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EDITORIAL

What did he know and when did he know it?

It was a question asked of then President Richard Nixon when the truth about the Watergate scandal slowly came to light. Was the 37th President of the United States part of the plot or was it all the doing of the men closest to him?

The Watergate tapes would show that Nixon knew everything at the earliest stages of the aborted break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters.

Now that same question is being asked of former president Donald Trump. This time, the yet unanswered question is about the January 5 insurrection, an event infi nitely more serious than a simple failed break-in.

What sketchy data that has come out thus far does not appear to bode well for the 45th POTUS.

It cannot be denied that there is growing impatience with the January 6 committee’s apparent slow pace at ferreting out the truth about what happened on that fateful day.

That impatience was alleviated somewhat this week after the investigative body recommended the criminal prosecution of former president Donald Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows for attempting to obstruct the ongoing investigation.

Meadows had initially agreed to cooperate with the committee by surrendering thousands of pages of documents related to Mr. Trump’s role in the event, but then took a 180 degree turn by suddenly refusing to continue revealing what he knew.

His about face may have been triggered by the public statements made by Trump regarding the book that Meadows wrote, details of which proved embarrassing to the former president.

Trump had actually done the foreword for the book and praised its author before such ugly details as his having tested positive for COVID-19 days before his debate with then candidate Joe Biden.

It was pretty reckless of Trump to endanger so many people that he came into contact with before he was fi nally rushed to the Walter Reed Hospital, where he recovered soon enough. But not before a number of men and women with access to the Oval Offi ce were themselves infected.

That potentially dangerous act by the twice impeached, one-term president was not the worst of Meadow’s revelations, it now appears.

What Meadows now refuses to discuss even with the risk of facing up to a year in jail is what Trump knew about the plans of the insurrectionists.

There remain many questions that the House committee is expected to answer before they complete their probe, which should be sometime in the spring of next year.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that the mob that came close to completely overrunning the Capitol were part of a larger plan which would have installed Trump as a president without a mandate.

The man at the center of that plot could not possibly be the chief of staff of the president, who surely was acting on the orders of his superior.

It may be diffi cult to prove at this stage, but it is logical to surmise that Trump had somehow gotten to Meadows and told him in no uncertain terms to back off . The strong message could have come from someone very close to Trump if not from the former president himself.

Little by little, the truth is coming out.

Florida...

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lier said they were “looking for a possible black midsize passenger car with front-end damage.” On Monday, Dec. 6, they said they had located the vehicle. Investigation is ongoing. Archer’s death shocked neighbors who were aware of his daily habit and safety precautions. “He’s always wearing the refl ective vest. He had Upside a neon hat and a little walking stick all the time,” said Jennifer Laux. “My heart really does out to his family CHERIE M. QUEROL MORENO because his life is gone, just like that.”

Relatives around the world expressed their grief and consoled each other on social media.

“My kids and I can’t stop sobbing as he and his wife were very close to us,” Rosana Robles Fernandez, Lourdes Archer’s cousin-in-law, told Inquirer.net. “Paul was a very good man! Please pray for him.”

Formerly a resident of Southern California, Robles Fernandez said she cannot believe she and her daughters have lost a beloved father fi gure.

“Paul and Lourdes used to come to the Philippines every year. They loved Tagaytay, where they planned to buy a house,” said Robles Fernandez, now living in San Juan City, Metro Manila, with her daughters Nash and Nichole after their father Bing Fernandez died in Los Angeles.

The Archers were longtime residents of Washington State, where Paul was born. He celebrated his 70th birthday just two months ago.

“They moved to Florida to be near the base,” Robles Fernandez said, referring to the US Naval Base in USN Lt. Comm. Paul Archer Pensacola. was dedicated to naval ser-

Lt. Commander Paul Lawrence Archer dedicated vice. his life to the US Navy. He attended the University of Washington in Seattle on a naval scholarship in 1970. Four years later he was commissioned as a Navy offi cer. In 1984 he was promoted Lieutenant Commander. He offi cially retired in 1994, concluding a 20-year career that earned him the National Defense Service Medal, a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with three bronze stars; and the Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon with three bronze stars.

Naval service also led him to the love of his life. While stationed in Manila in 1981, he met and married Lourdes Fernandez, daughter of a former governor of Jolo. They were loving partner for 40 years. Together they cheered their hometown teams Seattle Seahawks and Washington Huskies, even after relocating to Florida. Post-service he worked as insurance adjuster. They enjoyed traveling, especially ocean cruises, said Robles Fernandez.

His obituary stated: “Paul never met a stranger—his intense curiosity about life, his bountiful knowledge about history, people and places, and (Continued on page 27)

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