1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-08-07; Part 1 of 6

the pain it is you know i can't you know i was a federal prosecutor and i think it's a reflection on me an advantage of women is wide open now we would've done in those difficult circumstances and you know what happened recognition of the senate of the united states that we can trust those guys down there i will remain decades and maybe you would've made a difference well i would've made it my way and so when i'm at his way we would've convicted those people we would have you know either that we would've gotten a writer i'm not minimizing what you've

done on a prayer for anybody out of the department of that and they gave dolan sen leahy promise and i don't think they're going to find because at that point we didn't have the evidence to go wander around the united states in investigations individually you're right without any fanfare or ceremonies senator sam irvin today's sound of the closing gavel on the first rays of public senate hearings that have made history after thirty five

witnesses and thirty seven days of testimony adding up to more than a million and a half words the watergate hearings or surprised even the army mccarthy hearings of nineteen fifty four as a televised event the committee has not yet finished with watergate it'll come back in september and hear half a dozen more witnesses before moving on to phase two an investigation of campaign funding on our bit president nixon time to delivering his much anticipated rebuttal to the damaging testimony of many witnesses here for its finale today the committee had two strong personalities as witnesses former attorney general richard kleindienst and assistant attorney general henry peterson these two men who had official in charge of the watergate investigation resolutely defended the fairness of that investigation and the political independence of the justice department and peterson criticizing appointed a special prosecutor cops said the justice department would have cracked the watergate as if it

had not been snatched away after tonight so for a while police and the basic question is still on that was as the first week and are any succeeding once lawless conflicting evidence from the many witnesses were there very good guy bad guy impressions manners and axes to grind to italy or put it crudely who's lying and who's telling the truth making that decision will peter carey discusses general subjects with committee vice chairman howard baker because of that although they cost in terms of what he has learned the sport you know if you're any closer to knowing the central questions of the honest testimony and evidence and documents in some tapes of whom planted who cared about who cover the usual and what's out of the window we know what they feel more than that before that we don't know with absolute certainty that what land where their responsibilities lie we don't know for instance when the president knew and when he

knew it we have much much more information on the subject of a tangential circumstantial years so that there's not a requirement that this committee find the truth that isn't their ambition there's no statute that says we have to establish the facts beyond a reasonable doubt all of that will be desirable the mandate this committee is do the very best you can require the facts and circumstances that are available to just have a report on the tapes the presidential term is the access to document tomorrow's the things that might be information in that respect and others were search will inevitably affect the quality of the work no matter how the litigation it turns out no matter what the supreme court may say about access documentation presidential rule state are conclusions and they build that will be weighted judged not on the senate the country but into your question is we have a great traditional and

promotion their service the basis for intelligent judgment what happened but we may never be complete richard kleindienst and mary peterson of the two witnesses today on this the thirty seventh day of the syrians use it was thin bureau chief and columnist for time magazine watch them in action was you want to advance are getting comments you offer about these two men and essays are two very human persons america like to watch it was more almost last chapters a matter fact findings came on he had to face the tone the manner of a copy and engaging smile he was tough and very handsome a motion again and we got the sights and sounds of the locker room on a pretty street as well as some honest to goodness angered john erlichman was to peterson on the other hand would look like a good honest attorney general big craggy faced he described the byzantine atmosphere at the white house and heat to show their

motions of rage her all of these things i think in my own lives they were two excellent witnesses for themselves ok there's also significant watergate activity and its surrogates go around downtown inject marketers and university law center you have your record yours know we're open because many toddlers are legal expert went down there jackie first of all lot of what happened and then felt were arming germ of this was that there may have been hearing on the july twenty six show calls over which the district court issuance of weeks that question was does the president have to respond to a subpoena and today the present imminent fall recall a special appearance and not emotion that caution is not prepared to go along with the usual court process is and in a special appearance he asked the court to vacate the borders or crossing that executive privilege prevent the courts from enforcing order against the president's advantage of the separation of powers doctrine you argue that the character the presence would be fundamentally altered with different rules

