President Trump’s Justice Department is reviewing the conduct of special prosecutors who, more than 50 years ago, investigated the Watergate break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to The Wall Street Journal.
Their findings led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.
Here & Now‘s Robin Young speaks with former New York Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, who served on the House Judiciary Committee that recommended impeaching President Nixon.
3 questions with Elizabeth Holtzman
Congresswoman, you were in the room where it happened. What were your thoughts when you first heard that there was this reconsideration of Nixon even being entertained at the DOJ?
“Well, my thoughts were this: It’s beyond stupid. It’s something that’s 50 years old that scholars and the American people have had a chance to review and study and analyze, and there was no problem. The process was fair.
“But I want to go back to the basics. Richard Nixon taped himself. We have the tape recordings. The tape recordings show now, as they showed then, that Richard Nixon obstructed justice, that he tried to stop the investigation into the Watergate break in. They showed that Richard Nixon suborned perjury. They show that Richard Nixon got information from the Justice Department officials and then told the witnesses so that they could prepare themselves during the investigation. It’s called obstruction of justice. So, the evidence is indisputable of Richard Nixon’s guilt.
“So, with all the problems we have, what are they wasting their time for?”
This was a bipartisan committee. Talk about even the conservative Republicans on the committee, as you were considering even impeachment.
“The House Judiciary Committee traditionally sits on a request for impeachment. And so, the committee was made up of Democrats and Republicans. There was a majority of Democrats. But the first vote without the smoking gun tape was bipartisan. There was an overwhelming vote. Seven Republicans, more than 30% of the Republicans supported impeachment, and all the Democrats supported impeachment.
“The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the smoking gun tape should be revealed, and that tape showed Nixon’s own voice obstructing justice, and that ended it for the Republican holdouts. Every single Republican after hearing that tape, including conservative Republicans, joined the impeachment effort and said that Richard Nixon deserved to be impeached and that they would support impeachment in the House of Representatives. You almost never get a unanimous committee vote: All Republicans, all Democrats, conservative Democrats, conservative Republicans, liberals on both sides supporting impeachment because the evidence was overwhelming.”
This review is not surprising to a lot of people.
Vice President Vance said this past summer that, “If you look at the story of how the deep state took down Richard Nixon, it’s not all that different from what the same groups of people, the same institutions, tried to do to Donald Trump in the first Trump administration.”
What do you make of this attempt to look back, revise history and make the comparison?
“Well, of course they’re lying or they’re stupid or they’re ignorant of history when they said it was a coup taking down Richard Nixon. We had the support of the unanimous Supreme Court in terms of releasing the tape, despite Nixon’s efforts to stop that, including his appointees on the court.
“You also had a unanimous House Judiciary Committee saying that he deserved to be impeached. You had hearings that the American people could see and support. The American people overwhelmingly supported the recommendations for impeachment.
“There was no deep state. It was an open state. And ultimately American people supported it, which is why Richard Nixon resigned. He did not want to be convicted by the Senate, which was also responding to the American people’s view after having the House Judiciary Committee hearings.
“This is the only time that the impeachment process worked, and it showed that when a president went off the rails, committed crimes against the American people, violated civil liberties, and did other kinds of abuses of power, that Congress could step in and protect our democracy. It worked. And they want to tear it down, just as they want to tear down our history of important accomplishments.
“The fact that we could preserve democracy on a bipartisan basis was an important lesson for now. And the system can work to hold presidents accountable. And Trump does not want to be held accountable.”
This interview was edited for clarity.
Wilder Fleming produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Michael Scotto. Scotto adapted it for web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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