May 8, 1973
Page 14704
SENATE RESOLUTION 109 – SUBMISSION OF A RESOLUTION RELATING TO APPOINTMENT OF A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL- DESIGNATE
(Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.)
Mr. STEVENSON. Mr. President, I am encouraged by Mr. Richardson's announcement yesterday that if his nomination as Attorney General is confirmed by the Senate, he will appoint a special prosecutor in the Watergate affair. I am also encouraged – but not yet satisfied – by Mr. Richardson's assurance that the special prosecutor will be given "all the independence, authority, and staff support needed" to enable him to carry out his difficult assignment. Without an impartial and thorough investigation, this dismal affair will corrupt our politics for many years, and in the end the public may still not know the truth, nor justice even then be done.
The coverup can continue, or the search for truth can begin in earnest. On May 3, 28 Members of this body joined with me in a letter to the Attorney General-designate. We called for the appointment of an independent prosecutor, as have others, indeed, as has the Senate by resolution. But we went beyond the mere question of his appointment. We set forth our understanding of the term "independent." A prosecutor is not made independent by virtue of an adjective or Senate approval. We laid down the minimal powers and resources of a truly independent prosecutor.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the letter sent to Mr. Richardson be printed in the RECORD at this point.
There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
U.S. SENATE,
Washington, D.C.,
May 3, 1973.
Hon. ELLIOT L. RICHARDSON,
Attorney General-Designate,
Department of Justice,
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. RICHARDSON: As Attorney General you would immediately be faced with an unprecedented task of restoring public confidence in the integrity of the Federal government. We know you share our concern that justice prevail in all questions of official misconduct and that the public receive speedy assurance that an impartial investigation of the so-called Watergate Affair will be conducted thoroughly and relentlessly.
The Senate has called for appointment of an "independent" prosecutor. The true independence and impartiality of the prosecutor is essential. You have the power to make such an appointment.
But a prosecutor is not made independent by virtue of an adjective. Neither his selection from outside the Justice Department, nor his approval by the Senate assures independence and a truly thorough and impartial investigation. That depends upon the character of the prosecutor and his authority, powers and resources.
We trust you to select for this position a man of unquestioned integrity, the highest professional ability and the tenacity with which to get the job done. We also expect you to make the scope of his inquiry broad enough to encompass all illegal conduct arising out of the conduct of the President's recent campaign and the growing evidence that justice has been obstructed in conjunction with that illegal activity. But that is not enough. The minimal powers and resources of a thoroughly independent prosecutor must include:
(1) The power to convene and conduct proceedings before a special grand jury, to subpoena witnesses, and to seek in court grants of immunity from prosecution for witnesses;
(2) The power and financial resources with which to select and hire an adequate staff of attorneys, investigators and other personnel, answerable only to himself;
(3) Assurance that the funds to pay for the services of staff and prosecutor will be continued for the time necessary to complete the investigation and prosecute any offenders;
(4) Assurance that the prosecutor will not be subject to removal from his duties except for the most extraordinary improprieties on his part;
(5) Full access to the relevant documents and personnel of the Department of Justice and all other offices and agencies of the Executive Branch; and
(6) Assurance that the prosecutor would be able to cooperate with any appropriate congressional committees.
The law appears to give you the authority to confer these powers, resources and assurances upon a special prosecutor. If the need arises for legislation to insure these perquisites of independence and thoroughness, we will cooperate to that end in every way we can.
In closing we reiterate our trust in you, our confidence in your ability and our hope that forthright action now by the Executive will be enough to resolve these trying matters to the satisfaction and benefit of the nation.
Sincerely,
Adlai E. Stevenson III, Harold E. Hughes, Stuart Symington, Gaylord Nelson, Edmund Muskie, Philip A. Hart, Thomas F. Eagleton, James Abourezk, Lloyd Bentsen, Dick Clark, Joe Biden, William Proxmire, Alan Cranston, Lawton Chiles, Hubert Humphrey, John Tunney, Walter F. Mondale, Lee Metcalf, Walter D. Huddleston, William D. Hathaway, Abraham Ribicoff, Harrison Williams, Frank Church, Quentin Burdick, Mike Mansfield, Jennings Randolph, Thomas J. McIntyre, J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., and Claiborne Pell.
