Samual Dash: Today we face another watergate

Newsday.com - Today We Face Another 'Watergate'

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpdas113410046aug11,0,3084688.story?coll=ny-viewpoints-headlines

By Samuel Dash
Samuel Dash is professor of law and director of the Institute of Criminal Law and Procedure at Georgetown University Law Center. He served as chief counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee.

August 11, 2003

Thirty years ago the Senate of the United States prevented President Richard Nixon from destroying constitutional democracy in our country. Watergate was a wrenching turning point in our history and its lessons must be learned and re-learned.

Now our lives as a free people are also being threatened by an administration bent on grabbing unprecedented power, a timid Congress and an uninformed electorate. That is why the Watergate experience remains so relevant to our republic today.

but in Blumenthal's book he talked about a man who gave him a lot of inside info for his book on the workings of Ken Starr's office. He was the Ethics guy (forget his actual title) who resigned in protest when Starr went up to the Hill as the House's only witness in the Impeachment Committee. He felt that Starr's job was to hand in the report and let Congress do the investigating - not act as an advocate for impeaching the President. I'm pretty sure it was Sam Dash.

Glad to hear he's still speaking out.

My uncle, who was not following the details of the Clinton impeachment proceedings, was really struck when Sam Dash resigned from Starr's office. His opinion has an impact on people who followed Watergate.