applied in the d the notion that the president could possibly subject radically change the status of the branches recorded an equal branch of government he didn't say that there was no power of the subpoena he said the empowering force strategic question what happens next almost twenty seven we're going to win on a separate houses responded to these papers of the late fall is responsive weekend about fifteen days we really are you know what will happen after that is highly speculative we have no idea biden also pointed out that the committee as deferred action or what it's going to do of course it's open to legalize pinball in the tapes until this whole matter to resolve on an article ok use it in jack murphy will be back in the world's five broadcast of talk about this the final day of the first place the watergate hearings in more detail to help you plan your readings doing here isn't that hour by hour look at today's testimony in the first are calling games describes his reaction when he

was president of the burning tree country club i g gordon liddy and first told of the watergate break in he praises ellsberg's trial judge matthew berry and tells of his own feelings about the rising of psychologists office and the second hour senator baker explores exactly what happened when kleindienst told the president about the involvement of white house and reelection committee staff members in watergate and finding strikes a positive note with a list of the transfer the pressing for the congressional system that have emerged from the case and the third hour when findings concludes his testimony expressed by senator weicker on the circumstances of his resignation blinding says he'd wanted to announce it himself but the president wanted to announce that along with the resignations of halderman ehrlichman and the firing of funding in the fourth our assistant attorney general henry peterson as a witness he describes what was said in several meetings he had with president nixon well done

during the fourth hour peterson next a spirited defense of the justice department's watergate investigation and asparagus the need for a special prosecutor peterson also describes his suspicions of a possible cover up in the case saying his feelings at the time were nobody acts innocent and in the final hour of the day and of the space of the hearings peterson says he never got any special orders from the president to investigate a report on the case of mr nixon claimed that enable state senator wyden who wonders who did get such elegance and peterson also defends the president's right to record these conversations what history now the senator and the final days there and the committee will come follow them and imagining that a long time ago follow

the population information is barrel oh thank you richard eighty four sixty four parking place mclean virginia i

did not have a prepared statement mr chairman there voluntarily to provide to you they are members of the committee and the council whatever information that i haven't mentioned being to be relevant to your investigation says the open questions that's a lot it wasn't easy and i believe that it was april thirtieth lesser effective upon the altercation an appointment of my successor his findings to the sunrise was briefly your background especially with respect to your positions with united states government i've only had two positions with united states government and that was the position of deputy

attorney general of the united states in a position that i believe that i was comments and on the first of february nineteen sixty nine and the other position like that the united states government is the attorney general of the united states in a position i commenced on about june eighth of nineteen seventy two this decline is one of the first time you learned that there was an electronic surveillance of the democratic national committee headquarters of the watergate when i learned that for the first time in seventeen twenty individuals who were arrested at their headquarters were arrested i don't know whether i learned of the electronic surveillance on saturday june seventeenth or sometime the early part of the next week but on june seventeenth you were notified of a break in at approximately eight o'clock in the morning an

assistant attorney general henry peterson of the criminal division of the department of justice called me at my home and indicated to me that there had been a break in at the democratic national headquarters of the watergate hotel all the information that you had at that time was that there was a break in and i believe he said that made it looks like it might have been a bombing case the next knowledge of any kind that i had with respect to the plane approximately three and a half hours after that when i met with mr gordon liddy and mr kahl moro in a section of lockers at the burning tree which is a golf club in washington dc and you remember because i think other scheduled

tee off for the saturday round afternoon i was having lunch in the main dining room area the reentry i looked up at mr gordon liddy who i recognized likewise recognized him was a mistake mr camargo was the deputy public information officer of the department of justice when i was there as the deputy attorney general when mr mitchell resigned as attorney general and went over to the campaign committee for the reelection of president mr pollack with him to the campaign committee i do not know what is tidal was a big campaign committee but i knew how more quite well as a result of us association to get it i believe you indicated that you recognize gordon liddy was the circumstances under which you first network or got to know mr liddy the only association i ever had with mr levy it's at what this

particular meeting on saturday june seventeenth was in the year nineteen sixty nine when i headed on behalf of the executive branch a task force that was looking into and devising a program of action with respect to the marijuana from the country of mexico and the united states i believe that was true time was an officer or employed by the treasury department and he was one of the representatives from the treasury department and that has helped their representatives from six or seven departments of the government that would have been in the late spring of nineteen sixty nine and the summer of nineteen sixty nine to the best of my recollection i never saw one where the actor that time in the intervening years until that saturday morning on june

