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Government Accountability
Excerpts from Speeches       Proceedings and Debates       Hearings       Committee prints and reports


In his commencement address to the University of Minnesota Law School on May 11, 1985, Walter Mondale said, "I see openness in government as the indispensable precondition for the preservation of all of our other freedoms. And perhaps no other principle is as difficult to honor when you're in power . . . when you raise your right hand as an attorney, or as a judge, a legislator, a governor, or even a President, mean it when you swear to support our Constitution."[1]Walter Mondale, Commencement Address, University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, MN, May 11, 1985.

As a Senator, Mr. Mondale worked to uphold the laws of the Constitution through legislation. Early in his Senate career, Mr. Mondale introduced legislation that addressed the balance of power between the Legislative and Executive branches, he called for a review of the federal structure to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in government, and he cosponsored legislation to protect the right to privacy. In addition, by cosponsoring legislation for full disclosure of income and financial activities of certain government officials as well as cosponsoring a bill to make government agency and committee meetings open to the public, he proved himself a strong advocate, even before Watergate, for openness in government.

When the Watergate scandal broke, Senator Mondale was troubled and angry at the contempt President Nixon displayed for the Constitution. In the forward to his book The Accountability of Power: Toward a Responsible Presidency, Mr. Mondale writes, "Watergate showed the ultimate and most profound usurpation of power by a President in American history. No matter how illegal or deceitful the options, all of them apparently were explored."[2]Walter Mondale, The Accountability of Power: Toward a Responsible Presidency (New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1975), x-xi. In April and May of 1973, Senator Mondale insisted on full disclosure of the Watergate affair and cosponsored a senate resolution to appoint an independent prosecutor for Watergate. He was indignant over President Nixon's refusal to hand over tapes to the Special Prosecutor and to obey the courts. In a speech on the Senate floor entitled "The Presidency and Watergate: An Agenda for Reform," Senator Mondale outlined the ways in which the institution of the presidency needed to change. He stated, "We need a strong presidency. But we also need an open and legal presidency, with strong safeguards to protect against the abuses of presidential power."[3]93rd Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record 119 (September 17, 1973) at 29816. Senator Mondale urged the House to ignore President Nixon's own definition of impeachment and to impeach him. He argued, "There is only one way to hold a sitting president accountable. And a president must be accountable. It rests with the House of Representatives to hold the president accountable. When we denigrate impeachment, we denigrate a device which the framers regarded as essential to a republican form of government. When we ignore impeachment, we ignore an important element in our system of checks and balances. When we allow impeachment to be frustrated by Presidential fiat, we frustrate the Constitution."[4]93rd Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 120 (June 3, 1974) at 17317.

Senator Mondale was indignant when President Ford pardoned President Nixon, and introduced a senate resolution granting Congress the power to override a presidential pardon by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress.[5]93rd Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 120 (September 18, 1974): at 31551. "President Ford's action on Sunday—pardoning former President Nixon," said Senator Mondale, "may have been an act of mercy toward Mr. Nixon. But I would like to suggest that it was an unfair, unfortunate, and unethical act toward the American people and toward our system of justice." Senator Mondale was concerned that as a result of the pardon, the full truth of Watergate would never fully surface. He argues, "We will not know the truth in order to better legislate remedies to prevent future Watergates. We will not know the truth in order to set the historical record straight on the worst political scandal in American history. We will not even know what Mr. Ford has pardoned—be it misuse of the CIA and FBI, harassing tax audits, the sale of ambassadorships, the compromise of the antitrust laws, or whatever."[6]93rd Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 120 (September 11, 1974) at 30747.

Two months after President Nixon's resignation, Congress passed S. 3044, a bill to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 providing for public financing of primary and general election campaigns for Federal elective office. Included in the legislation were provisions sponsored by Senator Mondale and Senator Schweiker (R-PA) for public financing of presidential campaigns. Senator Mondale believed that by having publically financed presidential campaigns, the candidate would no longer be beholden to special interest groups: it is the "single most important election reform that can emerge from Watergate. It is absolutely essential if we are ever to get money off the backs of American politicians and restore integrity and confidence in our political system."[7]93rd Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record 119 (July 24, 1973) at 25598.

