Two lesser men would have given some display of emotion; disbelief, curiosity to hear more, even fear or anger. Both men remained impassive.
“May I go on, sir?”
Elliot nodded. “Of course.”
Morton went carefully through all that had been uncovered, and when he had finished he sat silently awaiting a response. Elliot didn’t even exchange a glance with the Speaker. He looked straight at Morton Harper.
“At least half of what you have told us, Mr. Director, would not survive in any United States court. You realize that, I’m sure.”
“I was relying, to some extent, sir, on the definitions for impeachment established by the House Committee.”
Elliot nodded and closed his eyes, trying to recall the precise words. “ ‘It is not controlling whether treason and bribery are criminal.’ Is that it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What do you say, Sam?”
Bethel hunched his shoulders and looked at the two CIA men, with the look he usually gave to the more obstructive filibusterers.
“I’m wondering, Arthur, if these men are not guilty themselves of treason.”
His flushed, red, bull-dog face glanced at them in turn.
“Do you people realize what you have been doing? Do you, Harper? You and your underlings have been conducting an investigation of the next President of the United States. On your own account.” His hand slammed down on the table. “With no permission from any part of the administration you take it upon yourselves to ferret about like goddamn journalists into the lives of important citizens. And you bring your scurrilous offerings here like dogs with a bone. You must be out of your minds.”
“Three people have been murdered sir, to prevent us bringing more concrete evidence.”
“That is not the point, Harper. If you had a table full of evidence, concrete evidence, that would still not be the point. Where does your authority lie to do this? Why did you not do your talking before you started? Why did you not talk to the Secretary of State, or me, or somebody, for God’s sake?”
Morton spoke very quietly. “There were two problems in the beginning, Mr. Speaker. Our evidence then, in terms of a court of law, was non-existent, but our training, our instincts, told us that there was cause for doubt. When we considered who we should consult we were uncertain about who we could trust. We also hoped that a superficial check would prove our fears groundless.”
“Don’t give me that crap, Harper. You and your people have obviously gone at this in your usual style. Heads down and to hell with realities. If you didn’t trust Elliot and me then, why trust us now?”
Harper looked down at his plump white hands. “There was a point, sir, beyond which I was not prepared to go. I have no doubt in my mind now, Mr. Speaker, that what I merely suspected is unfortunately true. At this point we should have to investigate some of the principals involved. And that I was not prepared to do without hearing your and the Chief Justice’s advice.”
“So now I’m trusted, eh?”
“No, sir. At this point I trust your office.”
“And if we instruct you to close this inquiry, what then?”
“I shall report to the incumbent President, sir.”
“Why now? Why not before?”
“Because when we started we had sixty-six days before the inauguration. Now we have roughly fifty days left. After January twenty, what is difficult now would be almost unthinkable then. As unthinkable as doing nothing.”
Elliot had listened without interruption, his eyes going from face to face as they spoke. Then he nodded to Harper.
“I suggest you gentlemen retire to my smoking-room. That’s the door. We’ll chat, Mr. Speaker and I, and then we will all talk again.”
They sat for twenty minutes in the book-lined smoking-room before Elliot opened the door and stuck his head in to call them back.
They sat down in the same seats that they had sat in before, and waited until Elliot checked the words on a sheet of paper. He looked up briskly.
“Well, gentlemen, you came to us for advice, and Mr. Speaker and I have discussed the information you put before us. Neither of us is inclined to approve the action taken to initiate this investigation. You chose the wrong office-holders if it was approval that you sought. However, we have borne in mind that you have revealed a state of affairs that many would consider to have justified your initiative. And we both have no doubt that with this information you could have approached others in the administration, or in the House, who would have been enthusiastic about your efforts. Nevertheless, you came to us and you must have known that we were not likely to feel that the end justified the means.
“I have already put telephone calls through to the Senate Chairmen of both parties. I have asked them to come here urgently but they have not been apprised of any of the subject matter.
“Subject to what they may say, this ad hoc committee will instruct you to take immediate steps to crystallize this matter forthwith, but staying short of both Powell and Dempsey.”
Morton Harper’s face was quite impassive, there was no sign of relief or pleasure.
“Would you like us to wait outside, sir?”
Before Elliot could reply, and as if he had not heard the question, Sam Bethel leaned across the table towards Harper.
“Tell me, Harper, have your people done any evaluation of how the Soviets hoped to influence the new President?”
“No, sir, but the President-Elect’s statement last night that hinted at withdrawing American troops from Europe is indication enough.”
“But he has to convince Congress and the Senate before he can do a damn thing.”
Harper shrugged. “There would be people enough in both places who would go along with cutting the defence budget, and removing troops from NATO if that’s what a cut meant. He’s been hinting about trade pacts with the Soviets. There
