Fred Thompson

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Fred Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015), also known as Fred Thompson, was an American politician, advocate, lobbyist, columnist, and radio presenter.

Thompson, a Republican, served in the Senate from 1994 to 2003, and in 2008, she ran for president George Washington as a Republican presidential candidate. Thompson, a former chairman of the International Security Advisory Board of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission, was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a researcher with the American Enterprise Institute, specializing in national security and intelligence, as well as commercials.

He often portrayed government representatives and military men.

Thompson appeared in the final months of his Senate term in 2002, as the protagonist of the NBC television series Law & Order, portraying Manhattan District Attorney Arthur Branch.

Early life

Thompson was born at Helen Keller Memorial Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama, on August 19, 1942, the son of Ruth Inez (née Bradley) and Fletcher Session Thompson (born Lauderdale, Alabama, August 26, 1919), a automobile salesman. Thompson ancestry was of both English and distant Dutch origins. He attended public school in Lawrenceburg, graduating from Lawrence County High School in 1960, where he played high-school football. He spent days in the local post office and nights at the Murray bicycle assembly plant.

Thompson was born in the Churches of Christ. Thompson explains that his values came from "sitting around the kitchen table" with his parents and the Church of Christ. "I attend church when I'm in Tennessee," Thompson said while interviewing reporters in South Carolina. Right now, I'm [living] in McLean. When I'm up there, I don't go very often." Thompson attended Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna, Virginia, as an adult. During his 2008 presidential race, he did not discuss his faith, saying, "I'm getting up and talking about what a wonderful person I am and the like," says the author.

Thompson married Sarah Elizabeth Lindsey in September 1959 at the age of 17. Freddie Dalton "Tony" Thompson Jr., the couple's son, was born in April 1960. Daniel and Elizabeth's son Daniel and daughter Elizabeth were both born shortly after.

Thompson attended Florence State College (now the University of North Alabama), becoming the first member of his family to attend college. He later attended Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis), where he earned a double degree in philosophy and political science in 1964. He later obtained a scholarship to study law at Vanderbilt University Law School, graduating with a Juris Doctor degree in 1967. Although Thompson was in law school, he and his wife were able to pay for his education and care for their three children. In 1985, Thompson and his first wife would divorce.

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Career as an attorney

In 1967, Thompson was admitted to the state bar of Tennessee. He shortened his first name from Freddie to Fred at the time. He served as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1969 to 1972, prosecuting bank robberies and other crimes. Thompson was the campaign manager for Republican nationalities in the United States. Senator Howard Baker's re-election bid in 1972 and as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee in its investigation into the Watergate scandal (1973–1974).

Thompson began practicing law in Nashville and Washington, D.C., prosecuting personal injury cases and protecting people accused of white collar crimes in the 1980s. He also served as special counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (1980–1981), special counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee (1982), and member of the Tennessee Appellate Commission (1985–1987).

His customers included a German mining company and Toyota Motors Corporation of Japan. Thompson served on several corporate boards. He also did law school and served on the board of directors of engineering company Stone & Webster.

Thompson was selected minority counsel to support Republican senators on the Senate Watergate Committee in 1973, a special commission convened by the Senate to look at the Watergate scandal. Thompson was often praised for answering Republican Senator Howard Baker's famous question, "What did the President know and when did he know it." This inquiry is said to have framed the hearings in a way that eventually led to President Richard Nixon's demise. The issue is still relevant and is often discussed by pundits commenting on national scandals.

On July 13, 1973, a Republican staff member, Donald Sanders, discovered the White House tapes and briefed the committee. Thompson was warned of the tapes' existence and he, in turn, told Nixon's counsel, J. Fred Buzhardt. "Even though I had no power to act on the committee, I decided to call Fred Buzhardt at home." Thompson later wrote, "I wanted to be sure that the White House was fully aware of what was going to be revealed so that it could take appropriate steps."

