Impeachment Hearings: House Judiciary Committee, July 29, 1974 (2/2)
Impeachment Hearings: House Judiciary Committee, July 29, 1974 (2/2)
[01.26.24] The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman has expired. The gentleman from Texas has 30 seconds remaining. Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Chairman. with 30 seconds remaining I would yield 15 of that or half of that to my distinguished friend from New York, Mr. Fish. Mr. FISH. I thank the gentleman. I would just like to say that I know most people listening to us know really. what is the fact here, that to faithfully execute the laws of our country does involve policing your lieutenants, and does involve an obligation to stop them when you see the course which they are following. And for those who are looking for the smoking pistol, I am just afraid they are not going to find it because the room is too full of smoke. Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Chairman? The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Texas. Mr. BROOKS. I have been much impressed by the debate and the, comments of my colleagues on this committee. I think we have all benefited from 'it, and I would withdraw the motion to strike. The CHAIRMAN-. Under the Rules of the House, the gentleman has a right to withdraw the motion to strike. Mr. BROOKS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman . Mr. SANDMAN. Mr. Chairman, a point of parliamentary procedure. Doesn't he need unanimous consent to do that? MR. BROOKS. I would be pleased to answer that, The CHAIRMAN. The Chair will respond. The, Chair will respond. If the gentleman wants, the Chair will cite the rule and rule 19 of the Rules of the Rouse, if the, gentleman was operating under the House as a Committee of the Whole, he is entitled to withdraw the motion as a substitute amendment without even asking for unanimous consent. so. the gentleman is perfectly in order. There being no further amendments before the desk. the gentlemen are, now recognized, those -who so -wish, to speak under the 5-minute rule to the substitute amendment that was offered by the, gentleman from Missouri, Mr. Hungate. Mr. RAILSBACK. MR. Chairman? The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Illinois is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. RAILSBACK. I Chairman. if nobody wants to take, the time for the general debate I -would move the previous question Mr. DENNIS. Wait a minute. Mr. RAILSBACK. That's what I am asking. The CHAIRMAN. Will the gentleman Mr. RAILSBACK. I withdraw. The CHAIRMAN. The Chair would like to state that. under the rule adopted that every member has a right, to the 5 minutes unless he declines to use. it. Mr. HUNGATE. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman ? The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Missouri, Mr. Hungate. Mr. HUNGATE. thank the Chair. Mr. Chairman, the late President Truman was mentioned along With the late Drew Pearson. Of course Truman does not need any defense from me. He was known to handle people who made attacks on him by saying some of them were prismatic prevaricators, liars any way you looked at them. But, it is not appropriate I think to be critical of those -who are deceased and we do know that Mr. Truman opposed passing the buck. He was almost as opposed to passing the buck, as Nixon is good at it. On Mr. Truman's desk there was a sign in the Oval Office that said: "The buck stops here." Now, we have had the other criticism of other Presidents who are deceased. President Lyndon Johnson. We have had discussions of the fifth amendment, and I am not going to tell you that I can tell you all about the fifth amendment and due process. But I think it is awfully hard to give due process to a dead man. So, I would hope that when the final record is written we would strike any attempt to make attacks of that kind and I would certainly Say that I would resist any that might be made with regard to President Eisenhower. IV, We were in the Army together. I can only quote the words of our distinguished former colleague, Brooks Hays of Arkansas, Mr. Thornton's State, who recounted the story of some boys in the Ozarks playing cards and one of them looked over -it the others and said, "Come on boys, play the cards fair. 1 know what I dealt, you." So, Mr. Chairman---- [01.31.41]