The 50th Anniversary of the Subpoena for President Nixon’s Tapes
July 24, 1973
Fifty years ago yesterday, IGI Founder Terry Lenzner delivered to the White House the first subpoena ever issued to a sitting president. As assistant counsel to the U.S. Senate Watergate Committee, Lenzner and Rufus Edmisten, the deputy chief counsel to the committee, delivered subpoenas from the Committee mandating that President Richard Nixon surrender audio recordings and documents related to the break-in of the Democratic National Committee’s offices at the Watergate.
The existence of the tapes had been made public a week prior when Alexander Butterfield told the Senate committee that President Nixon had recorded nearly all of his meetings and telephone conversations from the White House, at the Executive Office Building next door and at the presidential retreat at Camp David.
After initially refusing to comply, President Nixon relented following a unanimous adverse Supreme Court ruling in July 1974 and turned over the materials, which provided the evidentiary basis for the U.S. House of Representatives to bring impeachment charges against him. On the eve of his impeachment, on August 8, 1974, President Nixon announced his intention to resign in an address to the nation.
At the time, issuing a subpoena to a sitting president was an unprecedented yet calculated risk that carried significant legal, ethical, and historical importance. This action ultimately helped shape the public’s view of political transparency and raised the bar for the accountability of high-ranking government officials.
Lenzner’s role and contributions to the Committee 50 years ago burnished his reputation as a tenacious and consequential attorney and investigator and set the foundation for the vision and values he extolled when forming IGI ten years later. In recognizing the 50th anniversary of this monumental event, IGI honors Lenzner’s legacy and the principles by which he led IGI with the highest ethical standards in our ongoing pursuit of truth and fact.
Pictured at the top: Sam J. Ervin, Jr., D-N.C., chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee, signs the subpoena calling for the presidential tapes to be brought before the committee, in Washington, D.C., July 24, 1973. Witnessing the signing from left, are: Rufus Edmisten, deputy chief counsel; Terry Lenzner, assistant counsel; and Marc Lackritz, assistant counsel. (Published with permission from the Associated Press)
Pictured at the bottom: Rufus Edmisten, deputy chief counsel, left, and Terry Lenzner, assistant counsel, carry the Senate Watergate Committee subpoenas for the presidential tapes as they arrive at the Executive Office Building in Washington D.C., July 23, 1973. (Published with permission from the Associated Press/Credit Charles W. Harrity)
IGI Mourns Passing of Thomas Wendel
With a heavy heart, we are writing to let you know that Thomas Eugene Wendel, CEO of IGI since 2018, passed away on October 20, 2021, after a brief battle with cancer. Tom was loved dearly by his family, friends, and colleagues and will be sorely missed.
A veteran of the U.S. Army and graduate of Saint Ambrose College, Tom was a skilled strategist and meticulous investigator who humbly led IGI – first as CFO, and later as President and CEO – over the past 20 years.
Tom began his career in Chicago as a CPA with Arthur Andersen, where he rose to partner in the firm’s Houston office. Tom and his family moved to the D.C. area in the early ’90s, where Tom became CFO of Garfinkels’ department stores and then Vice President of Finance for Scripps League Newspapers.
Tom was the eldest of ten children raised on a farm in eastern Iowa. He is survived by his wife, Brenda; his mother, Mary Clare Wendel; his daughters, Stephanie Hedlund and Jacqueline Davidson; his grandchildren, Annalise, Annika, and Logan; his nine siblings; and many nieces, nephews and uncles and aunts.
Tom was a model of precision in his work, and his ingenuity was treasured by our clients, especially in litigation and adversarial matters. Terry Lenzner, IGI’s founder, regularly joked that Tom – who was a CPA – was one of the best attorneys he knew.
Tom was also a cherished and esteemed mentor to generations of IGI investigators and researchers. Former IGI CEO Jon Lenzner said, “I am sure everyone would agree that Tom is one of the most impressive and caring people we have had the privilege to work with. He has been an extraordinary friend, colleague, and mentor to many of us, and this news is devastating. I can think of few others from whom I have learned more than Tom Wendel.”
Despite his measured and earnest manner, Tom also had a wonderful sense of humor and a sharp wit. Larry Potts, Chairman of IGI’s Executive Committee said, “Tom and I were friends for almost 25 years. I loved every minute we spent together. Like all of you, I will miss him every day. We will carry on in the strength of the legacy he has left for us.”
