1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-05-22; Part 1 of 8

it is right and the senate of the united states a resolution to establish a select committee of the senate to conduct an investigation and study if any illegal improper or unethical activities were engaged in by any person's acting individually or in connection with others in the presidential election of nineteen seventy two or a campaign campus or other activity related to traveled to gavel coverage of today's hearing of the senate select committee on presidential campaign activity years and that correspondent jim lehrer welcome them back to primetime coverage of the senate watergate hearings are blackmail is helping host emmy awards broadcast on news and public affairs programming tonight you will be back with us for wednesday's session as you will say but

it was another banner day for watergate news only part of the only part of the major developments came from the senate hearing room james mccord did finish his testimony and he was followed and mostly corroborated by former white house aide john jay coffee caulfield said he did in fact deliver a message from the highest levels of the white house but then it through the president's name around while boeing so more about that in a minute well this story was unfolding at the hearings president nixon was releasing this four thousand words and when this statement the president denied all wrongdoing personally he reiterated his determination to remain in office but at the same time he acknowledged that he may have inadvertently give an order for taken steps which led to some of the illegal or improper activities on the part of his administration or campaigns that he opened the statement that's what quote allegations surrounding the watergate affair have so escalated and i feel a further statement from the president is required at this time said mr nixon a climate of

sensationalism has developed in which even second or third and hearsay charges are headlined as fact and repeated his back important national security operations which themselves had no connection with watergate and become entangled in the case and twelve what followed was a list of activities that has since become public and subject of criticism the president referred to the nineteen sixty nine wiretaps of employees at the national security agency weird ministration was concerned about press leaks involving salt talks and other aspects of national foreign policy then the president talked about the nineteen seventy intelligence planned created in the wake of what the president turned quote a wave of bombings and explosions unquote plan for new joint domestic intelligence operation was vetoed by fbi director j edgar hoover then it was what the president calls for special investigations unit and the press on his members call the plumbers it was appropriated within the white house to probe knows like starting with the pentagon papers said the president quote there was ever a reasonable way this

was a security leak of unprecedented proportions in quote the president feared national security would be compromise last month when e howard hunt was questioned about his participation in the burglary of the beverly hills office of daniel ellsberg's i hackers only at this point that the president finally get to the watergate case itself although he was surprised by the watergate the president said he wondered whether there were national security questions and bought when he learned that former cia employees and a member and members of the special investigations unit here again the plumbers were among those captured therefore the president continued he ordered aides ehrlichman and one to keep the investigation away from the activities double organization not one word of caution here the president's statement is very long and very complex and it will probably be published in full and most morning newspapers and i was upset to suggest that the first thing in the morning you get the paper and read all vying

for yourself now until the white house announcement this afternoon all eyes were on the senate caucus room or convicted watergate conspirator james mccord and treasury official john caulfield or testified that book told basically the same story and cocktails comments about his motivation was the investigation still one step forward and the correspondent peter carey was in the interim all day we'll watch we look for the upcoming testimony jim for the first time today we heard in the testimony of john caulfield this afternoon of direct involvement by white house counsel john dean he was a man who was supposed to have been in charge of the investigation of a coverup today he was identified by mr caulfield was perhaps a man who is in charge of the cover up itself now the trail leading directly in the office of white house counsel john dean the committee was anxious to get been witness stand but ranking minority member howard baker of tennessee pointed out difficulties and winning immunity for being from the justice department the law applies

attend a notice and a twenty day waiting period which could hold up beans appearance we can't get an attorney general and are you getting the full cooperation you just laid out and wave the thirty days i would say now i would say that we haven't had a reason submitted to us is that i have not waived if they get another reason perhaps we understand that with no reason given is that you're not getting full cooperation rice said that before and i said now so apparently john dean will not be heard by the committee until the middle of jenin unless the justice

department has a change of heart there rachel was a criminal law expert with george georgetown university law school here in watchman who watched the hearings with us today is now going to be put on the spot though from a legal standpoint is there anything the committee can do to force the testimony you're waiting for your age they have the legal procedure it seems to me of the republican senators for the select committee affair says the desires of the expedition and your presentation of witnesses should pressure the attorney general designate mr acheson the way that twenty data for a period absent that i would say the possibility exists that the committee's council should file a motion that states district court required the attorney general or his designee probably assistant attorney general henry peterson to state his reasons on the record his request for the two any day deferral period hearing on the motion in open

court by jack lew's especially if the reasons for a deferral are inherently weak i wonder bill if archibald cox of the new special prosecutor or will be the special prosecutor if and when elliot richardson is confirmed as attorney general when he have the authority to waive that rule us image and i don't use that are the guidelines well i am iran seems like you would have a great deal of influence on mr richardson or two to request the speed only unfortunate that here is the continuity of the testimony that is now being developed requires an expeditious process for these witnesses to come forward as they are as they are implicated artist which testimony surrounds them and they go oh it's so important that we not lose sight of that fact and the weight of thirty days turkey what was i guess it's not the best interest of the snow this current investigation and also true a great bill that

