Evan A. Davis records on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Impeachment Inquiry
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Pursuant to House Resolution 803 (H.Res.803 — 93rd Congress (1973-1974), an Impeachment Inquiry task force was formed to conduct an investigation as to whether sufficient grounds existed to impeach U.S. President Richard M. Nixon. This collection includes the copies of materials held by one of the inquiry staff members, counsel Evan Davis, that were compiled during the House Judiciary Committee's investigation. The bulk of the materials include the "statements of information" relevant to the investigation that were developed by the staff, with copies of the underlying supporting documentation
Biographical / Historical
In June 1972, during the Presidential election campaign between incumbent Richard M. Nixon and George S. McGovern, a group of five supposed burglars were caught breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate building complex in Washington, D.C. In time it was determined that the "burglars" were actually attempting to wiretap the Committee, tying the break-in to the Committee to Re-elect the President, and eventually through other disclosures of a wider scale of illegal actions, to the White House and President Nixon himself.
Faced with indications of presidential crimes and abuse of power, in February 1974 the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Res.803 — 93rd Congress (1973-1974) by a vote of 410-4, "providing appropriate power to the Committee on the Judiciary to conduct an investigation of whether sufficient grounds exist to impeach Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States."
Immediately an Impeachment Inquiry staff was formed by the Judiciary Committee, headed by Special Counsel John Doar. Among the many attorneys on the staff was Evan A. Davis, the donor of this set of documents from the inquiry. Davis was a graduate in 1969 of the Columbia University Law School. He clerked for Judge Harold Leventhal of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and for Justice Potter Stewart of the United States Supreme Court. In the early 1970s, before joining the Impeachment Inquiry staff, Davis was General Counsel for New York City's Budget Bureau and chief of the consumer protection division of New York's Law Department. The Impeachment Inquiry moved quickly, as the related events of that time did generally, completing its work in a few months, and the Judiciary Committee moved ahead with impeachment hearings. With the special task force's work done, Davis returned to New York and private law practice.
(The above note was based primarily on various on-line sources and on documents in the collection.)
Arrangement
The bulk of the collection is arranged in its original numerically sequenced order. Opening the collection are overview materials, including indexes to the sequenced binders. Closing the collection are printed/published materials and other related documents.
Scope and Contents
The collection includes inquiry staff attorney Evan Davis's copies of materials compiled during the House Judiciary Committee's Impeachment Inquiry in 1974. The bulk of the materials include the "statements of information" relevant to the investigation that were developed by the staff, with copies of the underlying supporting documentation, such as portions of transcripts of public statements or witness testimony. These materials were in well-ordered binders, arranged around particular themes, such as election campaign contributions, domestic surveillance, and others. The container list below includes reference to these themes as the staff described them in its list of contents.
In addition to the detailed statements of information and supporting documentation, the collection holds summaries of the information, lists of relevant parties, objectives for witness interviews, transcripts and printed material concerning tapes of White House conversations, and a booklet of clippings and other documents about the inquiry itself and the staff.
Subjects
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers. Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact manuscripts@nyhistory.org prior to your research visit to coordinate access. Keep in mind that it will take between two (2) and five (5) business days for collections to arrive, and you should plan your research accordingly.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff. Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
The collection should be cited as: Evan A. Davis records on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Impeachment Inquiry, MS 458, New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Evan A. Davis, 1987.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Processed by archivist Larry Weimer, September 2021. The bulk of the documents in the collection were originally in binders, and those are referred to in the container list. However, when the collection was processed in 2021, most of the plastics-based binders were deteriorating, and so all documents were moved to archival folders and the binders discarded. Labels from the binders were retained with the documents and their titles are shown in "quotations" in the container list. [Bracketed] titles were determined by the processing archivist.
Repository
View Inventory
Scrapbook of inquiry clippings, 1974 December 25, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Compilation of photocopies of news articles, memos, press releases, and other documents from 1973-74 surveying the "history" of the Impeachment Inquiry. Distributed by John M. Doar, head of the inquiry staff, to the staff members.
Names and abbreviations, 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Alphabetical list of names and brief professional descriptions of people relevant to the inquiry, and abbreviations used for organizations.
Binder. "Summary of information, with changes made thru 7/31/74" (3 folders), 1974 August 1, inclusive
Binder. "Summary of information" (3 folders), 1974 July 19, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Content appears to be same as above, but from a slightly earlier date.
Binder. [Summary of information], 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This binder was not labeled, but appears to be an undated version of Section II (Abuse of Presidential Power) of the Summary of Information
Binder. [Summary of Information], 1974 July, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This binder was not labeled, but appears to be slightly earlier versions of portions of the above Summary of Information.
Binder. "Index to investigative files" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Watergate and aftermath" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The binder label refers to this as "Book 1" on the topic, but the collection has no comparably named book 2.
Binder. "Witnesses", 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Statements of information. Book I - Book V" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This binder is an index to the following Books I, II, III, IV and V. Various statements are noted here, keyed to the books and volumes within each book that have details of the supporting evidence.