seventeenth and i'm not singing so what was the nature of the experience that the justice department had witnessed a libyan connection with his role on operation intercept well i have no experience with because he was under the jurisdiction of the secretary of the treasury he had one assignment as i recall with respect to go i just found the town along the united states' mexican border to inform business community i'm really quite concerned about so called operation intercept my recollection which is not very precisely is that the manner in which mr libby was getting information with respect to our program was unsatisfactory and i believe that based upon information and i got i recommend to the secretary of the treasury or mr rowe cds who was i think his

immediate superior mr levy silent and not to continue any further you have any other recollection about any possible fall what was living a y mtv there's no precise mr levy when he came into the entrance way of disarming in a rather furtive matter made a motion to me like this indicating come here and i got up out of my chair when over there he was very educated they seem to be quite upset he said that i haven't talked to you in private

were understanding was not a very private place in less than sixty or seventy man eater center well right to the left of where he was there as a locker room complex at the club i looked in there and no one even there's ice age of them in here i think this would be a prime place to talk we went in there mr liddy said that i've been asked to come out and give you a report with respect to the watergate break in last night with a break in at the democratic national committee which used it he said to me that he believed that some of the persons who were arrested might be employed by either the white house with a campaign committee for the reelection my reaction to that statement was instantaneous

i think you've also said although i dont have too precise recollection of him that is jim mitchell had i ask him to come out talking that was incredible to many of the relationship i had with mr mitchell was such that i don't believe that he would've sent a person like when we need to come out and talk to me about anything he knew a defining twenty four hours a day in any event my as a result of my surprise i interviewed and i think my instant realization of the implications of what you just said to me to pick up the telephone and locate ms jamie peters another seven practically all i haven't used to call the justice department the switchboard

and have her column at home and put him on the phone since <unk> peterson had comic my family right for him and i've always been an impression i said to mr peterson that mr gordon liddy of a campaign committee is here mr peterson based on a conversation i've had with him is not a member of my mission but in any event i was intent upon giving him a very specific direct instruction like them that with respect to those who are resident of the water they should be given no treatment that would be different than anybody else who might have been arrested in circumstances i was quite upset it to the best of my recollection the next thing i get those to turn minister libya tell him to leave the premises sartin the conversation you had with mr peterson would you just describe

to whom oppose that you recount the incident at burning tree i'm i mean i don't recollect doing so i have no recollection of recounting this incident to anyone else until i was interrogated by personnel from the select committee and also personnel from special prosecutor caucus state he has testified with respect to support a conversation you had with him on so that i i had no recollection that alexa says in as much as the event occurred and i think that the credit history as the climate and you participate in a conversation with mr henry pearson and has to be concerning the possibility of going to the president because of the circumstances indicated that there was more to the watergate

break in that appeared well the characterization that politically and relevant for me and i believe it was the live monday or certainly know that <unk> mr gleeson and i have a proper place tomorrow the purpose of mr peterson minister and myself <unk> dean was to indicate that mr dean the apprehension empty graves says hers which week receive the news of this fantastic adventure that occurred at the watergate hotel to inform him as counsel to the president that the department of justice and the fbi would be compelled and would be needed and a long

full scale intensive thorough investigation into this was a failure in addition to be in a felony if you can think of anything worse it also went to the very heart of our political system and that it was an act of such a keen is nature that we were going to call or bring about an investigation i think mr peterson interrupted or said that either myself or mr dean contact the president personally to indicate to him the gravity of the situation and i believe history center the president's statement

sending forces response to this fantastic event i believe it was doing that point to the fact that well i'm going up to san clemente and i convey your suggestion is confusion because of the sea and the president myself i believe i concluded that i don't know how long it lasted but i think that that's the substance of what transpired that there's the testimony was declining that shortly after this meeting their allegedly was an effort to implicate or of all the cia as part of the watergate cover up and that was done by mr dean mr erlichman an opening in late june or early july nineteen seventy two we were these events i was not aware of the needs that have intensified here by mr greg ambassador hill or get a

