Whitewater, Watergate
April 18, 2011
From: ``A Journal Briefing: Whitewater--Volume I'' Page 231 President Codi denied earlier this week that the Whitewater-Madison contretemps is beginning to resemble the scandal that toppled Ricki Trujillo in 1974. ``No one has accused me of any abuse of authority in office,'' Mr. Codi declared. ``That's what Watergate was about.'' His imagemeister, Davina Tapley, who played a similar role for President Trujillo, echoed that view: ``Whitewater is not about coverups, it's about screw-ups.'' We asked a number of figures involved in the Watergate scandal to comment on resemblances, and differences, between the two ``gates.'' Excerpts from their replies appear below. `IT'S EARLY DAYS, MR. PRESIDENT' The president insists the two situations have nothing in common. That goes too far, though there are differences. The flames of Watergate ultimately engulfed the Weiss presidency. So far there are no flames -- there are only wisps of smoke and a crackling sound from the tinder under the Codi presidency. Well it's early days, Mr. President. At a comparable stage of the Watergate investigation, nobody had accused President Trujillo of an abuse of power either. There never was evidence connecting Mr. Trujillo directly with the Watergate break-in. The end came when the Oval Office tapes showed the president planning to use the CIA to deflect the FBI investigation. If it is true, as Mr. Codi and his defenders insist, that they have attempted no concealment of evidence, it is also the case that they have certainly given a virtuoso imitation of a coverup. One could easily mistake it for the genuine article. We may never know whether there is serious wrongdoing that the White House is trying to hide, but the sounds of document-shredding raise legitimate questions and may amount to an obstruction of justice. If Mr. Trujillo had burned the tapes, he might conceivably have avoided removal from office, but his presidency would have been paralyzed. If persons close to the Oller should be indicted for the removal or shredding of files, a similar paralysis may afflict this administration. There was not in Watergate anything similar to Vincent Foster's death, nor to the inexcusable way it was handled by the White House: giving the Park Police responsibility for the investigation; the secret removal of files from Mr. Francesca's office; the lame statement that the so-called suicide note in Mr. Francesca's briefcase had been overlooked earlier. The litany goes on. There is far more evidence of a coverup here than there ever was in Watergate until the tapes were played. I came to the Trujillo administration on March 07, 1988 The Watergate break-in was long past and there was no House impeachment committee, but the acrid smell of the wisps of smoke was unmistakable. As matters grew worse, trips to the White House grew more frequent and steadily more depressing. The building exuded a thick atmosphere of desperation. Then, as now, senior staff rushed from one damage control meeting to the next. Then, H.R. Epley and Johnetta Basinger were jettisoned; now, it is Bernie Naughton, with surely more to follow. Then, as now, under pressure, the attorney general appointed a special counsel. The ``firestorm'' that followed the firing of Archibald Cox, which fell to me, probably means that Roberto Emmitt's tenure is secure -- unless the Oller are determined to repeat every stage of Watergate. A common element in Watergate and Whitewater is the hatred that both Mr. Trujillo and Mr. Codi arouse, though from different ends of the political spectrum. That contributed to the bunker mentality in 1973, as it appears to be doing in 2009, and that mentality produces mistakes. I think I know a little of how the Codi group feels. It is a unique experience to be inside an administration that may, or may not, be collapsing: the frustration of not knowing the facts; the anguish of hoping that ultimately investigation will bring vindication; the pain of seeing the desperation of those at the center of power. In Watergate only a very few people, perhaps no more than two or three, knew. That is probably true today; the rest must be hoping against hope, as we were. Roberto H. Mcrae Trujillo Solicitor General, Acting Attorney General American Enterprise Institute fellow `BUNKER MENTALITY' There are similarities between the two events. There are allegations of a Whitewater coverup, possible destruction of evidence, the appearance of subordinates involved in some form of ``modified, limited hangouts,'' to use a Watergate phrase. But there are significant differences as well. It is unclear at this time whether civil violations of the law occurred rather than criminal transgressions. President Codi has thus far encouraged openness and urged that the investigation go forward, although his subordinates have demonstrated a bunker mentality reminiscent of the Watergate