A former Iowa Congressman has donated his papers to Iowa State University. Democrat Ed Mezvinsky, who’s now 76 years old, was recently honored at a reception at ISU’s Parks Library. “I’m grateful to the dean of the library and to the wonderful staff that had to catalogue, let alone make available, these papers to the public,” Mezvinsky said.
Representing Iowa’s first congressional district from 1973 to 1977, Mezvinsky served on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate hearings. His papers include the committee’s report, letters from constituents at the time, as well as the gavel used in the President Nixon impeachment. “I hope you will all take a look at it, a view of the inventory, which gives you some perspective of Watergate,” Mezvinsky said.
Not all of the documents will be available for research. By federal regulation, closed hearings of the Judiciary Committee remain confidential for 50 years, until 2024.
Items from the collection will be on display at the library through March. They include memorabilia from Mezvinsky’s youth in Ames, his time in the Iowa legislature, and later his ambassadorship to the United Nations. Mezvinsky was succeeded by Republican Jim Leach in 1977. Years later after leaving public office, in 2001, Mezvinsky was indicted for mail and wire fraud and served five years in federal prison. In 2010, his son, Marc, married Chelsea Clinton.