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Thursday December 20, 1973
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This Day In 1970's History: Thursday December 20, 1973
  • Federal energy czar William Simon announced guidelines for voluntary gasoline limits. Simon requested that station owners sell only 10 gallons of fuel per car, and he asked drivers to use only 10 gallons per week. If the voluntary system works, gasoline rationing won't be needed. Simon skirted the issue of President Nixon and Vice President Ford failing to conserve energy with their holiday plane trips. [CBS]

  • Jet fuel will be allocated to airlines to help them get through the holiday season by diverting fuel from the military to the airlines. The Pentagon is furious over energy czar William Simon's decision; Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger is extremely irritated. Simon allegedly ordered the action without consulting the Pentagon. Two weeks ago, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Thomas Moorer, predicted a slump in combat readiness if fuel restrictions on the military continued.

    The Airlines Pilot Association decided to delay its threatened strike which was to be a protest of fuel cutbacks. [CBS]

  • A joint committee of Congress completed its study of the White House "enemies list" and their tax returns. Former White House counsel John Dean requested former IRS commissioner Johnnie Walters to audit the tax returns of 500 persons on a list supplied by the White House. Treasury Secretary George Shultz told Walters to ignore the request. [CBS]

  • The House Judiciary Committee named John Doar as special counsel to head the Nixon impeachment resolution probe. Doar's ties to the Kennedy family run deep through his political life, but Doar claimed that he will be fair and objective in his new job. Committee Republicans hope to hire a special counsel of their own. Vice President Ford asserted that no sufficient evidence for President Nixon's impeachment exists. [CBS]

  • Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt revealed that he spied on Senator Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign on behalf of President Lyndon Johnson. [CBS]
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