After a long-winded argument, George Will came to the conclusion that Ambassador
Bush at the CIA would be "the wrong kind of guy at the wrong place at the worst
possible time."
Senator Church viewed the Bush appointment in the context of a letter sent to him by
Ford on October 31, 1975, demanding that the committee's report on US assassination
plots against foreign leaders be kept secret. In Church's opinion, these two developments
were part of a pattern, and amounted to a new stonewalling defense by what Church had
called "the rogue elephant." Church issued a press statement in response to Ford's letter
attempting to impose a blackout on the assassination report. "I am astonished that
President Ford wants to suppress the committee's report on assassination and keep it
concealed from the American people," said Church. Then, on November 3, Church was
approached by reporters outside of his Senate hearing room and asked by Daniel Schorr
about the firing of Colby and his likely replacement by Bush. Church responded with a
voice that was trembling with anger. "There is no question in my mind but that
concealment is the new order of the day," he said. "Hiding evil is the trademark of a
totalitarian government." [fn 3]. Schorr said that he had never seen Church so upset.
The following day, November 4, Church read Leslie Gelb's column in the New York
Times suggesting that Colby had been fired, among other things, "for not doing a good
job containing the Congressional investigations." George Bush, Gelb thought, "would be
able to go to Congress and ask for a grace period before pressing their investigations
further. A Washington Star headline of this period summed up this argument: "CIA
NEEDS BUSH'S PR TALENT." Church talked with his staff that day about what he saw
as an ominous pattern of events. He told reporters: "First came the very determined
administration effort to prevent any revelations concerning NSA, their stonewalling of
public hearings. Then came the president's letter. Now comes the firing of Colby, Mr.
Schlesinger, and the general belief that Secretary Kissinger is behind these latest
developments." For Church, "clearly a pattern has emerged now to try and disrupt this
[Senate Intelligence Committee] investigation. As far as I'm concerned, it won't be
disrupted," said Church grimly.
One of Church's former aides, speech-writer Loch K. Johnson, describes how he worked
with Church to prepare a speech scheduled for delivery on November 11, 1975 in which
Church would stake out a position opposing the Bush nomination:
The nomination of George Bush to succeed Colby disturbed him and he wanted to wind up the
speech by opposing the nomination. [...] He hoped to influence Senate opinion on the nomination
on the eve of Armed Services Committee hearings to confirm Bush.I rapidly jotted down notes as Church discussed the lines he would like to take against the
nomination. "Once they used to give former national party chairmen [as Bush had been under
President Nixon] postmaster generalships--the most political and least sensitive job in
government," he said. "Now they have given this former party chairman the most sensitive and
least political agency." Church wanted me to stress how Bush "might compromise the
independence of the CIA--the agency could be politicized."