Richard Nixon wasn't the only politician whose career was maimed by Watergate - which occurred 20 years ago this month. "Mine was, too," says Rep. Wayne Owens, D-Utah.
His House fight to impeach Nixon over Watergate was unpopular in Utah and was a key reason he lost the 1974 Senate race to Jake Garn, Owens says. That sent Owens' career into a 12-year tailspin, which ended when he was finally elected back to the House in 1986.While the political comeback is well-known, few realize he has since become a cordial friend and correspondent with Nixon.
In fact, Owens - who fought to have Nixon ousted as president - has been pushing to allow Nixon
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and other former presidents to become non-voting members of the House. "The House could benefit from his experience and knowledge," Owens now says.
Owens' involvement with Watergate began almost two years after the infamous June 17, 1972, burglary. In 1974, Owens was a popular freshman House member who was running for Senate - and enjoyed early leads against Garn in polls of 30 percent or more. Watergate would evaporate them.
"I was a member of the Judiciary Committee. It was the one that voted on the articles of impeachment," Owens said. "I also introduced some of the articles of impeachment myself."
He did that after the "Friday Night Massacre," when Nixon fired special Watergate investigator Archibald Cox and other administration officials who refused to fire him and seize evidence.
"I was on a fishing trip at the time," Owens says. "A reporter tracked me down for comment, told me what happened and asked me what I planned to do. It was clear to me that the president was out of control."
The Watergate investigation kept Owens in Washington during the summer of 1974, and away from the Senate campaign in Utah.
"My wife attended the (county political) conventions for me. I stayed here," Owens said.
(Owens - who thinks that lack of campaigning helped defeat him - has made sure not to repeat the mistake in his Senate race this year. He has campaigned in Utah often and has spent evenings in Washington calling non-committed convention delegates).
Owens said his 1974 attacks on Nixon infuriated Republicans in Utah. And many Democrats were upset he was not even tougher.
"People either loved me or hated me," he recalls. "Nixon had won the state with 72 percent of the vote in 1972. When I became involved with the Watergate investigation, my negatives doubled.."
He added, "Unfortunately, an image was created of a young Ted Kennedy protege (Owens was once Kennedy's top aide) running for the Senate over the body of Richard Nixon. That hurt."
The committee - and Owens - voted to impeach Nixon. Within days, a "smoking gun" tape showing deeper knowledge and cover-up by Nixon surfaced, and the president resigned. "Nixon had no choice but to resign. He would have been removed anyway."
But Owens also lost his Senate race by a 53-47 percent margin to Garn. He didn't hold political office again until 1986, when he won back a House seat.
One of the bills he then soon pushed was to make former presidents non-voting members of the House. "In other nations, prime ministers go back to parliament. Former presidents have a lot of insight to offer. I wanted to give them a forum," he said.
So he tried to meet with all former presidents about his idea - including his old enemy Nixon.
"We had a wonderful conversation that lasted about an hour and a half," Owens said. "We talked about Watergate and the investigation." Owens found little support for his idea, but his cordial friendship with Nixon has continued.
"He sent me a copy of his book with a note," Owens said. "I sent him flowers when he was in the hospital. He still has a lot of knowledge - especially about foreign affairs - that could benefit us all."