IGI Executive Vice President Douglas Graham said, “I count myself lucky to have known and learned from Tom over the past seven years. Tom is irreplaceable but his vision, leadership, mentorship, and precise planning will live on as IGI continues to grow and thrive in the years to come.”
IGI President Arun G. Rao Selected by Biden Administration to Serve as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in Civil Division of U.S. Department of Justice
IGI President Arun G. Rao has been selected by the Biden Administration to serve as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice’s Civil Division, overseeing the Consumer Protection Branch.
Arun has had a distinguished career in both the private and public sector. Prior to becoming the President of IGI, Arun served as Chief of the Southern Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, as a Deputy Associate Counsel in the Office of the White House Counsel, as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office, and as a law clerk to the Honorable Julia Smith Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Arun also is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches Criminal Law.
“We wish Arun all the best in his new role, and we are confident that all of us, as citizens, will benefit from his contributions to the work of the Department of Justice. Arun’s leadership over the three and a half years since he joined IGI has been integral to our continued growth and success as a preeminent investigations and risk advisory firm. It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside Arun while helping our clients in a variety of high-stakes situations.” – Tom Wendel, CEO, IGI
Founded by former Senate Watergate Committee counsel Terry F. Lenzner in 1984, IGI is a leading risk advisory and corporate investigations firm with decades of experience in delivering sophisticated and timely intelligence to clients in complex, high-stakes, and crisis situations. Described as “legendary for its ‘opposition research’ probes – political or otherwise” by The Washington Post and as the “gold standard of private financial detection” by The New York Times, IGI’s sophisticated fact-finding and analysis is designed to help clients obtain successful outcomes in a wide variety of situations, including matters requiring competitive and regulatory intelligence, litigation support, cybercrime investigation and response, and due diligence and vetting services.
Arun is the second IGI executive to be selected for a leadership role in the Department of Justice in the past three years. Former IGI CEO Jon Lenzner rejoined the Department of Justice in 2018 and is currently serving as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. IGI is proud of its long history of cultivating talented industry leaders who also share a commitment to public service.
For more information, please contact IGI-news@igint.com.
A copy of the announcement is available here.
IGI Executive Vice President Larry Potts Moderates Panel Discussion on “Leadership and Policing: Addressing Stress and Burnout to Affect Positive Outcomes”
On October 14, 2020, IGI Executive Vice President Larry Potts, a former Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a faculty member in the Criminal Justice program at Norwich University, moderated a panel discussion with other experts in the fields of law enforcement, stress management, and mental resilience. Panel members discussed the unique nature of stress and burnout in policing, and how department policy and leadership activity can influence positive decision-making.
Watch the recorded webinar here.
LAW360 PUBLISHES ARTICLE BY IGI LEADERSHIP ON LESSONS FROM RECENT TERMINATION OF MCDONALD’S CEO STEVE EASTERBROOK
Law360 has published an analysis of the recent termination of McDonalds’ CEO Steve Easterbrook written by IGI CEO Thomas P. Wendel, IGI President Arun G. Rao, and former IGI Director Madeline C. Prebil, emphasizing the importance of properly defining and communicating the scope and results of independent investigations.
An excerpt follows:
“An independent investigation is effective only to the extent that its scope is properly defined and appropriately tailored through clear communications between investigators and the client. The scope of inquiry should be sufficient to address the most significant questions facing the client. Both parties also must share a common understanding of the scope and the conclusions supported by the results of the investigation. Failure to meet these requirements can produce a compromised engagement that ultimately disserves the client.
The board of McDonald’s recently learned this lesson the hard way.
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All sensitive investigations involve important and difficult questions of scope, resources, and timing. Investigators, especially independent ones, must ensure that their work and their communications about that work are clear and responsive to their clients’ immediate concerns, as well as to any potentially significant related legal, regulatory, or public relations problems that arise during the engagement.”
Read the article below, view it online at Law360, or download it as a PDF.
