Howard Baker, the Republican Senator from Tenn, who accomplished much in his years in Washington, may be best remembered for a single question he asked as a senator during the Watergate investigation. “What did the president know, and when did he know it?” Tricky Dick had conspired to cover up White House involvement in the Watergate break-in early after its discovery. But the country did not know that at the time. Baker didn’t either. Nixon thought fellow Republican Baker would be his ally on a panel. At the start, the Tennessee lawmaker had acted as if that might be the case. On Feb. 22, 1973, he met secretly with Nixon in the Oval Office. He told the president the committee planned to build political pressure slowly, taking testimony from smaller figures first and then moving to try to get appearances from higher-ranking officials such as Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman. Nixon suggested a deal whereby the highest-ranking witnesses would give private testimony. Baker demurred. He could not have approved such an arrangement on his own in any case. Baker was smart enough to get through the meeting without being drawn into obstruction of justice himself. In White House counsel John Dean’s public testimony before the Senate panel, including Baker, he read a statement for the first two days and then answered questions. Baker, began his try at fellow Republican Dean. “My primary thesis is still, what did the president know, and when did he know it?” said Baker Dean then turned Baker's question around. Among other things, he charged that Nixon had been involved in discussions about clemency for those who had carried out and organized the break-ins, as well as talks about payoffs. Dean said the president had continued these activities even after he, as White House counsel, had warned his boss of a “cancer” on the presidency. from my perspective, this was the turning point of the Watergate investigation, w the eventual discovery of this tapes being the "knock-out" punch, https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Polit...e-real-story-of-his-famous-Watergate-question
Repugnant Tribalism At Work A spokesperson for House Speaker Paul Ryan told CNN's Lauren Fox and Jeremy Herb the top Republican in the House needed more information, altho he can't specific what. Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican and Trump supporter who is retiring next year, made this jawdropping spin, "President shouldn't be blamed for the actions of the people he's trusted,", ignoring the fact that Cohen alleged Trump directed him to orchestrate the illegal payments. Senator Kennedy from La said he didn't understand the campaign finance violations. "I just haven't looked at it yet and see who else was involved. Is someone in a conspiracy involved?"
