Four of the most prominent 1972 presidential aspirants from the Party of Virtue have behaved with remarkable insouciance in response to revelations contained in the draft report of the Ervin committee. According to investigators, Representative Wilbur Mills received campaign contributions of $130,000 from the dairy interests, who then solicited and obtained his support for a rise in milk prices. The report states that $25,000 from the same source went to Senator Hubert Humphrey, after which ditto. Questioned by reporters about these and other transactions, Representative Mills responded with some lack of originality: “It’s all distorted. It’s nothing but a bunch of lies. This is just a leak to smear me.” Both congressmen refused to appear before the committee to answer questions, Senator Humphrey explaining that his appearance would “inconvenience” the committee’s staff. The campaign managers of both Mills and Humphrey invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked to answer questions about campaign finances, and it turns out that the financial records of the Humphrey campaign were destroyed (shredded?) with unusual haste.
In 1972, George McGovern was calling us all home to a rebirth of morality in America, but, tricky George, he has now shown us a few new wrinkles in campaign financing. Last year, he asked his 1972 creditors to settle the debts for 50 cents on the dollar and his creditors obliged. Since he was indebted to 37 corporations, this settlement amounted to corporate contributions, which are illegal. Meanwhile, McGovern shifted $340,000 from his 1972 presidential campaign fund to his Senate reelection race this year.
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