Capitol cop, 51, ‘kills himself’ three days after fellow officer was killed by rioters who bashed his skull with fire extinguisher during Congress siege
Officer Howard Liebengood, 51, died while off-duty on Saturday, the USCP said
Cause of death was not disclosed but sources said Liebengood took his own life
Liebengood is the second USCP officer to die in the days after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Wednesday
Officer Brian Sicknick died Thursday after reportedly having been hit over the head by a fire extinguisher during the riots
The USCP made no suggestion that Liebengood’s death was linked to the riots
A US Capitol Police officer has reportedly died by suicide three days after the force was thrown into chaos when Donald Trump’s supporters stormed Congress.
Officer Howard Liebengood, 51, died while off-duty on Saturday, the USCP announced in a statement.
Two sources told the Associated Press that Liebengood took his own life. The USCP did not disclose a cause of death.
Liebengood is the second Capitol Police officer to die in the days after Trump supporters stormed the building in a bid to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.
The other officer, Brian Sicknick, died on Thursday after reportedly having been hit over the head by a fire extinguisher during the riots.
Liebengood had been with the UCSP since April 2005 and was assigned to the Senate Division.
‘Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and colleagues,’ the agency said in its statement. ‘We ask that his family, and other USCP officers’ and their families’ privacy be respected during this profoundly difficult time.’
Liebengood was the son of former top Senate aide Howard S Liebengood, who served as a Sergeant of Arms at the Capitol from 1981 to 1983 and died of a heart attack aged 62 in 2005.
The USCP made no suggestion that the younger Liebengood’s death had anything to do with last week’s riots at the Capitol, which claimed the life of his colleague, Sicknick.
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WASHINGTON — Authorities on Sunday announced the death of a 51-year-old Capitol Police officer. Two people familiar with the matter said the officer’s death was an apparent suicide. Officer Howard Liebengood had been assigned to the Senate Division and was with the department since 2005. He is the son of a former Senate sergeant-at-arms.
It was not clear whether his death was connected to Wednesday’s events.
The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Liebengood’s father, who was from Indiana, was Senate sergeant-at-arms from 1981 to 1983 and later became a prominent lobbyist and chief of staff for two U.S. Senators. He died in 2005.
strangely in 2005 this happened
[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 304-306]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
RELATING TO THE DEATH OF HOWARD S. LIEBENGOOD
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I am now turning to a resolution for a very
close friend, and then I will take a few moments to comment on this
resolution, really the man behind this resolution.
I send a resolution to the desk and ask for its immediate
consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 7) relating to the death of Howard S.
Liebengood, former Sergeant at Arms of the Senate.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider
be laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 7) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 7
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as a captain in the
United States Army Military Police Corps in Vietnam from 1968
to 1970, receiving the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation
Medal for his exemplary service;
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood began his service to the
Senate in 1973 as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate
Committee;
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as an aide to the
Senate Church Committee in 1975, as the minority staff
director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in
1976, and as legislative counsel to Senate Majority Leader
Howard H. Baker, Jr., in 1980;
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as Sergeant at Arms of
the Senate from 1981 to 1983;
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as chief of staff to
Senator Fred Thompson from 2001 to 2003, and as chief of
staff to Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist, M.D., from
2003 until his death in January, 2005;
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood was a caring and devoted
husband, father, and colleague who served with the utmost
humility and distinction and was admired and respected by all
as a teacher, adviser, and friend; and
Whereas Howard S. Liebengood inspired others through his
personal leadership, generosity, and great love for the
United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That–
(1) the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep
regret the announcement of the death of Howard S. Liebengood;
and
(2) the Secretary of the Senate communicate these
resolutions to the House of Representatives and transmit an
enrolled copy of these resolutions to the family of Howard S.
Liebengood.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, Howard Liebengood loved the Senate. He
loved the purpose of this institution; he loved its tradition; and,
above all, he loved its people. The Senate was his extended family, and
we all are going to miss him very much.
Howard Schuler Liebengood passed away on Thursday, January 13, at his
home in Vienna, VA. He was just 2 weeks shy of his retirement. He had
planned to travel and cook and devote himself to his wife Dee and their
three grown children, Howie, John, and Anne.
We talked in detail at breakfast about a month ago, in late December,
about his excitement of being able to retire and spend time with the
family.
He also told me he planned on going to the track. One of his closest
friends
[[Page 305]]
and a real friend of this institution, Marty Gold, said Howard loved
anything that ran around the track, whether it was cars or dogs or
people. And every May, without exception, Howard went to the Indy 500
with his family.
Howard lived with passion. He lived with conviction. He lived with
generosity. He lived with grace. He accomplished so much because he
loved life so well.
Howard was born on December 29, 1942, in South Bend, IN. Franklin
Delano Roosevelt was President, stamps cost 3 cents, and total Federal
spending was a mere $35 billion.
Howard graduated from Plymouth High in 1960 and earned his bachelors
degree in political science at Kansas State University. From there he
went to Vanderbilt University Law School where he met a young man who
would become his closest and lifelong friend and future U.S. Senator,
Fred Thompson. Howard once described the two of them as misfits among
the well-heeled southern scholars and Ivy League stars. But knowing
them both, I suspect it was just Howard’s characteristic midwestern
modesty.
After earning his law degree from Vanderbilt, Howard served as an
Army captain in the Vietnam war. His bravery and valor earned him the
Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal.
Upon his return from Vietnam in 1970, Howard applied for and won the
competition to be assistant general manager and play-by-play announcer
for the Kansas City Royals AAA farm club. But it was not to be. A young
wife and the prospect of a future family led him to the offices of
Manier, White in Nashville, TN, where he practiced criminal and
entertainment law.
