After covering the Supreme Court and Justice Department for 29 years, Pete Williams is set to retire from NBC News this Friday, reports TVNewser.   But before his last studio hit, the company held a sendoff party for him on Tuesday night in Washington, D.C.

The well-attended soiree featured over 100 journalists, lawmakers, and administration officials and was hosted by NBC News’ Lester Holt, Andrea Mitchell and Washington bureau chief Ken Strickland.

During the event, says TVNewser, “Mitchell and Holt each offered a tribute to Williams, with Holt saying, “Anyone who has done live breaking television knows that scary moment of being out there, you’ve got two lines about a breaking story, you’re being told to keep it going, keep it going. And there was nothing better than when you would hear in your ear, ‘Pete’s getting wired up’ or ‘Pete is in the chair.’”

“Williams told the crowd, “It’s been such a privilege and a pleasure to work with these great people at NBC News, who care about the work and care about each other. And that’s just such an unusual combination.”

“Among those present included NBC Newsers like Janelle Rodriguez, Kristen Welker, Peter Alexander, Yamiche Alcindor, and Meghan Rafferty.

“Other journos seen at the event included Sam Feist from CNN, Matt Miller from Bloomberg, Jeremy Peters from the New York Times, Steven Portnoy from CBS News, and former MSNBC Washington vp and political director Tammy Haddad.”

More here.