Washington ? Attorney Sam Dash, whose probing questions during televised Senate hearings into the Watergate scandal made him a household name in the 1970s, died Saturday after a lengthy illness.

Dash, who had been hospitalized since January, died at the Washington Hospital Center at the age of 79, according to family members.

The former chief counsel of the Senate Select Committee on Watergate became known across the nation for his televised, penetrating interrogations into President Nixon’s secret taping system.

Although a lifelong Democrat, Dash over the years cultivated a reputation for independence and as an ardent advocate for ethics in the legal profession.

As the lead attorney on Sen. Sam Ervin’s Watergate committee, Dash directed some of the most intense questioning of White House officials during televised hearings into the scandal that led to President Nixon’s resignation in August 1974.

Recently, Dash had expressed concern about the threats to individual freedoms as a result of the Bush administration’s fight against terrorism.