Binder. "Statements of information. Book VI - Book IX" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This binder is an index to the following Books VI, VII, VIII, and IX. Various statements are noted here, keyed to the books and volumes within each book that have details of the supporting evidence.
Binder. "Book I" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The Table of Contents from the Statement of Information binder describes Book I's content as related to "Events prior to the Watergate break-in, December 2, 1971-June 17, 1972"
Binder. "Book II, Volume 1" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The Table of Contents from the Statement of Information binder describes Book II's content as related to "Events following the Watergate break-in, June 17, 1972-February 9, 1973 (allegations involving Presidential interference with the official Department of Justice investigation)." Book II is comprised of 3 binders/volumes.
Binder. "Book II, Volume 2" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book II, Volume 3" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. [Book III, Volume 1] (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The Table of Contents from the Statement of Information binder describes Book III's content as related to "Events following the Watergate break-in, June 20, 1972-March 22, 1973 (allegations concerning payments of 'hush' money to Watergate defendants to insure their silence, offers of leniency and executive clemency, and the making or causing to be, of false statements to persons connected with an official investigation of Watergate; chronology of events between February 9 and March 22, 1973)." Book III is comprised of 4 binders/volumes.
Binder. "Book III, Volume 2" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book III, Volume 3" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book III, Volume 4" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book IV. Volume 1" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The Table of Contents from the Statement of Information binder describes Book IV's content as related to "Events following the Watergate break-in, March 22, 1973-April 30, 1973 (events relating to the President's investigation of the alleged Watergate break-in and cover-up between March 22 and April 30, 1973)." Book IV is comprised of 6 binders/volumes, plus an extra copy of Volume 1.
Binder. Copy of "Book IV. Volume 1" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book IV. Volume 2" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book IV. Volume 3" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book IV. Volume 4" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book IV. Volume 5" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book IV. Volume 6" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book V. Volume 1" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The Table of Contents from the Statement of Information binder describes Book V's content as related to "Testimony of Richard Kleindienst before the Senate Judiciary Committee in February 1972 regarding the commencement, prosecution and settlement of the anti-trust action against the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation." Book V is comprised of 3 binders/volumes.
Binder. "Book V. Volume 2" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book V. Volume 3" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book VI. Volume 1" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The Table of Contents from the Statement of Information binder describes Book VI's content as related to "Political contributions pledged and made by milk producers' cooperatives from 1969 through 1972 for the benefit of the President's re-election campaign and the Administration's decision to increase price supports on dairy products." Book VI is comprised of 4 binders/volumes.
Binder. "Book VI. Volume 2" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book VI. Volume 3" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book VI. Volume 4" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book VII. Volume 1" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The Table of Contents from the Statement of Information binder describes Book VII's content as related to "Domestic surveillance activities directed by the White House." Book VII is comprised of 8 binders/volumes, plus one extra copy of volume 6.
Binder. "Book VII. Volume 2" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book VII. Volume 3" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book VII. Volume 4" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. Copy of "Book VII. Volume 4" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book VII. Volume 5" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book VII. Volume 6" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book VII. Volume 7" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book VII. Volume 8" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book VIII. Volume 1" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The Table of Contents from the Statement of Information binder describes Book VIII's content as related to "Alleged efforts by White House officials to acquire information from the Internal Revenue Service and to direct certain IRS activities." Book VIII is comprised of 2 binders/volumes.
Binder. "Book VIII. Volume 2" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book IX. Volume 1" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The Table of Contents from the Statement of Information binder describes Book IX's content as related to "Events following the Watergate break-in, April 25, 1973-present (the history of the Special Prosecutor's activities and the President's continuing investigation)." Book IX is comprised of 4 binders/volumes.
Binder. "Book IX. Volume 2" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book IX. Volume 3" (3 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Book IX. Volume 4" (2 folders), 1974, inclusive
Binder. "Statement of information concerning the bombing of Cambodia", 1974 June 21
Scope and Contents
Staff report "designed to enable the Committee to assess the allegation that the President and other Administration officials misrepresented to the Congress the facts concerning the bombing of Cambodia by the United States Air Force during 1969-1971."
"Transcript prepared by the Impeachment Inquiry Staff for the House Judiciary Committee of a recording of a meeting among the President [Richard Nixon], John Dean, John Ehrlichman, H.R. Haldeman and John Mitchell on March 22, 1973, from 1:57 to 3:43 P.M.", 1974
Government Printing Office publication. "Submission of recorded presidential conversations to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives by President Richard Nixon.", 1974 April 30
[Staff comparison of transcripts as prepared by the White House and as prepared by the Inquiry Staff for eight White House conversations], circa 1974 May
Print matter. "The EOB tape [Executive Office Building tape] of June 20, 1972", 1974 May 31
Scope and Contents
"Report on a technical investigation conducted for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the Advisory Panel on White House Tapes." Submitted to Judge John J. Sirica. Relates to the 18.5 minute gap in the recording of a White House conversation.