Word: dobrovir
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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When Anderson's lawyer, William Dobrovir, asked whether the review might take five years, Nixon responded with a sharp dig at the lawyer: "I can't tell you until I see how big the task is. Most of the tapes are not as audible* as the one you played at that cocktail party." The reference was to Dobrovir's ill-advised playing of a portion of a subpoenaed Nixon tape at a Georgetown party in December...
...Know. Nixon found ways of evading the tough questions. At one point, Dobrovir asked him to confirm, as reported on a White House transcript of a tape recording, that he had told John Dean that "nothing is privileged that involves wrongdoing." By way of an answer, Nixon countered with a question: "What is the definition of 'wrongdoing'?" Replied Dobrovir: "I am quoting your words." Nixon persisted: "I am asking you, what do you say is 'wrongdoing'? I don't know." That was a telling admission for a man who made his career as a lawyer...
Some lawyerly lapses defy easy classification. William Dobrovir, an associate of Ralph Nader's, recently played a subpoenaed White House tape at a cocktail party. Later, he publicly apologized. The Justice Department and the judge in the case decided against punishing him, but the D.C. bar is said to be considering censuring Dobrovir on its own. "It's my job to look into any unethical conduct whether it's formally reported or not," says Fred Grabowsky, counsel to the District of Columbia...
Glaring Misuse. To justify withholding the summaries of the tapes, the White House argued that the inconclusive material would somehow be "misused" against the President. As a glaring example of such misuse, the White House cited the recent case of Attorney William Dobrovir. He entertained a Georgetown cocktail party by playing part of a presidential tape that he had got as evidence in a civil suit. The suit challenged the Administration's boost in milk price supports after milk cooperatives had made contributions to the Nixon re-election campaign...
...Dobrovir's act was clearly outrageous. But it was scarcely proof that written summaries of the Watergate tapes, if published, would be misused or misinterpreted. The White House also argued that the President now faces a hostile environment, and that some critics were bound to twist any summaries of the tapes. However unconvincing its rationale, the White House was under no legal compulsion to make the summaries public...