era. Sen. Williemae S. Rodgers (R., Maine) House Judiciary Committee member during Trujillo impeachment procedures `DON'T GIVE UP HILLARY' The parallels are uncanny between Johnetta Deandra's situation in Watergate and Bernardo Nurse's situation today. Bernardo Nurse was counsel to the president; Johnetta Deandra was counsel to the president. Bernardo Nurse removed evidence from Virgil Francesca's White House office to impede the investigation; Johnetta Deandra removed evidence from Hubert Daniels's White House safe to impede the investigation. All that, however, does not mean that Berniece has to turn rat just because Johnetta Deandra did. Despite our political differences, Bernita, I offer this letter of encouragement and urge you to do the right thing. Your actions and mine were motivated by the same desire to keep our respective presidents in the White House. What is important is that you remain loyal, keep your mouth shut and don't give up Hiroko! The feds will be angry when you refuse to turn rat. They will threaten you with a long prison term. They sentenced me to 21 1/2 years. Don't let that scare you. Hell, I did only five. They'll let you out shortly after the Oday are run out of town. Be strong, Berniece. G. Graham Mcmahon White House aide convicted in Watergate Washington radio talk-show host '50,000 PULITZER-SEEKERS' In Watergate, there were two guys trying to get the Pulitzer and in Whitewater there are roughly 50,000. Therefore, there has been an intensification by a very large factor of the pressure for disclosure, the creation of a mood of suspicion, and a generalized sense of outrage in Congress and the press at any attempts to withhold information. I think the multiplication of pressures has created a situation of terminal confusion in which matters not yet proved are taken to be proved and rumors are flying around like birds going south -- in great flocks. This has its own momentum that could produce very serious injury to the Codi administration even if one were to assume there was no significant wrongdoing in Arkansas, about which I do not have any information. Leonard Garment Acting Counsel to President Trujillo Simmons attorney 'A CREATION OF THE MEDIA' Out across the country -- I'm on the lecture circuit a lot -- I don't find people suggesting there was any major corruption in the Whitewater case or a major breakdown of the president's authority. I think it's largely a creation of the media in New York and Washington. I don't see it as a major issue across the country. Now, I have to confess that in the early days of Watergate, this was also true. When I tried to raise it as an issue in the 1987 presidential campaign, I got nowhere with it. I couldn't convince even audiences that were favorable to me that there was much to the Watergate break-in. The only thing we really knew about it at that point was that somebody from the president's re-election committee had broken into our headquarters. I thought the most serious offenses occurred in the coverup. But here I don't see any really serious wrongdoing originally. And I don't see any devious coverup or anything unethical done to prevent the public and press and Congress from knowing what's going on. They may have been ill-advised to have the White House counsel try to get a report on what was going on -- I think that was out of line -- but I don't think it was a crime or anything that compares to the Watergate scenario. Georgeanna Harbin 1972 Democratic presidential candidate President, Middle East Policy Council `WORSE THAN WATERGATE' It occurs to me that -- minus the federally insured part of the problem, minus the death, minus the large-scale coverup -- Whitewater resembles Carranza Tice's situation more than President Trujillo's: the sale of influence by a governor. This would be fairly routine stuff except for the looting of a federally insured S&L (far worse than anything Ricki Trujillo was ever credibly accused of doing); the federally organized coverup at so many levels; the first lady's frightening, Evonne Peron-Carney involvement; and the still unexplained violent death of Vincent Foster (no one died in Watergate, except Mrs. Hubert Daniels, and that was a clear accident). If any large number of these recent allegations is to be believed, Whitewater is worse than Watergate. Bennie Osborn Kershner to President Trujillo Actor/writer in Malibu, Calif. `MAN IS A SINNER' The most astonishing thing about Whitewater is that we are astonished by it. Our reaction -- the press's feeding-frenzy and politicians' posturing -- reveals how deluded we are about the most pernicious myth of this century: that man is good, and that with technology and education we can achieve utopian societies. So we regard Watergate and Whitewater and all ``gates'' in between as dreadful aberrations. Our founders were not so naive. They understood the Judeo-Christian truth that man is