Then, just as he was to become partner, he got a call. Fred was
minority counsel to the newly formed Senate Watergate Committee, and he
wanted Howard at his side. It was 1973, the height of Watergate.
Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee was vice chair of the committee. It
was an offer too good to refuse.
Howard soon found himself in the center of the Watergate whirlwind,
interviewing witnesses and ultimately coauthoring the Baker report.
It was a heady experience for the young lawyer and launched him on a
30-year career in politics. And yet somehow, despite this long and
intimate exposure to Washington politics, Howard never lost his
optimism. He never became cynical. He always looked for the good in any
situation, and he always kept his good humor. And throughout, he also
had the mentorship and friendship of Senator Howard Baker, his first
boss in politics.
During the course of Watergate, Senator Baker and Howard became close
friends. As minority leader, Senator Baker hired Howard to be his
legislative assistant, and then as majority leader he elevated Howard
to Sergeant at Arms. Howard would often stay with Senator Baker when
the Senator was home in Scott County in Huntsville, TN.
Senator Baker tells this delightful story which speaks to their
friendship and Howard’s charm and his wonderful wit:
When Howard was Sergeant at Arms in the Senate during the
first Reagan inauguration in January 1981, I still have this
image of Howard in striped trousers and a cut-away coat
standing on a platform next to the emergency phone sweating
although the temperature was below freezing. I said:
“Howard, I see you’re sweating. Are you OK?” Howard
replied: “I forgot the key to the emergency phone.”
Senator Baker asked him later:
What would you have done if that phone had rung?
And Howard replied:
I would have pulled that sucker out by the roots.
That is Howard Liebengood, and it is the Howard Liebengood we have
all been pleased to know. He treated everyone, from Senators to
interns, with a graciousness and genuine regard. If a constituent had a
difficult request or an unusual request, Howard would say: Give them a
chance. That is an idea that just may be worth considering.
When Senator Hatch injured his Achilles’ tendon, Howard drove Orrin
to the Senate every day. While he was my chief of staff, Howard
Liebengood regularly invited young staffers on summer weekends to
travel with him to Baltimore for a day of crabs and baseball.
He was just that kind of person–always extending himself, always
making others comfortable around him, always making the personal
connection, especially focusing on the young people in the office. He
wanted to share with them the excitement and honor of working in
Government. He always let them know, interns and staff alike, that
their jobs mattered, that their jobs had a purpose, that they were
serving their fellow citizens and advancing the cause of democracy.
Howard also reached across the aisle. He was known as the peacemaker
for his ability to bring opposing sides together. Indeed, one of his
great regrets was what he saw to be the growing partisanship in
politics.
He missed the days when Members could set aside their party labels
and share a 6 o’clock cocktail or a Friday night dinner. When he was
legislative counsel for Senator Baker, what is now just down the hall
my conference room and the leader’s office, it was called the “back
room.” It featured not a conference table but a sofa, a coffee table,
two wingback chairs, and over at the end a wet bar.
Howard would host visits that began late in the afternoon and could
last well into the evening. The regulars included Mac Mathias, Barry
Goldwater–they tell me, two fingers of bourbon, no ice–Pete Domenici,
and Joy Baker, who would often bring along Elizabeth Taylor Warner.
Two curious facts about the jovial and mild-mannered Presbyterian.
The first, Howard kept a dozen bottles of hot sauce in his desk drawer.
After the 116 Club, the Szechuan Pavilion was one of his favorite
restaurants. The second involves his friend, great friend Mike “Mad
Dog” Madigan, who served with him on the Watergate Committee.
The story goes that one time in Manhattan, NY, of all places in the
apartment of Fidel Castro’s mistress, in the course of casual
conversation, Mike Madigan said something that upset Ms. Marita,
something she took as a challenge to her own personal integrity. She
pulled a Derringer from her brassiere and threatened to shoot them
both. It was a tense moment. Mike tried to dive under the couch over
against the wall. Fortunately, Mike and Howard got out of there
unharmed and with a great story to tell.
We all greatly admired Howard. When I became majority leader, I
called him on a very late cold December night and asked him to be my
chief of staff, and to my great, good, wonderful fortune, he said yes,
and he brought incredible insight and judgment. Through his personal
leadership, integrity, and generosity, he inspired us all.
He valued character. He valued honesty. He valued grace. Above all,
he valued faith. Howard was loved and respected by individuals across
the Capitol complex from Members to doorkeepers to photographers to the
hundreds of Senate staffers, old and young, Democrat and Republican.
Howard was a remarkable person who led a remarkable life.
Howard used to sign off his e-mails with the words “all good
wishes.” I know I speak for the entire Senate family when I say our
hearts are full of good wishes for Howard and his family. We are
blessed to have had him in our lives, and we will miss him dearly.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, before the distinguished Republican leader
leaves the Senate floor, I wish to express to him through the Chair my
appreciation for the kind and very thoughtful words about our friend
Howard.
Howard Liebengood represents what the Senate is all about. Spread
throughout the Senate, we have hundreds of people who work for us every
day who are just like him, extremely well educated. If their goal in
life was to see how much money they could make, they would not be
working here. They do it because they have a sense of public service,
as indicated with his record.
The Senator’s kind words about Howard today are words that can be
directed to each one of the people who
[[Page 306]]
work for us. He was what the Senate is all about. He not only should be
but is a role model for what the Senate staffers, as we call them, try
to be. If they completed their term of service having given up the
fruits of how much money they could make outside the Senate and were
thought of as Howard was thought of, I believe their lives would be
complete.
I thank the leader very much. As I said, his remarks not only spoke
of a good man but are representative of what the Senate is all about.
____________________