Charles E. Wiggins

Charles Edward Wiggins (December 3, 1927 – March 2, 2000) was a United States representative from California, and later a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He was initially elected to California's 25th congressional district. The district was renumbered as California's 39th congressional district prior to the 1974 election.

Education and career

Born in El Monte, California, Wiggins attended the public schools in El Monte. He was a First Lieutenant in the United States Army during World War II, from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1950 to 1952, thereafter receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern California in 1953 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Southern California Law School in 1956. He was a law clerk to Judge Swain of the Appellate Division, Los Angeles Superior Court. Wiggins then served as a member of the El Monte Planning Commission from 1954 to 1960, entering private practice in El Monte in 1957. He was an El Monte Councilman from 1960 to 1964, and mayor of El Monte from 1964 to 1966.

Congressional service

Nixon Oval Office meeting with H.R. Haldeman "Smoking Gun" Conversation June 23, 1972

Wiggins was elected as a Republican to the Ninetieth and to the five succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1979). He represented much of the territory that Richard Nixon represented in the House from 1947 to 1950.

Wiggins fiercely defended Nixon during debate on the House Judiciary Committee over Nixon's impeachment. However, Wiggins dropped his support after the revelation of the so-called "Smoking Gun" tape. He had actually been invited to the White House by Chief of Staff Alexander Haig to review the transcripts before their release. However, after reading the transcript, Wiggins concluded that the tapes proved that Nixon had indeed taken part in the plan to cover up the break-in and other illegal activities.

Wiggins's earlier advocacy for Nixon saw his margin of victory reduced in the congressional elections of 1974. Re-elected in 1976, he was not a candidate for reelection to the Ninety-sixth Congress in 1978, instead returning to private practice in Los Angeles California from 1979 to 1982, in Washington, D.C. from 1982 to 1984, and in San Francisco, California in 1984. There is a Cenotaph monument at Savannah Memorial Park in Rosemead, California.

Electoral history