http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/02/whitehouse102.xmlAs a politician, Fred Thompson will formally launch his long-expected run for the White House this week, portraying himself as a plain-speaking man of the south, untainted by the double-dealing of Washington.
As an actor, he made his name as a gruff district attorney pursing justice in the long-running American television drama, Law and Order, a persona that has helped him to second place in the race for the Republican -nomination. But as Mr Thompson, 65, finally shows his hand, critics are suggesting that his track record as a lawyer proves that the politician is far from the screen image he is selling to voters.
Mr Thompson made his name as the chief Republican counsel in the Congressional investigation of the Watergate scandal that led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon in August 1974. He famously asked the question that exposed the existence of a secret White House taping system - whose recorded conversations would lead, eventually, to the president's resignation.
But last week it emerged that - unlike his television character Arthur Branch - Mr Thompson apparently spent much of his energy trying to defend those he was investigating. He is said to have leaked information to the White House, discussed strategy with Mr Nixon's advisers and helped to discredit the president's critics.