◆ SpookStack

eft, with hia defunct magazine, the then chief iavestigater, Jay J. Armes. “Investigator,” pictares decorated resi. ot properties that Jominium in the ies in. southwest ven acquired by her marriage to and inglorious tson has gone to ‘te Williams into of Abscam. Col- zoncentrated on 0 New Jersey's ious and vindic- iberal Kennedy ‘gument that is = six congress- defends only in as a stockhold- ad to put up vcufate the first.” article comparative passing—but which is hard- ly tnie in the case of Williams, __. Pethaps the most maudlin and bizarre example of Anderson's seeming obses- sion with Williams’s alleged innocence was a July 13 column that veered sharply from Anderson’s usual muckraking tone into a blatant effort to elicit public sym- pathy for the senator. =, Written after Williams's conviction iti federal court, the article dealt with the then-upcoming hearing by the Senate Ethics Committee. It describes how his colleagues refused to postpone the hear. ing to give Williams more tine to pre Pare and how -they denied his request that former . Sen. Robert Morgan (D-N.C.) be allowed to serve as torney for the proceeding. ~ ‘are ‘such as to depict Williams and wife as the ultimate innocents, They have even gone so far as to include a pic ture of the couple sitting on @ ‘tree stump, tuch like two children in love, “holding Spano ies Attorneys for Armes pressed the ques- lion of the ‘source of the’ $50,000, Adkins, according to’ our source, then. Said that it was‘ a toan from someone who wished to remain anonymous.:3:-" “©, Concurrently the opening of the de- bate on the expulsion of Sen, Wiliams Has been postponed from December 3 to some time in January. 23 F +-Thus, the ‘first issue of Anderson's ~_. A particularly maudlin Section’ read as follows:2 ocr Ge go RRS “A secretary came in and handed Wil- liams a sealed envelope. The senator's . hands trembled as ‘he’ opened it: He - Stared at the letter and his face dropped. His‘ eyes moved across: the page again * “and again. . sites *They won’t Postpone (the hearing).” "022 --> =: The article went on to depict Williams as a beleaguered man who was now en- meshed in a variety of legal maneuvers -’: and who not only got a raw deal from the feds but-was now getting’ a raw deal 7 from his Senate colleagues. It went on to Rote “that the Ethics Committee had vetoed his choice of ex-Sen. Morgan as “counsel, because Morgan had served on the committee ‘through 1980 and had been privy to some discussions of the Williams case.---* - By ob It also noted that Williams wanted to make the hearing “‘the most profound examination’’ of Abscam to date. And it carries Williams's charge that the. jury at. his criminal trial had been denied impor- "tant evidence that he wanted brought out in committee. - Z Despite this sympathy-invoking PR Ploy on behalf of Harrison Williams, his colleagues ultimately voted 5-0 for his expulsion, a matter that will be taken up by the full Senate some ime in January. Why Jack Anderson is so committed to centering his- attack on Abscam’ " around the Plight of Harrison Williams Presents an intriguing question. - ~~. ® : _ Thus millions of Anderson’s readers’: are left to ponder the question of why a” man who evidenced a long history of volvement in spurious transactions, al-- lowed his wife to become tied to a New Jersey gambling casino venture while she was employed by the committee’ he chaired, and accumulated almost ‘$400,000 in cash for the purchase of a Georgetown residence should be depict- ed as an innocent pawn caught up in a White House-inspired political vendetta. While the trap sprung on the six House members appears, in fact, to have ally motivated, the probe of Harrison Williams was long overdue.-. “Why Jack Anderson won't recognize that fact is 4 question, that should be, ..” answered,. ‘7 : ¥ defense of the wealthy senator and its hypocritical attempt to Portray him as a Victim and his wife as a Persecuted inno- ‘cent bystander. Strange actions indeed j for Anderson, who allegedly ran up uni- | Paid bills totaling almost $300,000 dur- cing his stewardship of the “‘Investi-, gator” and who claims that there are.no’ ‘funds available to pay off the debt that r few magazitie will have ariple time td be circulated nationally wit