Thompson is a rising GOP star weighing the same race. There's a burden on them'' to rise above the perception that they are interested in political gain, Ritchie says. Not every investigation makes a reputation. He was vicious,'' Ritchie says. Public opinion turned against him and he was censured by the Senate.
Committees can look bad, too.
Just think of the Senate Judiciary Committee interrogating Anita Hill, or Iran-contra investigators confronted by Oliver North in his Marine uniform. Ritchie recalls the time in 1948 that Howard Hughes made mincemeat of a committee trying to investigate whether he had bought defense contracts. The investigation collapsed,'' Ritchie says. It has to hold press and public attention. It has to result in punishment for the perpetrators and also solutions to the problems unearthed.