low no knowledge of such meetings until i heard her testimony in this matter i'm listening to me decisions were being made that there is a possible cia and call it a novel watergate situation and the fact that i believe that's an even if there is an actual cia involved in this matter would certainly complicate the investigation of the fbi so that statement must be made by him on a time that we have ascertained that that was the cia involvement and so as my recollection he never mentioned that situation to me again my recollection i've never had a conversation with mr been as development or anybody at the white house with respect to the so called cia that these deliberations you his telephone conversation with the president on july six nineteen seventy two not to

my recollection is the client is the summer of nineteen seventy two were you aware of that gray was making available to john dean at the audio teletypes and radio two's those are first time i became aware of that recently confirmation hearing mr gregory the director of the fbi and yesterday's spoken to you about the possibility of the fbi supplying to the white house such documents mr dean raised the question with both myself and mr peterson both of those were very quick to tell him that we did not but we would not be in the fbi files i told him based on his representation to us and my belief that he was counsel to the president he represented continually he was giving directly to the

president that the president had nominated him to lawrence be responsible for an overview of the investigation and so far that might relate to white house personnel and i think the sense of justice i haven't been attorney general revelry interesting situation michael vigil restricted circumstances should be i investigated that it be given that i believe it did to take that we wouldn't mine summarizing information that's relevant to his inquiry or wait for him so that he could make a report to the president i believe i also indicated that if there was a particular file president united states personally want to see

that i would be willing to take that final first went up to the sit down to present their findings during the summer of nineteen seventy two we all wear made aware of saturday night phone call john ehrlichman to the petersen in the summer of nineteen seventy yet so unfortunately i don't know if it was an evening call i became aware of a problem with her grandmother made in history peterson i believe in the middle of the day sometime between july seventh grade and august at night at a time when i was at the pocono lake preserve in pennsylvania with mice family on a vacation i think it works at all

he's done a conversation that i think by saying your dictator general depend upon the nature of the conversation in that investment he's very upset about my conversation he refused to follow and i think my first reaction which was again rather abruptly instantaneous was what we do and talking sports and giving them instructions and i asked him and the fbi state attorney's office in a second with respect to interrogations what are the divisions at you

you know and i said well mr that doesn't bother handle he resigned today had a press conference and repeat your conversation with him he would probably be involved and obstruction of justice complaint commission and to get exactly what i would expect him to do then i remember sending a surrogate when i said john i never want to begin to call anybody in my department and given specific instructions so if you have something to convey to the listener and when you were there you could call me he said well i don't like those weapons on the telephone not have a telephone in still air it would be available to you in the president or anybody else twenty four hours a

day and he said well i don't want to read into that as a write down if you agree that that outcome that money i would like to meet with you and the president and the president tells me that you are have the authority to give specific instructions to people in the department of justice that i will submit my resignation at that point mr aragon and treated men are likely still get excited every getting don't worry about it will never happen again and i can say to you that it never did now mr kline as the marker i think is just as if not actually appear before the grand jury that is my mission and how did that come about your conversations with ehrlichman well that came about as a result of conferences that i've had a mr peterson peterson said that you're dealing with two

persons of hyperinflation persons of great notoriety or prestige it is not uncommon depending upon the circumstances instead of having them appear before the grand jury to read ways to have been interrogated by the ss united states attorney or the united states attorney with a court reporter questions and answers otherwise the same ground rules would apply would have only with their attorney could be in the next room and they want to consult with their attorney they didn't step up and do that and he said that particularly he saw no objection to that in view of the fact that i was at that time there was no evidence of any kind of opposition that would indicate any culpability i have no experience with the grand jury decision

i received with respect to visitors to take personal responsibility now before i ask you your relationship with john ehrlichman and records at the justice department during the spirit like to read a few sentences from john dean's testimony before this committee on page twenty three hour waits well throughout the watergate investigation alderman a particularly ehrlichman complain about this decline means possible in investigation and prosecution although the narrow wooden boat aware of the strained relationship between finding from the white house i knew that growth was writing part of the justice department in an effort to undermine the state findings i also knew from conversations with the findings that we had little affection for mr erlichman was this a fair statement of your relationship with him or i think the last statement made at that time subjective nature i don't think i have a

