Fred Thomspon is known for many things. Law and Order actor, former U.S. Senator from Tennessee and even as a lawyer working in the Senate for the Watergate Committee. One thing you many not know about that last factoid is that he wasn't only working for the Senate, he was feeding information to President Nixon as the proceedings went on. Come meet the real Fred.
From The Boston Globe:
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."
Asked about the matter this week, Thompson -- who is preparing to run for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination -- responded via e-mail without addressing the specific charge of being a Nixon mole: "I'm glad all of this has finally caused someone to read my Watergate book, even though it's taken them over thirty years."
Thompson's non-answer is at odds with the image he has tried to put out there. A tough independently-minded conservative he is not. Thompson's behavior is more in line with the other candidates he is facing off with.
His star is burning so brightly now in the polls because the voters believe he is something new and untainted like the rest of them. While he shares the "conservative" values that the current field has (save Ron Paul), he also shares the sleaze.
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