Thompson, a former White House staffer, asked former White House staff Alexander Butterfield "Mr. Butterfield, was aware of the installation of any listening equipment in the Oval Office of the President?" three days after Sanders' discovery. The existence of tape recordings of internal White House discussions has been revealed in public. That session and the discovery of the Watergate tapes, according to National Public Radio, was "a turning point in the investigation."

Thompson's appointment as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate committee reportedly shocked Nixon, who believed Thompson was not well versed to interrogate unfriendly witnesses and would be ruled out by Democrats. Thompson and Baker "carried water for the White House," according to historian Stanley Kutler, but I must give them credit for their efforts... They weren't going to go down the tubes [for Nixon] with no intention of rushing to the bottom of the tubes.

Thompson, according to journalist Scott Armstrong, a Democratic investigator for the Senate Watergate Committee, was "a mole for the White House" and that Thompson's behavior gave the White House a chance to destroy the tapes. Thompson's 1975 book At This Point in Time, in turn, accused Armstrong of being too close to The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and of leaked committee information to him. "I'm glad all of this has finally compelled someone to read my Watergate book, even though it's taken them more than 30 years," Thompson said in reaction to renewed interest in this area, during his presidential campaign in 2007.

Thompson was fired by Marie Ragghianti, a former Tennessee Parole Board chair who had been suspended for refusing to release felons after they had bribe aides to Democratic Governor Ray Blanton to obtain clemency. Ragghianti commenced a wrongful termination action against Blanton's office with Thompson's assistance. Thompson assisted with the cash-for-clemency scheme that culminated in Blanton's resignation from office during the trial. A jury gave Ragghianti $38,000 ($139,165.09) in back pay and ordered her reinstatement in July 1978.

Career as a lobbyist

Thompson's lobbying efforts earned him about $1 million in total. Except for 1981, his lobbying never reached more than a third of his income. The Memphis Commercial Appeal states that the allegations are unfounded.

Thompson lobbied Congress on behalf of the Tennessee Savings and Loan League in order to pass the Garn–St. The Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982, which limited the savings and loan industry, was enacted by the Depository Institutions Act. The act was supported by a large congressional majority and President Ronald Reagan, but it was not believed to be a factor that contributed to the savings and loan crisis. Thompson received $1,600 for chatting with some congressional staffers on this topic.

Thompson calls over Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide after he was deposed in 1991, but he said it was as a private citizen not on a paid basis.

Thompson was paid for about 20 hours of service in 1991 and 1992 for the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, a family planning group working to eliminate a George H. Bush administration ban on abortion services in federally funded clinics, according to Billing records.

After Thompson was elected to the Senate, two of his sons followed him into lobbying, but mostly avoided clients where a potential conflict of interest could arise. Some of his legislative action committee's funds were paid to the lobbying firm of one of his sons when he left the Senate.

Initial acting career

Marie Ragghianti's life became the subject of a book called Marie, written by Peter Maas and published in 1983. Director Roger Donaldson, who had flown to Nashville to talk with the people involved in the original lawsuit, asked Thompson if he wanted to play himself. Marie, Thompson's first acting role, was released in 1985. In the 1987 film No Way Out, Roger Donaldson replaced Thompson as the CIA director. In the trailer, he was in charge of FBI special-agent training in the 1988 comedy Feds; the FBI disclaimed any association with the film. In the 1990 film Days of Thunder, Ed Trudeau, the president of NASCAR, and Rear Admiral Painter in Die Hard 2 were cast as Ed Trudeau, the head of Dulles Airport, and as Big John, the President of NASCAR (based on Big Bill France). Thompson went on to appear in numerous films and television shows. "When Hollywood directors need someone who can personify governmental authority, they often look to him." In Last Best Chance, he portrayed a fictional President of the United States, as well as two historical presidents: Ulysses S. Grant in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007) and Andrew Jackson's voice in Rachel and Andrew Jackson: A Love Story (both produced for television). He appeared on the television sitcom Roseanne.