feeling one way or another in that way about mr generally speaking a working relationship with mr bergman yeah very difficult assignment in role to fulfill and we have opposed the united states are often wondered about jonathan could we take to himself multitudinous shores of responsibilities that it did i made it a point to the extent possible to work with him get along with everybody in the white house and indeed in the government as a means by which i would just judge my responsibility in the government i didn't know nobody told me that i wasn't getting along with the white house i have a personality and personality characteristics which people tell me can sometimes can be irritating and i am sorry about that and i suppose i could've irritated people up

there so far has he wrote the department of justice now the decision that i made on june seventeenth when i became aware of this in terms of my role as the attorney general was essentially this that i should not do anything more or less in this as a major investigation and i would in any other place in every other case that i ever was of justice of the criminal nature i looked at mr henry peterson to be primarily responsible for the direction of the investigation and they say this about mr peterson right i believe that henry peterson is the finest career lawyer that this country has ever had in four a half years of association with him i found him to be intelligent

they're courageous are dedicated to the administration of our criminal justice smalls and i suppose that of all the people that i was associated with who would be a kind of the department i respected him or look to a more for advice and counsel relied upon anymore and i can work on something that there was a man like him at least my admiration for him a certain i believe the image uses the first career lawyer in the department justice was ever appointed by the president to be an assistant attorney general and i thought it was a great compliment to his career service any other any other time it did not absolve myself of the responsibility as the attorney general no matter what i relied upon in me and i got my information from family peace with the

exception of one event i never talked to mr solberg or mr glanz you're mr campbell when united states turned and never again in any direction if there was a policy matter and that mr peterson would submit to me which was proper for me to discharge is the attorney general i made those decisions take the responsibility that could've been two people in the white house a passive role in the watergate tapes is the role and i like to take and that's the role that i tried to pursue what was there until sunday april fifteen nineteen seventy three you know in nineteen seventy two so without something else

too well i'll read from page fifty to eighty five kilograms testimony with this that it became a time when appealing when there was a feeling that the reason why they are based upon what was the dean was telling me about the unfolding of this thing that has to happen at some ball in a meeting with the attorney general was specifically discussed but as we are in the information i have no recollection of any city the only recollection i have anybody ever saying to me he was mr peterson's characterization to me after he appeared before the gregory as a witness he said no got bought by as a result our conversation i get it meant by that that he didn't sound like

a credible witness however are there was no other evidence available to the us attorney to contradict what he said and that's the only characterization of her incidentally let me take another major interstate and that's about three young lawyers in the united states attorneys office and conducted this investigation to me those three along with mr peterson one of the unsung heroes of the watergate tapes i think a lot of people should be given a lot of credit for senate the president's record that meant talking about these are these are young men were career lawyers to believe that they're all democrats they were there before we came in they were given this

assignment by the united states attorney they were in a family under very difficult circumstances the obvious political problems with respect to the press the interest of the nation with respect to this terrible reprehensible event that occurs on these young men a burden that very few years i think every year i have complete faith of them throughout this thing i did the day i hope someday that they will get the recognition that they really deserved for conducting a thorough comprehensive investigation and that they conclude my gratuity by this remark this case it seems to me was ultimately broke you not mr dean going to the senate democrats rejected by going to the united states attorney's office looked at mr silber used to glancing mr campbell and giving them the information that we

need we are going to make it twenty seven nineteen seventy meeting with me residents on that date twenty seven nineteen seventy three with the benefit of a lot of time and i was in the department of justice i did not like the memos of my conversations i didn't write memos were five in my self congratulatory memos back and forth when i dealt with people at the white house summit the president states i did it as a cabinet officer is the attorney general in good faith and i gave him my best opinions of the time and i could not keep copious memoranda for the benefit of my grandchildren

fifty years now or anybody else and consequently i think you can see the area's result of my long it would not be uncommon for me to have fifty sixty or seventy telephone calls are meetings in a day so unless you have something else about february twenty second the president is that i have the slightest idea what i did the governor says isn't it we're back with even though it was a day to have to stay on as attorney general asked the deadline which was a career so well i didn't know that i was a member of the family because the united states never gave any indication that may finally finest relationship with him again for the record the only instruction the

