Washington cover-up

by Clark R. Mollenhoff

Whiteside was tried a second time, and was acquitted on the criminal charge. A short time later, in May 1961, Whiteside was found dead in his Miami office. Death was caused by a self-inflicted bullet wound.

The FCC in a later ruling ordered Public Service Television to stop using Channel 10. The FCC had concluded that the activities of Mack, Whiteside, and others constituted improper conduct in connection with the application of Public Service Television.

The United States Court of Appeals upheld the FCC ruling that Public Service and two other applicants had disqualified themselves by improper practices. The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal.

Dr. Schwartz and his investigators had pinned down the essential details on the Mack case before Schwartz was fired, and the hearings demonstrated fully the type of activity that at least one of the regulatory agencies had concealed with the claim of “executive privilege.” By this time, it was clear to everyone that there were a good many things wrong with the operations of the “big six” regulatory agencies. There was no proof that they were filled with corruption, but there was adequate evidence of a widespread laxity that needed to be examined and exposed.

There had been only the rumors of the Adams-Goldfine relationship while Dr. Schwartz was with the House subcommittee, but once the hearings on Mack were moving, the whole subject of one-party contacts with regulatory agencies came in for closer scrutiny.

Reports that Adams had received a vicuña coat and a $2400 oriental rug from Goldfine evoked interest in Goldfine. These reports were followed by the revelation that Goldfine had lavishly entertained Adams at hotels in New York and Boston, and during the same period of time Adams had made inquiries for Goldfine at the SEC and FTC.

Sherman Adams whipped out a letter which he believed would still the outcry against him. It was a vague letter that simply admitted he had contacted the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission on some of Goldfine’s problems. However, Adams said he had requested no favors for his friend Goldfine, but ignored the fact that any call from Sherman Adams would flag a case for special attention. The benefits known to have been received by Adams were small, but his relationship with the notorious Goldfine was to become a source of continued embarrassment to the White House. The embarrassment finally forced Adams out of the White House into the open arena of congressional questioners.

Adams went before the House Legislative Oversight Subcommittee in the crowded House Caucus Room. It was his first time to give testimony, and he hoped that it would stop the criticism. President Eisenhower admitted that Adams had been “imprudent” in his relationship with Goldfine. But, the President said, “I need him.”

Now nothing could stop the criticism, public and private. It seemed that every week brought more and more revelations of the questionable activities of Bernard Goldfine. There were charges of mislabeling of woolen goods filed by the FTC, and records showed Goldfine firms involved in a long series of mislabeling incidents. Goldfine had not filed proper reports with the SEC for several years. Also, Goldfine had refused to testify on a mysterious $700,000 in cashier’s and treasurer’s checks he had taken out of his businesses.

Hailed before the committee, Goldfine took the Fifth Amendment, claiming that to answer the questions might tend to incriminate him. Every day that Bernard Goldfine was on the witness stand or otherwise in the public eye was pure misery for the Republican political party. It was apparent that the Republicans would be saddled with Goldfine as long as Sherman Adams remained the number one assistant to President Eisenhower.