Initial post-Senate life and career

In 2002, Thompson was not a candidate for reelection. He had previously stated that he was unable to serve in the Senate for a long time. Though he stated in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks that he wanted to re-election (declaring, "Now is not the time for me to leave"), on further reflection, he decided against running for reelection. The decision seems to have been prompted in large part by his daughter's death.

Thompson's only lobbying work after leaving the Senate in 2003 was for Equitas Ltd, a London-based reinsurance company. He was paid $760,000 between 2004 and 2006 to help prevent the passage of law that Equitas says unfairly singled them out for unfair treatment regarding asbestos complaints. Thompson was proud to have been a lobbyist and believed in Equitas' cause, according to Thompson spokesperson Mark Corrallo.

Thompson resurgent into acting as he left the Senate. Thompson appeared in NBC television series Law & Order in 2002, playing conservative District Attorney Arthur Branch, which he would eventually portray for for the next five years. During the Senate recess in August 2002, Thompson began filming. He made occasional appearances on various television shows, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Conviction's pilot episode. Thompson appeared in Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee throughout his career. Thompson, a cadet in 2007, halted his acting career in order to explore political avenues, this time turning away from acting in order to plan for a potential presidential bid. He asked to be released from the position on May 30, 2007, presumably in preparations for a presidential run. Due to questions regarding the equal-time rule, reruns starring the Branch character were not broadcast on NBC while Thompson was a potential or actual presidential candidate, but TNT episodes were unaffected.

In 2004, Thompson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), a form of cancer. "I have had no sickness from it or even any signs of it," Thompson said in 2007. My life expectancy will not be affected by this. I'm in remission, and it's very treatable with drugs if treatment is required in the future, and without debilitating side effects." Thompson's NHL was reportedly indolent, and he was the first nodal marginal zone lymphoma. It accounts for just 13% of all cases.

Thompson was president of the Federal City Council, a group of corporate, civic, and education, as well as other Washington, DC, politicians interested in economic growth from 2002 to 2005.

Thompson was featured in a commercial by the conservative nonprofit group Citizens United in March 2003, saying: "If people ask what has Saddam done to us, I ask, what have the 9/11 hijackers done to us -- before 9/11."

At the 2004 Republican National Convention, Thompson did voice-over duties. "History throws you what it throws at you, and you never know what is coming," Thompson said while narrating a video for the convention.

Following Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement in 2005, President George W. Bush nominated Thompson to an informal position to support John Roberts' appointment through the Senate confirmation process. Following Chief Justice William Rehnquist's death, Roberts' appointment as associate justice was eventually postponed; instead, he was renominated and announced as Chief Justice.

Thompson served as Chair of the International Security Advisory Board, a bipartisan advisory board that advises the Secretary of State and focuses on emerging strategic risks until July 2007. He commanded the State Department on all aspects of arms control, disarmament, international security, and other aspects of public diplomacy in that role.

He served on the advisory board of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr., who was charged and later found guilty of lying to federal investigators during his probe into the Plame affair in 2006. Thompson, who had never met Libby before serving on the advisory board, was convinced Libby was innocent. The Scooter Libby Legal Defense Fund Trust raised more than $5 million to assist with the legal defense of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff. At his McLean, Virginia home, Thompson held a fundraiser for the Libby defense fund. Thompson wrote a tweet after Bush commuted Libby's sentence: "I am very proud for Scooter Libby." I know that this is a big relief to him, his wife, and children. A good American who has done a lot for his country will be able to resume his life."

He joined ABC News Radio in 2006 to serve as Paul Harvey's senior analyst and vacation replacement. He spelled out his views on a variety of political topics on the internet. Thompson was identified as a "former ABC News Radio contributor" on Thompson's ABC News Radio home page on July 3, 2007, implying that Thompson had been fired from his position with the broadcaster. After his campaign ended, he did not return.

Thompson stayed on for the Townhall.com from April 23, 2007, until August 21, 2007, and then from June 8, 2008 to November 17, 2008.

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