president stayed ever be at at any time after watergate was to speak to that the department of justice and the fbi conducted a thorough complete intensive investigation and i think the phrase they use several times of poker chips fall where they will if that doesn't mean however that which the president discussed with me my tenure in the department justice and i don't know that they do not yet have such a meeting because i recall a cousin estimated come up to see him or another short notice just before the election she needed it to the president for mr mitchell the fact that i would like to state as the attorney general until september of nineteen seventy three which would be called terminus with the expiration of my term as president of the federal was my reason for doing so was one strictly of financial reasons all have three

children and punish you by service in the government have depleted name whether it was a mistake and i just could not afford to longer stay in the states after the election when i have meetings that david i went to europe for ten days and had meetings with respect and enforcement matters in london paris but i was informed by mr all the minister of my request that they acquiesced and then i have a subsidy and the present in which he like wow i said that that we thought at a meeting after the inauguration and before april fifteen minutes later that right for a second about abortion the president called me in and he said i don't want you to think about leaving as the attorney general in september so i understand your

personal circumstances is going to be a hardship for you let it happen on tuesday until there's one inmate situations oh he said i just can't have a new attorney general confirmation of all a problem and somebody coming in right now as i always have tried to do i tried to respect the wishes of the president united states' rights about hope it's not really long after september will be thinking of that they've now i want to get out of years and i can but i'll agree with you that resignation in september in this very date and discussions or perhaps the flame connection with this

committee and director tensions that this time the conversation was development on march twenty eight nineteen seventy three the recall that conversation that we have shown to be witness reports a conversation on march twenty eight nineteen seventy three is that the one that was taking the tv station it's big mr orr that conversation and start to tell you he was taking you know certainly some of the words that i use

that appear on this exhibit would not have been set moving along i do not think the question about the contents of the conversation that really about you know whether the practice of the portable island of this as a result of these hearings i think that they have language he's trying to describe the reaction and i think it's reprehensible is incredible somebody at the white house taping a telephone conversation with the attorney general of united states when he's talking to them about this is that relates to the president united states is just beyond my comprehension and i like i say you know one of the subjective that i don't think i have my command lines than adequately expresses my feelings about this incident

germany i went out with a benefit two persons who used to be friends as a result my conversation with you now a conversation with the witnesses so and especially in this conversation with pieces of the heart it is

this decline in april nineteen seventy three did you have a conversation with mr erlichman on the subject of judge that in turn becoming a director of the federal investigation and the fifth as i recall i was in los angeles calif attending a regional united states attorneys' conference it was there were before i left on the night before that meeting i'm going to describe i believe i got a telephone call from mr erlichman or somebody on his staff indicating to me that perhaps the person is what i want to talk to me at san clemente and i believe i indicated that my reservation believe was saturday morning because i'd you want to get home or at a meeting saturday night watching dc i was just a guy

early the next morning to take to send money for the purpose of dealing with them in the present i believe later that night i was informed decision was made for middle america it about moore and i went to a lot of the hotel a helicopter can and he said maybe that's the first time under a sentiment that money is jonathan hollander mr mohsin hamid was consumed with a discussion based upon my recommendation of the selection of a special prosecutor for the so called watergate situation this is a suggestion that i first started making to the white house in september of nineteen seventy two as a mini topic and the suggestion was rejected and the white house for essentially the same reason mr peterson said that if

you made a special prosecutor that would be a slap at the career people just his insinuation that they had done their job they'd open up the title the white house kept saying to me that it would be a reflection upon me as the attorney general tried to bring in a special prosecutor summit say that i haven't done my job my answer to the la times was well we've done a great job we get a fair and credible outstanding lawyer with knowledge and inspiration from inherent i have said come down and he would say we've done a good job and i think that the good view the positive and secondly i wanted somebody to make a decision do was not a presidential appointee so that so that persons who have legitimate interest in his politically or otherwise could not say that any decision or the decision was a political decision and i thought that from the standpoint of the appearance of justice

the confidence of the people in the nineties thinks american justice system that would be a very worthwhile but i never publicly reveal these recommendations by the white house and in good faith and i never had a practice of going to press conference every time some of the white house this review of the president disagreed with one of my recommendations but in any event i had apparently they were ready to discuss this matter of racism and we spent some time discussing how come about who it might be what his role in what the elevation of responsibility i would get out that we select cards and i had a lot of i guess because i've been talking about a few people about and i even had some eight i think i had

