Word: petersen
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...face deeply lined, his raspy voice clearly conveying his indignation, Petersen, 52, rejected all charges at that time that his division's Watergate prosecution had been lax. His tactic, he testified, was to get convictions against the actual burglars, then grant them immunity against further prosecution and pressure them into revealing the higher origins of the crime. He claimed that the case had been 90% solved when it was taken away from him. "Damn it!" he protested. "I resent the appointment of a special prosecutor...
That forceful defense is typical of his professional pride and manner. Born in Philadelphia and a Marine in World War II, Petersen earned a B.A. from Georgetown University and a law degree from Catholic University's Columbus Law School. He began Government service as a clerk for the FBI 25 years ago, shifted to the Justice Department in 1951, and has climbed steadily throughout his career there. Associates describe him as tough as nails...
There are, nevertheless, serious flaws in Petersen's record, which lend substance to some of Agnew's complaints against him. He was indeed, as Agnew said, a key figure in the Justice Department's mishandling of wiretap authorizations that has jeopardized more than 300 cases against organized crime, involving possibly 1,000 defendants (TIME, March 27, 1972). As an aide to Will Wilson, then Chief...
Criminal Division, Petersen in 1970 and 1971 signed Wilson's name to hundreds of letters authorizing taps, mainly in gambling cases. Then-Attorney General John Mitchell also permitted an aide to initial such authorizations...
Agnew is also at least partly right in his contention that Petersen mishandled Watergate. He apparently did work closely with ousted Presidential Counsel John W. Dean on the case, and Dean later admitted being part of the coverup. The original investigation failed to turn up evidence of who had authorized the wiretapping and how it was financed, partly because Petersen refused to pursue leads involving $89,000 in suspect Nixon campaign funds. Petersen relied on the testimony of the Nixon re-election committee's Jeb Stuart Magruder at the trial of the original defendants, even though the committee treasurer...