Título: Fred Thompson
Seção: Role in Watergate hearings
Background: Thompson was born in Sheffield, Alabama, on August 19, 1942, the son of Ruth Inez (nee Bradley) and Fletcher Session Thompson (born Lauderdale County, Alabama, August 26, 1919, died Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, May 27, 1990), who was an automobile salesman. Thompson had English and distant Dutch ancestry. He attended public school in Lawrenceburg, graduating from Lawrence County High School, where he played high-school football. Thereafter, he worked days in the local post office, and nights at the Murray bicycle assembly plant.

Conteúdo: In 1973, Thompson was appointed minority counsel to assist the Republican senators on the Senate Watergate Committee, a special committee convened by the U.S. Senate to investigate the Watergate scandal. Thompson was sometimes credited for supplying Republican Senator Howard Baker's famous question, "What did the President know, and when did he know it?" This question is said to have helped frame the hearings in a way that eventually led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon.  A Republican staff member, Donald Sanders, found out about the White House tapes and informed the committee on July 13, 1973. Thompson was informed of the existence of the tapes, and he, in turn, informed Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt. "Even though I had no authority to act for the committee, I decided to call Fred Buzhardt at home," Thompson later wrote, "I wanted to be sure that the White House was fully aware of what was to be disclosed so that it could take appropriate action."  Three days after Sanders's discovery, at a public, televised committee hearing, Thompson asked former White House aide Alexander Butterfield the famous question, "Mr. Butterfield, were you aware of the existence of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the President?" thereby publicly revealing the existence of tape recordings of conversations within the White House. National Public Radio later called that session and the discovery of the Watergate tapes "a turning point in the investigation."  Thompson's app

user: What was his role in the watergate hearings?

assistant: In 1973, Thompson was appointed minority counsel to assist the Republican senators on the Senate Watergate Committee,

user: Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?

assistant: Thompson was sometimes credited for supplying Republican Senator Howard Baker's famous question, "What did the President know, and when did he know it?"

user: When was the hearing?

assistant: A Republican staff member, Donald Sanders, found out about the White House tapes and informed the committee on July 13, 1973.

user: Did he have any help in the hearings or was it just him?

assistant: Thompson was not skilled enough to interrogate unfriendly witnesses and would be outfoxed by the committee Democrats.

user: What was the end result of the hearings?

assistant: Thompson's 1975 book At That Point in Time, in turn, accused Armstrong of having been too close to The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and of leaking committee information

user: How long did the hearings last?

assistant: "I'm glad all of this has finally caused someone to read my Watergate book, even though it's taken them over 30 years."