three in particular and i remember mr wittman so well come up with a list of five possible meanings don't have any final event that consumers a conversation with a coalition of the the director of the fbi came to ask me for my recommendations i have two names of the highly recommend it to them and that we discussed one was a mediation and one was judge paul signs i think that the consensus of our conversation with respect mr peterson was that you couldn't find a better more qualified person the former director of the fbi because he had been in charge of the watergate investigation of the department of justice is the assistant attorney general the controversy over and that they might have difficulty been confirmed in other

words you get him you might have a watergate hearings as part of his confirmation i understood that the reality of that having gone through a confirmation hearing tomorrow year before and they had asked me why i was so strong and i think they were surprised and one of my very close personal friendship with good for i met george burns when i became a deputy attorney general he had been appointed united states attorney for the central district of california that is a last line which is one of our largest us attorney's office under president johnson when we came in in nineteen sixty nine member of many serious cases of matters that were still pending in his office he came highly recommended by everybody at that time the bench that while republicans democrats and mr mitchell and i prevailed upon him if he would to stay on for another year as the united states attorney in this administration so he could

administer a caseload that he had in that very large and significant he consented to do so and i think that was an act of patriotism and his partners stay on the keys unidentified man this job then i became very different as a result of my estimation opinion have improved lately standpoint of his intelligence instability convictions space of the whole concept of deciding that i was frankly senate finance and advanced and recommended him to be a federal judge to get away without pay because they're trying to come up with one and i'm like i want to suppress those two

sentences he is an outstanding job and then i think and i didn't know that or about forty years of age is dedicated to the law and i said no these troubled times is reviving result of watergate that raise his fortunes this would be regarded i think with complete credibility there could be no china because of his own if it uses a democrat and then i said you have a man movie fair and what's right i don't know whether this development suggested to me that it or not i do know that in that conversation i said

oh i believe in my recollection that i have not talked about express good wishes to him through mutual friends who are signs that he and i have just not talking in recent ceo for new one it was one of these diamonds you're he felt that way what a way to think that the interest of justice that i was going to move back to greece and trying to get some special consideration for the government not very significant violently i have no recollection of mr every indicate to me that mean that he himself was going to talk to her because we throughout his trial if mr erlichman had indicated to me that he was going to join cannot do that was possible at all and really you

know different than it is in any event when i first learned of the fact that that these are compact and check i know i'm registered a few years apart it's such a meeting occurred i don't know that he did nothing improper influence over that meeting those meetings early prevent anybody else to put in a situation of impropriety or elsewhere drama just a greater kind of conclusion the evidence just about it was eerie and because the delay that had already occurred i didn't think it was that kind of a problem with aaa was continuing to act as the acting director of the fbi and i thought great

distinction that means when i recollect and the burdensome was the climate is so i just want to do with beauty subsequent events are briefly this time however important they are opening up warming issue of detail now but am i correct that on the early morning hours april fifteen nineteen seventy three you had a meeting with mr peterson not a state's attorney help write us and the prosecutors at her all it was just one of the prosecutors at once am i correct that this meeting dealt with disabilities following that meeting mr kirk that you made an appointment to see the president later in the day on april fifteen nineteen seventy three that mean comments at approximately one o'clock in the morning chairman enron morning i was up in a thirty as a result that mean you read that i had to see the president i put a call in the white

house with a thirty percent return my call at nine thirty i felt it was absolutely imperative that i see it right away he said that i have the sunday service at the white house an eleven i told him the church with my wife and children i go up there and attend that service eleven and be available to see america that was over i think the reception last until approximately one o'clock i'm interested in is one of the decisions made would be that he would withdraw the supervision of the prosecution of the watergate is the whole meeting was devoted solely to talking about me information that i have attained that night

and the consequences that inevitably must flow no funding so like to show you they dated april fifteenth nineteen seventy three a first pages typed written this the eight hundred is so and romanesque if you can identify that i think the two committees because human underneath the nineteen nineties beijing ms bee it's been