonder he supported the obstructionist.
Libby not to prison, because he'd do anything for Dick.
Stash at 10:52AM on Jul 6th 2007
7. Dear Chris,
Thank you for taking the time to comment. Let me try and address your points.
First, I never claimed that Fred Thompson and Scooter Libby were old friends. Nor did I say that Scooter Libby was the leaker of Plame's identity. Strange that you would assume both from my post.
Second, Thompson himself admits that his judgement was way off on Nixon. Clearly, he'd made up his mind to support Nixon, damn the facts. He undermined the proceedings of an investigation into, yes, illegal activities.
Libby did commit a crime, so did Nixon. Both men enjoyed support from Fred Thompson. That's the pattern.
david knowles at 1:08PM on Jul 6th 2007
8. "[T]he Washington Post.. decided to make the Watergate break-in a major moral issue, a lead followed by the rest of the East Coast media," Paul Johnson wrote in his book "Modern Times: A History of the World from the 1920s to the Year 2000." This "Watergate witch-hunt," Johnson declared, was "run by liberals in the media..the first media Putsch in history."
Tim Condon at 2:45PM on Jul 6th 2007