Show notes
What lessons can we learn from the Watergate investigation? Nixon’s impeachment? And, how does the Nixon era compare to today’s political and social climate?
Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Henry Hecht, a Lecturer at Berkeley Law and a former Assistant Watergate Special Prosecutor, to discuss the investigation into the Watergate Scandal, the similarities and differences between Trump and Nixon, as well as what this may mean for the current impeachment investigation.
A colleague of Larry Hammond, one of our previous guests, Henry joined Larry and 15 other former Watergate special prosecutors, in penning a recent Washington Post op-ed arguing why President Trump should be impeached. The article entitled, “We investigated the Watergate scandal. We believe Trump should be impeached,” is clear. Based on their own accounts, Henry and his colleges make a compelling argument that there is already enough evidence to support the impeachment of Trump. In the 1970s, they investigated serious abuses of presidential power by President Nixon and, in the article, they detail their beliefs that Trump should face the same charges, specifically citing: obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress. Henry and Aaron take a deep dive into the reasoning behind this decision, exploring the rule of law, the historical elements of impeachment, and more.
A Harvard Law graduate in 1973, Henry was the “baby” of the prosecutorial team. Throughout today’s episode, he shares his personal and professional stories of his time as an investigator, the lessons he’s learned from his experiences, and his opinions on Trump, the administration, and today’s political culture. Aaron and Henry talk about what makes the Nixon impeachment similar, and different, from the investigation surrounding Trump – touching specifically on the Ukraine allegations, the Mueller report, and the idea of how Trump and Nixon treated “executive privilege.” Henry and Aaron discuss the process of impeachment, our U.S. constitution and the rule of law, as well as the importance of language and semantics.
Henry served as an Assistant Special Prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force from 1973 to 1976, and was Special Counsel to the San Francisco firm of Heller Ehrman LLP from 1977 to 1983, joining the Berkeley Law Faculty in 1983. An independent consultant on skills training for lawyers, Henry is the co-founder of The Hecht Training Group, a group of attorneys who have each taught lawyering skills for more than 35 years. Henry’s Training Group utilizes the “learning by doing” method, presenting workshops on deposition, negotiation, motion practice, evidence, and trial skills to more than 70 law firms, corporate law offices, government agencies, and bar associations across the country.
Henry has lectured and written extensively for the America Bar Association, the American Law Institute-American Bar Association, California Continuing Education of the Bar, the Practising Law Institute, and the National Practice Institute. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Practice Program for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and the Andrew Levitt Center for Social Emergency Medicine. He also served on the Board of Directors of the East Bay Community Law Center for 16 years. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and the American Bar Foundation.
To learn more about The Hecht Training Group, please click here.
To find a copy of the Washington Post op-ed, “We investigated the Watergate scandal. We believe Trump should be impeached,” please visit the Post’s website here.
To check out United States v. Nixon, please click here.
To learn more about Mr. Hecht and to find a list of his publications, please click here.
Host: Aaron Freiwald
Guest: Henry Hecht
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