Law360 - McDonald's CEO Case Instructs On Outside InvestigationsIGI President Arun G. Rao Quoted in The Washington Post Regarding Recent Gun Violence in the District of Columbia
IGI President Arun G. Rao was quoted in The Washington Post’s coverage of recent gun violence in the District of Columbia. An excerpt follows:
Arun G. Rao, a former assistant U.S. attorney for Maryland, said that he gets why it exasperates police to rearrest the same people but that prosecutors and judges must consider many issues.
“The chief’s frustration is understandable, and I think a lot of that frustration is justified,” said Rao, who was chief of the Southern Division of the federal prosecutor’s office in Greenbelt. “The circumstances on the ground are consistent with what the chief has identified as a problem — people are having repeated encounters with the system, and yet they are still on the street.”
But Rao said “there are other factors that also come into play,” such as the circumstances of an arrest and a defendant’s criminal history, along with prior assessments of a defendant’s risk of flight and potential danger to the community.
The Wall Street Journal Publishes Obituary of Founder Terry F. Lenzner
The Wall Street Journal has published an obituary of Terry F. Lenzner, the founder of IGI / The Lenzner Firm, titled, “Terry Lenzner Cultivated Fearsome Reputation as Sleuth for Hire.” An excerpt follows:
“After forming an investigative service known as IGI in 1984, he helped companies size up potential partners, find dirt on hostile bidders or short sellers and uncover the misdeeds of rogue employees. … He was paid to examine conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana. … One frustration he found in his work was that rich people sometimes wanted him to validate their theories rather than find the truth. He saw the Watergate investigation as an example of Democrats and Republicans working together, without a preconceived outcome, and acknowledging common sets of facts as they were revealed. “Our country has forgotten the lessons of Watergate,” he wrote. One result, he added, is that “the truth is what you can get enough people to believe.””
IGI Mourns Passing of Founder Terry F. Lenzner
Terry F. Lenzner, the founder of IGI and its chief executive for more than 30 years, passed away on April 23, 2020. A legendary attorney and a pioneer in the field of private investigation, Terry maintained a fierce commitment to uncovering the truth while always upholding the highest ethical standards. Terry has bequeathed IGI with a strong legacy and sound principles that the firm will continue to build upon in the coming years.
Described as the “preeminent private investigator of our time” by the late Cokie Roberts (the renowned NPR and ABC News political commentator), over the course of his remarkable career Terry developed a formidable reputation for his relentless pursuit of concealed facts – with no stone left unturned. 60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl has observed that Terry “plied his craft at the highest levels of power,” with investigations involving presidents, royalty, and titans of industry. Terry harnessed the intensity developed as captain of the Harvard football team to become what Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson described as “a linebacker for truth,” with “an instinct for sniffing out deception and the courage to tackle it.”
Those who worked alongside Terry at IGI have described him as both intense and charming – with a fierce loyalty to his clients’ interests that remains a hallmark of IGI’s practice. As James Rosen of The Wall Street Journal put it, “So decisive have been his victories that those who have encountered him are divisible into two groups: those who thanked God he was on their side and those who rued that he wasn’t.”
The Washington Post has published an obituary, an excerpt of which follows:
“Mr. Lenzner launched IGI … as an offshoot of his legal practice, and he retired from the firm in 2015. … Enlisting the help of financial specialists, investigative reporters and law-enforcement veterans, he oversaw undercover operations, tracked down phone records and credit reports, and investigated the death of Princess Diana for the father of her companion, Dodi Fayed. … Among many other clients, Mr. Lenzner and IGI investigated the fabrications of New Republic journalist Stephen Glass; worked for Ivana Trump during her divorce from Donald Trump; and helped Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) during his 1994 reelection campaign by investigating the business history of his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney.”
The New York Times Publishes Remembrance of Founder Terry F. Lenzner
The New York Times has published a remembrance of Terry F. Lenzner, who led IGI for more than three decades: “Jim Mintz, with whom Mr. Lenzner founded the firm Investigative Group International, said in a phone interview that Mr. Lenzner had ‘pioneered a new kind of investigation.’ The field had traditionally used people from law enforcement to focus on narrow questions; Mr. Lenzner enlisted lawyers, former news reporters, forensic accountants and others.”
IGI President Arun G. Rao Interviewed About the Firm’s Reputation Defense Practice
IGI President Arun G. Rao was interviewed in You(Online) about the firm’s Reputation Defense practice, in an article titled, “Reputation Defense: Shifting the Narrative with IGI.“
