Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1973)
cbiu thursday, October 11,1 973 lincoln, nebraska vol. 97 no. 25 v. r Agnew resigns vice presidency Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned Wednesday and pleaded no contest to a single count of federal income tax evasion. He was sentenced to pay the maximum $10,000 fine and placed on probation without supervision for three years. Agnew's resignation places House Speaker Carl Albert (D-Okla) as the potential successor to the vice presidency until President Richard Nixon appoints a replacement. Nixon's appointment will have to be approved by both houses of Congress. The announcement of Agnew's resignation was made at 1:05 p.m. CDT by one of his staff secretaries. A White House spokesman said Nixon was informed of the decision Tuesday night. As prescribed by law, Agnew made the resignation formal in a one sentence letter to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The letter read: "I hearby resign the office of vice president of the United States effective immediately." His resignation and sentencing on the tax evasion charge was the culmination of a Justice Dept. investigation on bribery and extortion accusations. Shortly after the announcement of his resignation, according to news reports, Agnew appeared before U.S. District Judge Walter Hoffman in Baltimore. The reports said the judge told him he considered the no contest plea the equivalent of admitting guilt. Atty. Gen. Elliot Richardson recommended to Hoffman that the vice president not be imprisoned, news reports said. He said Agnew's resignation and conviction on the tax charge was sufficient punishment. The criminal charge against Agnew said he filed a joint 1967 income tax return in which he said he had an income of $26,099 and owed taxes of $6,416. In fact, his income was $55,599 and he owed taxes of $19,967. Richardson said the Justice Dept. had agreed on the single count plea in addition to Agnew's resignation. Agnew, his face drawn and hands trembling, entered the plea just a few miles from the county offices where his political career began. In a statement to the court, Agnew said his resignation "rests on my firm belief that the public interest requires swift disposition" of his case. The vice president had been under investigation for alleged political graft dating back to his days as county executive and then governor of Maryland in the 1960s. Agnew left the courthouse at 1:40 pm CDT in a limousine for an undisclosed destination. He told newsmen the Justice Dept. had not fully prosecuted witnesses in his case. In his statement, Agnew said, "I did receive payments in 1967 which I failed to report for the purposes of income taxation." He added that he knew the income should have been reported. In a letter to Nixon, Agnew wrote, "The accusations against me cannot be resolved without a long, divisive and debilitating struggle in the Congress and in the courts." "It is in the best interests of the nation that I relinquish the vice presidency," he added. Agnew's resignation was the second time in American history that a vice president has resigned his office. John Calhoun resigned Dec. 28, 1832, to become a senator from South Carolina. Calhoun had been elected vice president in 1824 and again in 1828. He disagreed with President Andrew Jackson during his second term and ran in a special election for a vacancy in the Senate from his home state. Carroll McKibbin, UNL political science professor, . said Agnew's resignation is a "much different situation" than Calhoun's. Calhoun resigned "because he saw something more advantageous," McKibbin said. McKibbin said Nixon and Congress are in a "very interesting" situation in selecting the next vice president. "The president is in a position to be a kingmaker," he said, noting the vice presidency has become a stepping stone to the presidency. The stronger the person the Democratic-controlled Congress confirms, the more difficult it would be to win the 1976 presidential election, McKibbin said. "The two parties are forced to join hands in the best interests of the country," McKibbin said. He said Nixon should pick a "competent" successor to Agnew rather than a figurehead. Usually the vice presidential spot is given to attract votes, McKibbin said. "Nixon has a very free choice now," he said. If Congress fails to approve a qualified nominee, "it would be to their disservice," he said. Agnew resignation shocks Nebraska political leaders Shock, sadness and apprehension about both American political parties dominated the reactions of Nebraska state officials and UNL student leaders contacted by the Daily IMebraskan following the resignation of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew. In a prepared statement, First Congressional District Representative Charles Thone said, "The resignation of Vice President Agnew is a shock. I am deeply worried about how the attitudes of citizens, particularly young people, may bo affected by all the recent revelations of wrongdoing. "Most of the elected officials I have known, both democrats and republicans, have maintained the highest ethical standards." Glenn Wilson, Nebraska Republican Party executive director, expressed surprise at the resignation. He said, "For far too long everybody has been worried about the problems of Watergate; if this ends it, it will be good for the Republican party." He said Republican politics at the state level would bo affected most in the recruitment of now party members. "It reconfirms the impression that politics is not for them," he said. Moss Dyas, Democratic State Committee chairman agreed, "In the minds of many citizens it is part of the same, a usual occurrence in politics. 'It's not the same though, those arc pretty damn unusual circumstances," he said. Blaine Osterman, student administrative assistant to the Young Democrats, said he was amazed at Agnew's action in light of recent speeches made by the former vice president. "Last week it wouldn't have been near as big a shock," he said. Osterman said the resignation "leaves a question in my mind about the extent of the guilt" since Agnew pleaded no-contest to the charges. Student members of the Young Republicans could not be reached by the Daily Nebraskan for comment. Wallace Peterson, UNL economics professor, said, "We heard Agnew's sanctimonious lectures on law and order, while in the background exists his own unsavory behavior in another office." Peterson, a 1972 Democratic senatorial candidate, stressed that he was saddened at the resignation and the general state of the American political system. "I hope that adamant congressional leaders can get above the partisan jockeying and get the country out of this thing," he said. UNL political science Prof. Arthur B. Winter said the resignation would "take the heat off of President Nixon," and allow him to restore confidence in the government. More Agnew on Page 2 . , if I : : ; Former Vice President Spiro Agnew Senate questions budget; suggests 2 for lawyer post By Susanne Schafer ASUN senators and executives tussled over budget problems until lato into the evening Wednesday night. Funding the Women's Resource Center library, black cultural activities and the child care center were the subject of debate which lasted until press time for the Daily Nebraskan. After floating the report of the legal aid committee on the student lawyer, the Senate heard the recommendations of the budget committee on expenditures lor student organizations. Representatives of Outreach, the hockey club, the A fro -American Collegiate Society, the Young Democrats, the rowing team and the child care center came before the Senate requesting increases in their individual budget recommendations. Although the budact had not been nassod bv thn v , -. . Senate at press time, a number of changes in the recommendations were adopted after prolonged discussion and debate. At the request of Sen. Rob Christoffersen, the president of the hockey club, the $100 allotment granted the club was raised an additional $125. The Afro-American Collegiate Society was given an additional $225 for films and a workshop. The original amount recommended was $450, which brings their total recommendation to $675. Expenditures for the child care center, the Women's Resource Center, and the rowing team still occupied the senators later than 10 p.m. One of the most contested issues for a number of groups was the funding of library books for the Women's Resource Center and the Afro-American Collegiate Society. Sen. Brian Waid and Sen. Dave Thurber strongly contested ASUN supplying monies for books if the groups did not seek faculty sponsorship for purchasing the books through the university library. If approved by the Board of Regents Friday, Bruce Hamilton and Douglas German of the Lincoln law firm Hamilton and German, will take positions as the UNL student lawyers a week from Monday. Jed Buechler, chairman of the ASUN legal rights committee, presented the names as the recommendations of his committee to the Senate at Wednesday's meeting. No office hours have yet been set, but 16 to 22 hours per week will be expected, he said. Oct. 22 is the target date for setting up the office in ASUN headquarters. No formal contract has been signed with Gentian and Hamilton because the regents are the foimal contractors, ASUN vice president Maik Hoeger explained.