Q: Why hasn’t Chuck Grassley spoken up more in defense of the whistleblower? He helped make the rules.
A: Grassley has spoken in defense of protecting the whistleblower’s identity. On Oct. 1 he issued a statement: “This person appears to have followed the whistleblower protection laws and ought to be heard out and protected. We should always work to respect whistleblowers.” On Oct. 21, speaking on the floor of the Senate, he again called for stronger whistleblower protections. On Nov. 4, Grassley again stated only the whistleblower at the center of the impeachment inquiry can decide whether or not to come forward. “A person like me that has advocated for whistleblowers for a long period of time, including this whistleblower, I want maximum protection for whistleblowers,” he said.
Q: How long did it take to get Nixon out of office in the 1970s?
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A: More than two years. The burglary that spurred the Watergate investigation happened June 17, 1972. The first Washington Post article linking the burglars to the Nixon campaign appeared Aug. 1, 1972. The scandal wasn’t tied directly to the White House until April 30, 1973, when senior White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman resigned. Attorney General Richard Kleindienst also resigned, and John Dean, the White House counsel, was fired. The House Judiciary Committee passed three articles of impeachment against Nixon, for obstruction of justice, misuse of power and contempt of Congress, on July 27-30, 1974. Nixon resigned Aug. 8, 1974, before the full House took up the articles of impeachment.
Q: When was President Clinton impeached? What was the House vote? What was the Senate vote? How did Iowa’s representatives vote?
A: The Whitewater investigation began in January 1994 and was eventually passed to independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who uncovered the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. On Dec. 11, 1998, the House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment on a 21-16 party line vote, passing them to the full House of Representatives. They accused Clinton of lying to a grand jury, committing perjury by denying he had sexual relations with Lewinsky, and obstructing justice. A fourth article was passed Dec. 12 on a party-line vote, accusing Clinton of abusing power. On Dec. 19, 1998, the Republican-controlled House approved two of the four proposed articles of impeachment 228-206 and 221-212. On the four articles of impeachment, Republicans Jim Leach, Jim Nussle, Greg Ganske and Tom Latham voted yes, yes, no, no; yes, yes, yes, yes; yes, yes, yes, no; yes, yes, yes, no; Democrat Leonard Boswell voted no on all counts. The Senate, where Republicans held a 53-47 majority, began a trial Jan. 7, 1999, on two of the charges, lying under oath and obstructing justice. On Feb. 12, 1999, the Senate acquitted Clinton on both charges, 55-45 on perjury and 50-50 on obstruction of justice. Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin voted not guilty on both counts. Republican Sen. Charles Grassley voted guilty on both counts.
Q: Does the Secret Service accompany Sen. Charles Grassley when he comes back to Iowa?
A: Apparently. As Senate president pro tempore, Grassley is third in line to the presidency, behind the vice president and the speaker of the U.S. House, and federal law therefore requires he be “guarded around the clock,” sometimes by the Secret Service but more often by Capital Police when he’s in Washington, according to several articles we found on the subject.