In a speech to The Fund for the Legal Aid Society on April 26, 2006, thirty-two years after the Watergate scandal and twenty-one years after his commencement address to the University of Minnesota Law School, Mr. Mondale still believed in upholding our Constitution: "Throughout American history, whenever we have been confronted by serious threats, we have struggle to prevent our fears from overwhelming our belief in our system of law and justice. Set against these fears has been faith: faith in the rule of law; faith that when America protects personal liberties, it is stronger, not weaker; faith that when America honors its Constitution, it is more secure and more powerful in the world."[8]Walter Mondale, Address to The Fund for the Legal Aid Society, Minneapolis, MN, April 26, 2006.
Excerpts from Senator Mondale's speeches on abuse of power: [Top]

"Public financing of presidential campaigns is the most fundamental and potentially far-reaching election reform adopted in this century. If it works—as I am confident it can work—it will effectively divorce presidential politics from the corrosive influence of big money and special interests.

So long as we have a system of campaign financing which not only relies on but encourages large contributions from the wealthy, so long will we have a government in which moneyed interests speak louder than people interests.

That is what the dollar checkoff is designed to correct and that is why its effectiveness is so crucial to the integrity of our political system." 93rd Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record 119 (March 6, 1973) at 6500.
Senator Richard Schweicker of Pennsylvania, Senator Walter Mondale and John W. Gardner lead a press conference on public campaign financing, 1973; credit: Minnesota Historical Society

"I want a strong President. We must have one. But I want a President who is legal, whose operations are public, and who is accountable to the American people." 93rd Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record 119 (September 5, 1973) at 28552.

"What is at stake here goes to the very heart of our democracy. The terrible abuses Watergate has brought to light show what can happen when government is put up for sale to the highest bidder. It is no longer government of, for, and by the people; it is government of, for, and by those who are willing and able to pay the going rate. It is more than we care to admit, a 'buy America' system that we have today.

If you pay your assessment, you may get an antitrust suit killed, an airline route awarded, a tax loophole continued, a minimum wage bill vetoed, or whatever else you might need. But the average person who works every day, pays his taxes, and maybe gives 10 bucks to a candidate, cannot find anyone in Government who cares about him or about his problems.

No wonder he feels cut off from Government. No wonder he does not trust politicians. No wonder he thinks we are all crooks." 93rd Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record 119 (November 27, 1973) at 38183.

"There is only one way to hold a sitting President accountable. And a President must be accountable. It rests with the House of Representatives to hold the President accountable. When we denigrate impeachment, we denigrate a device which the framers regarded as essential to a republican form of government. When we ignore impeachment, we ignore an important element in our system of checks and balances. When we allow impeachment to be frustrated by Presidential fiat, we frustrate the Constitution." 93rd Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 120 (June 3, 1974) at 17317.

"President Ford's action on Sunday—pardoning former President Nixon—may have been an act of mercy toward Mr. Nixon. But I would like to suggest that it was an unfair, unfortunate, and unethical act toward the American people and toward our system of justice....

Not only... is Mr. Ford's act the ultimate coverup. It is also the ultimate injustice.

As I drive to the Capitol Building each morning, I see four words written over the portals of the Supreme Court Building across from the Capitol. Those words are 'Equal Justice Under Law.'" 93rd Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 120 (September 11, 1974) at 30747.
President Gerald Ford appearing at the House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on pardoning former President Richard Nixon, Washington, D.C. October 17, 1974; credit: U.S. News & World Report magazine collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Senator Walter Mondale announces his decision not to run for president in the 1976 election, 1974; credit: Minnesota Historical Society

"There is no question but that a candidate must necessarily spend more time pursuing dollars for his campaign than he does pursuing policies for his Presidency. It's not that a candidate willingly chooses that set of priorities, but the system forces him to do so. I believe most candidates share my intense dislike for that fact, but they have no other choice if they hope to be successful. As we will see, public financing of elections has improved this situation somewhat, but not to the extent that many believe."