Mr. STEVENSON. Mr. President, without the powers and resources set out in this letter, the "independent" investigator would be the employee and agent of the investigated. Mr. Richardson yesterday expressed his conviction that "the Attorney General must retain final responsibility for all matters coming within the jurisdiction of the Department (of Justice)." He then went on to state that the special prosecutor will be an employee of the Department of Justice and will "report" to the Attorney General who, of course, answers to President Nixon. It is thus apparent that the administration rejects the suggestion I and 28 of my colleagues made in our letter of May 3. The Nixon administration proposes to conduct the investigation of the Nixon administration.
Convinced as I am that the letter set forth the minimum standards of independence necessary to the restoration of public confidence in Government and the proper conduct of the investigation.
On behalf of myself and Senators HART, MUSKIE, EAGLETON, PELL, MANSFIELD, RIBICOFF, RANDOLPH, CRANSTON, HATHAWAY, CHILES, ABOUREZK, METCALF, BURDICK, MONDALE, HUGHES, BENTSEN, BIDEN, HASKELL, HUDDLESTON, MCINTYRE, CLARK, NELSON, GRAVEL, MCGEE, MOSS, HUMPHREY, CHURCH, MCGOVERN, and WILLIAMS, I now submit a Senate resolution calling upon Mr. Richardson to implement those minimum standards.
I send the resolution to the desk and ask that it be appropriately referred.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. HUDDLESTON). Without objection, the resolution will be received and appropriately referred.
Mr. STEVENSON. Mr. President, no matter the character and ability of the man, without the staff and the power to subpena witnesses, to conduct proceedings before a grand jury, initiate prosecutions and grant immunity to witnesses like John Dean, the prosecutor would be independent in name only. Another deception would' be practiced upon the public.
The President has himself already stated that immunity will not be granted to executive branch personnel in this case, unlike routine cases handled by the Justice Department. The Justice Department has filed a criminal information against the Committee for the Re-election of the President but not against those responsible for its actions. The Watergate investigation is itself, or should be, an investigation of justice obstructed by the administration. The question is whether that investigation shall be controlled by the administration.
The Percy resolution passed by the Senate said the prosecutor should be selected from outside the Justice Department. The Brooke resolution says he should be appointed from outside but serve as a "special assistant" to the Attorney General. For the sake of appearances the prosecutor should be appointed from outside. What counts most though is the character and ability of the man – not whether his employment happens at the moment to be in or out of government. The appearance of independence is worth maintaining and for that reason an outside selection would be wise. But under these resolutions and Mr. Richardson's statement, the prosecutor, once selected, would become another employee of the Justice Department. The prosecutor ends up working for the prosecuted. At that point neither the appearance, nor the reality, of independence exists.
Senate approval of an "independent" prosecutor confers nothing – except again an appearance without the substance of independence.
The public has had enough of such deception. The appearance without the reality of independence is not enough.
What is needed is a prosecutor backed up by the resources of the Government and armed with the powers we enumerated in the letter to Mr, Richardson. Without those powers, the administration investigates the administration, and from what we have seen to date, it is not likely to do so with any special zeal.
It is time the Government got on with the business of the Nation and left the corruption in the Nixon administration to a truly independent prosecutor and the judiciary. The prompt enactment of the resolution I now introduce will help to achieve that goal.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the resolution be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the text of the resolution was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
S. RES. 109
Whereas, the Attorney General-Designate has announced his intention to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Watergate case and related matters; and
Whereas, it is essential to the proper conduct of the investigation and to the restoration of public confidence in the federal government that the special prosecutor be in a position to perform his functions in an independent manner;
Be it resolved by the Senate of the United States, That:
1) The Attorney General-Designate should vest the special prosecutor with all necessary attributes of independence, including but not limited to the following:
a) Final authority over questions of convening and conducting proceedings before grand juries, subpoenaing witnesses, initiating prosecutions, framing indictments and seeking in court grants of immunity from prosecution for witnesses;
b) Final authority over the selection of an adequate staff of attorneys, investigators and other personnel answerable only to himself;
c) Assurance that the investigatory and other resources of the Department of Justice and funds to defray all expenses incurred in connection with the activities of the special prosecutor will remain available for the time necessary to complete the investigation and prosecute any offenders;
d) Assurance that he will not be subject to removal from his position except for malfeasance in office;
e) Assurance that he will enjoy full access to the relevant documents and personnel of the Department of Justice and all other officials and agencies of the Executive Branch; and
f) Assurance that the special prosecutor can freely, and upon their request, appear before, consult with and cooperate in other respects with all Congressional committees having jurisdiction over any aspect of the special prosecutor's activities.