http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Butterfield
When Nixon was re-elected, Butterfield was appointed on December 19, 1972 as administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. He was routinely asked to appear before the United States Senate Select Committee headed by Sam Ervin and was interviewed by staff of the committee on July 13, 1973, prior to going before the Senators. John Dean had previously mentioned that he suspected White House conversations were taped, and the committee was therefore routinely asking witnesses about it.
Butterfield did not want to voluntarily tell the committee of the system, but had decided before the hearing that he would, if asked a direct question.
As it happened, Butterfield was asked the direct question by the minority (Republican) counsel, Donald Sanders. He told the staff members that "everything was taped ... as long as the President was in attendance. There was not so much as a hint that something should not be taped." All present recognized the significance of this disclosure, and Butterfield was hastily put before the full Committee on July 16 to put the taping system on the record.Chief Minority Counsel, Fred Thompson, notably asked "Mr. Butterfield, are you aware of the installation of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the president?"
Donald Sanders asked the question that mattered, not Fred Thompson and apparently as "All present recognized the significance of this disclosure," There was no going back from this point.
As for your WAPO article it actually argues against Kutler's belief that Baker was just attempting to point out that the "evidence hinged on one witness's word."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/07/AR2007070700568_pf.html
WASHINGTON -- Fred Thompson gained an image as a tough-minded investigative counsel for the Senate Watergate committee. Yet President Nixon and his top aides viewed the fellow Republican as a willing,
if not too bright, ally, according to White House tapes.
(snip)
Nixon was disappointed with the selection of Thompson, whom he called "dumb as hell." The president did not think Thompson was skilled enough to interrogate unfriendly witnesses and would be outsmarted by the committee's Democratic counsel.
(snip)
During Dean's testimony, Baker asked the question that became the embodiment of the Watergate scandal:
"What did the president know and when did he know it?" Thompson is sometimes credited with supplying the question to Baker.
The question was widely perceived at the time as an example of Baker's willingness to press for truth at the expense of his party's leader. Historian Kutler, however, said he believes that in the context of Dean's testimony, the question was Baker's attempt to point out that the evidence hinged on one witness's word.
If a "not too bright" 30 year old counsel Thompson already knew that Nixon was taping everything in his office, you can bet that a much smarter, Senate minority leader Baker who held secret meetings with the White House knew as well and if Baker knew, the question of "What did the President know and when did he know it?" becomes a trap for the Nixon Administration, as opposed to a "making it all hinge on one witness's word."
= new reply since forum marked as read