Walter Mondale, The Accountability of Power: Toward a Responsible Presidency (New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1975), 38.

"Presidential judgments must be tested by the normal standards of reason and by their acceptability to a fully informed public. They should carry no mystery."
   Walter Mondale, The Accountability of Power: Toward a Responsible Presidency (New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1975), 124.

"This is the meaning of an open and accountable Presidency. Openness does not require a President to show the scars on his abdomen but to candidly tell the people the truth about his policies. Accountability is measured less by whether a President cooks his own breakfast than by whether he consults widely before making crucial decisions. The surface actions are important, because they can indicate Presidential personalities less likely to become isolated by the trappings of the Presidential establishment. But ways of thinking and perceptions of reality are more important, for they influence the types of decisions Presidents make and the kinds of policies they pursue."

   Walter Mondale, The Accountability of Power: Toward a Responsible Presidency (New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1975), 270.

Nixon's farewell to his cabinet and members of the White House staff, August 9, 1974;
credit: Richard Nixon Library

"Since the Carter administration left office, we have been criticized for many things. Yet I remain enormously proud of what we did in those four years, especially that we told the truth, obeyed the law and kept the peace."

   Walter Mondale, "Answering to No One," The Washington Post, sec. 2, July 29, 2007.
Selected U.S. Senate proceedings and debates on Government Accountability, 1965-1976: [Top]
U.S. Senate hearings on Government Accountability in which Senator Mondale participated: [Top]

  • Improving Congressional Control of the Budget, Part 2: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Budgeting, Management, and Expenditures, 93rd Cong. (1973).

  • Public Financing of Federal Elections: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Privileges and Elections of The Committee on Rules and Administration, 93rd Cong. (1973).

  • Watergate Reorganization and Reform Act of 1975: Hearings Before the Committee on Government Operations, 94th Cong. (1975).

  • Testimony of Hon. Walter F. Mondale: Hearing Before the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress, 103rd Cong. (1993).
Selected Senate committee prints and reports on Government Accountability: [Top]

    Committee Prints

  • Staff of Comm. on Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, Election Reform: Basic References (Comm. Print 1973).

    • Committee Reports

  • Comm. on Government Operations, Federal Act to Control Expenditures and Establish National Priorities, S. Rpt. 93-579 (1973).

  • Comm. on Government Operations, Congressional Budget Control and National Priorities Act of 1973, S. Rpt. 93-675 (1973).

  • Comm. on Rules and Administration, Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974, S. Rep. No. 93-689 (1974).

  • Comm. on Government Operations, Preservation, Protection, and Public Access with Respect to Certain Tape Recordings and Other Materials, S. Rep. No. 93-1181 (1974).

  • Comm. on Government Operations, Public Access to Certain Papers, Documents, Memorandums, Tapes, and Transcripts, S. Rep. No. 93-1182 (1974).

  • Comm. on Rules and Administration, Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974, S. Rep. No. 93-1237 (1974).

  • Comm. on Government Operations, Watergate Reorganization and Reform Act of 1976, S. Rep. No. 94-823 (1976).
Endnotes:[TOP]
  1. Walter Mondale, Commencement Address, University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, MN, May 11, 1985.
  2. Walter Mondale, The Accountability of Power: Toward a Responsible Presidency (New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1975), x-xi.
  3. 93rd Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record 119 (September 17, 1973) at 29816.
  4. 93rd Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 120 (June 3, 1974) at 17317.
  5. 93rd Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 120 (September 18, 1974): at 31551.
  6. 93rd Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 120 (September 11, 1974) at 30747.
  7. 93rd Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record 119 (July 24, 1973) at 25598.
  8. Walter Mondale, Address to The Fund for the Legal Aid Society, Minneapolis, MN, April 26, 2006.