Charlie Rose (NC)

Charles Grandison Rose III (1939-2012) was a Democratic congressman who represented North Carolina's 7th congressional district (covering the Wilmington and Fayetteville areas) for twenty-four years, from 1973 to 1997. Along with Rep. Tom Lewis (R-FL), Rose received documents from private consultant Henry "Skip" Clements in October 1993 and applied congressional pressure that contributed to the Department of Justice reopening its inquiry into The Finders case.¹²

Background

Rose died on September 4, 2012, at age 73. He was known informally as the "mayor of the Capitol" for his work as chairman of the House Administration Committee from 1991 to 1994, the period during which he engaged with the Finders reinvestigation. His committee assignments also included membership on the House Agriculture Committee and, at certain points during his tenure, the House Intelligence Committee. He chaired a 1991 House committee investigation into the Bush administration's role in selling military supplies to Iraq, indicating prior engagement with intelligence oversight matters.¹

Role in the Finders Reinvestigation

Rose received Clements's materials in October 1993 and joined Lewis in applying pressure to the DOJ. The CIA's formal response to the congressional inquiry was dismissive: a CIA spokesman told Rose, "This story is a non-story. I think of it as a nothing-burger." Despite this characterization, the congressional pressure, combined with the prospect of a CBS 48 Hours segment, was sufficient to prompt the DOJ's October 26, 1993 memo from Acting Assistant Attorney General John C. Keeney to FBI Assistant Director Larry A. Potts tasking the FBI with a preliminary inquiry.²

No specific public statements by Rose on the Finders beyond the general congressional pressure documented in contemporaneous news accounts have been located in accessible sources. His congressional papers are held at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (Special Collections, dlib.uncp.edu/digital/collection/charlierose) and may contain correspondence or reports not yet examined in connection with this case.¹