The Boston Globe reports that while Fred Thompson loves to bill himself as a Watergate hero, it just ain't so. It turns out that while playing the role of Senate Watergate Committee minority counsel, Fred was acting as a mole/spy for Richard Nixon. The Republican actor was reporting highly confidential information directly to the White House! [via TPM Cafe]
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.
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." (emphasis added)
The Globe adds that Fred Thompson now defends Scooter Libby with the same intensity that he once defended Tricky Dick Nixon. On a June 6 radio commentary (ABC, we presume), Thompson proclaimed that "Libby's conviction was a 'shocking injustice . . . created and enabled by federal officials.'"
Oh, yeah, and when Thompson asked that question about the White House taping system, the question that catapulted him to fame, the committee already knew about the taping system (for three whole days), and Thompson got to ask the question because of a little strategic arm twisting by Howard Baker.
Thompson confesses, or brags about, his role as spy for Nixon in his long forgotten book which is now selling on Amazon for almost $200:
"Even though I had no authority to act for the committee, I decided to call Fred Buzhardt [Nixon's attorney] at home" to tell him that the committee had learned about the taping system, Thompson wrote. "I wanted to be sure that the White House was fully aware of what was to be disclosed so that it could take appropriate action." -- Fred D. Thompson, At That Point in Time: The inside story of the Senate Watergate Committee
Whacking Moles
Mole Rat
Fred Thompson Was A Rat For Richard Nixon In Watergate
Fred Thompson, 'mole' for Nixon White House
Meet Fred Thompson: Nixon Mole
The Stuff Of Legend: Fred Thompson’s Role In Watergate Examined
Thompson Tried to Suppress Watergate Investigation Years Before He Assisted Bush Cover Up of Iraq War Lies
Fred Thompson News ABC Radio Watergate 2008 Republicans Mole for Nixon Politics Senate Watergate Committee Politics Scooter Libby Fred Thompson's Book
