The Czech media commemorated the 50th anniversary last week of the Watergate affair as a major event in politics and investigative journalism. One of the key turning points in the scandal came on July 30, 1973, when Sen. Howard Baker, as vice chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee, asked Richard Nixon's chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, "What did the president know, and when did he know it?" It was such a significant question because both Nixon and Baker were Republicans. Similarly, Prague City Councilor Hana Kordová Marvanová, as a representative of STAN, informed her chairman, Vít Rakušan, earlier this year about suspicious contracts at DP Praha transit company. By showing his absolute confidence yesterday in Rakušan's impartiality, PM Petr Fiala made it clear that he doesn't care, "What did Rakušan know, and when did he know it?" Or else he is admitting that Rakušan was too weak as STAN chairman to do anything about the alleged corruption at DP Praha. [ Czech Republic Bob senator first interior minister ]
Glossary of difficult words
to commemorate - to recall and show respect for (someone or something); to mark or celebrate (an event or person) by doing or producing something;
impartiality - equal treatment of all rivals or disputants; fairness.