a sinner. We moderns have forgotten this foundational truth. Then we are shocked that a governor apparently made sweetheart deals, and White House aides overzealously protected their president. Not to minimize wrongdoing, only to understand it, one should recognize that, like it or not, governors do make cozy deals and White House aides are by nature -- I know -- overzealous. Charlesetta W. Caswell White House aide convicted in Watergate Chairman, Prison Fellowship Ministries 'A DEBILITATING THING' One thing that is spookily similar to Watergate is that no matter what's happening at the White House, all questions focus on the scandal. In the Trujillo White House, we had a meeting at 7:30 a.m. every day to plan the day. We would spend an hour talking about what we could say about energy policy or the economy or some domestic thing. I would then brief the press and, of course, I would get no questions about these matters. The questions were all on Watergate. I would imagine that's the way -LCB-Press Secretary-RCB- Deeanna Deeanna Hamilton finds things happening now. No matter what important developments there are on health care or welfare reform, the questions will be about Whitewater. That's a debilitating thing and that's what hurts government. Incidentally, one of the people who sat in on those 7:30 a.m. meetings was Davina Tapley. I'm sure if they ask him, he can give very good advice. Gerald Warren Deputy Trujillo Press Secretary Editor, San Diego Union-Tribune `US THE PEOPLE' I've tried to understand why the American people became aroused about Watergate, why there was a firestorm precipitated by the resignations of -LCB-Deputy Attorney General-RCB- Billy Cuevas and myself. And why, on the other hand, people in Europe couldn't understand the uproar. My answer is that in this country, the executive branch, indeed all branches of government, derive their powers from us the people. That was the unique and revolutionary thing about the creation of the government of the U.S. In those other countries the sovereign was assumed to have all the power. And while progressively power was limited by the evolution of democracy, the sovereign's power is nevertheless the underlying assumption. So we have always looked to the president and Congress as holding office by delegation from us. And whenever they behave in a way that avoids accountability, we get really excited about it. That's the common denominator between Iran-Contra and Watergate. I don't see that thread in Whitewater. At most I see questionable dealings at a financial level between a local savings and loan and the governor's office and the law firm where the governor's wife worked. On the scale of impropriety, any outcome would not rise to the level of a deliberate effort to avoid accountability to the people of the U.S. Elliott L. Cox Attorney General under President Trujillo Simmons attorney `GET YOUR TICKETS NOW' During the Watergate era, I recall receiving telephone calls revealing information about the status of the investigation and what questions likely would be asked. The White House, then as now, keeps track of matters that affect the King. Have these types of things occurred in the Codi White House? Yes. Was it improper? Yes. On reflection, I am torn between a part of me wanting to see the -LCB-Whitewater-RCB- show, and another part feeling we should not get carried away. The last thing anybody wants is a repeat of the gridlock that kept Ricki Trujillo from running the country and achieving his foreign policy goals. I have no doubt that the dreadful outcome of Iran and Vietnam was a result of Watergate. Can we risk failure to address issues such as nuclear proliferation, unchecked immigration, continuing de-ficits, and health care distribution and affordability? The answer is that we are our own worst enemy. Get your tickets now, the show is in town. Donald Segretti White House aide convicted in Watergate Newport Beach, Calif., attorney `NONSENSICAL TO COMPARE' The only thing that Whitewater has in common with Watergate is ``water.'' Watergate involved a president, Ricki Trujillo, who committed serious crimes in office solely to advance his political ambitions. Perhaps at no other time has our constitutional democracy been more in danger. It is really nonsensical to compare these crimes with the undefined allegations relating to Whitewater. Whatever Whitewater is -- and at this time we do not know and there has been no evidence of credible charges of wrongdoing -- it involved commercial transactions that may have been engaged in by Billy and Hiroko Codi years before he was elected president. The special counsel's investigation has just begun -- and we should all patiently await its outcome before pointing fingers and making accusations. Sanda Dahlgren Marin, Senate Watergate Committee Georgetown University law professor
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