is remarkable at this stage of the game that mr dashwood still have to be making claims that is not getting full cooperation with just apartment after all this come up and come out up to this point ms basile center press the show's set at that time seems to the justice department's an awful lot of timelessness than once to develop this case mccain closed and why they all the sudden have to maintain a statute or accommodate for over ignore this investigation recently appeared fight about ms wynette and are playback of the hearings a reminder to keep those cards and letters coming as they say in show business would like to know your response to this counter programming is this what you think public television ought to be doing that not the fellow so if so tell us so our addresses and back post office box three hundred washington dc to ohio for four that's impact

post office box three hundred washington is that those two hundred four four aren't an issue on a planned you're doing throughout the evening years an hour by our rundown of the testimony james mccord leads off today's round saying that he fought it tends to involve the central intelligence agency in watergate cover up you said office were made a dr personnel records and have the cia director back up a story that watergate was a spy operation he's a bully the government had kept his phone records arrest under questioning from several senators record says in the second hour that offers of clemency in financial aid came primarily from the howard john caulfield you said other defendants got similar promises ago and said the same justice department files he monitored did have that the identification not available to the public that not glass of water and the third hour record says he tried privately to spike story is that a double agent involved in the watergate break in and then using materials confiscated by police report gave an on camera demonstration

felt all the ruthless question of the day came in the fourth r republican counsel fred thompson johnson wanted to know why the watergate grew up for state aid that was found by the night watchman and at mccormick telephone call to bug embassy phone so i could set up the place for a mass trial record again accused every campaign director general her of line at his trial when the court leaves the stand his friend john caulfield takes over and the fifth and most dramatic most dramatic are confirming that the taliban had met several times to talk about clemency popiel says he offered his own massive security operation of a white house code name operation sandwich yes it spell out why he testified that it was john being left him to arrange financing authorizing him to speak for the very highest levels of the white house but not for the president's party also that applied at the us which is the man who made several mysterious phone call from aboard and so is the new pieces are added to the puzzle here is senator sam are a

problem i think any questions you're welcome we do use the proper names and oh i'm not necessarily not use a nationality or ethnic

preference being the chairman thank you very much as important as well i appreciate your agreeing on friday to respond to a rather general and even possibly ambiguous question but to reiterate the question so this in perspective for today's hearings my purposes where these a remark that i thought your testimony had been very thorough in their exact are grateful for several memoranda that you provided to the committee and from which you've testified to leave it to the element of work uncertainty element sensitivity to exactitude which you've exhibited it also expressed concern that notwithstanding very thorough interview

someone executive session with the committee to continue to have the feeling that there is still a substantial amount of information which you may not think is relevant to this inquiry but which in fact may be relevant in terms of other witnesses i'm turned down pattern which emerges and again there for that i would be grateful if you would search your mind and recollection and the boundaries and find more of a jurisdictional qualification of this committee and within the scope of the general areas of inquiry which we are rove so far as you probably know the resolution is for sixty which states senate revived her investigation into presidential campaign activities in nineteen seventy two and ascertain whether or not there were illegal improper or unethical activity beyond that has to court issued an advance tour can surmise his committee is interested in our categories

members we want to know course of illegal activity or activity which it is not known to be a legal services to break in at the watergate democratic national committee this overall cover up the allegations that efforts were made by saddam to conceal involvement connections and follow the money that was involved in the campaign activities source the accounting procedures involved in tanning and the disposition of those funds and for what purpose all know who's involved in what the relationship work relationships are there is a general areas that we probed so far a reason for your ears which are i hope your other response and perspective and that one edition carrie is not only do i not know what i might ask you in these respects beyond what you've just

that do not want a limit to buy the description that outlay of the contribution that you can make this committee i believe you to be very very important ones and i reiterate this is not an adversary perceiving you're not a defendant in this forum and i'm not a prosecutor defender so with that mr mccourt if you have a further statement like that would be grateful for that may or may not generate for the questions about it as we proceed with the test get as much information as i can see a very large scope of the committee's activities i realize that it is also possible that the committee may have an impression from anybody as father may have more information to offer the nominee i think the best to set forth in this moment today that statement things that come to mind that it

would appear you would be very interested in and to respond to questions have commented anything further that the committee may well the information that they want to take i think was a memorandum which may fourth nineteen seventy three the subject of pressure on the fountains of wayne the watergate operation on cia and other matters on compared to go into that statement as time keeps her brutal murder you know it's like the interviews understand the vibe than any minute there is no objection like us eleven exhibit like this

is that you're in i have been listening to the question which was applied to the seven watergate defendants one measure which was applied was that of the summer of nineteen seventy two in which intense pressure was applied on some of the defendants were falsely blamed for purposes of that the plant's going to trial in january nineteen seventy three that the watergate operation was a cia operation this would have had the effect of clearing the committee for the reelection of the president and the white house of responsibility for the operation in two separate meetings in december nineteen seventy two that suggested that it was is my without during the trial a false story

that the operation was a cia operation i refused to do so i was subsequently inform her just before the trial began in january nineteen seventy three that the harbaugh and other online courses in miami had intense pressure to bear against the cuban americans to remain anonymous it came to me in conversations with mr bernard marker and some of the other individuals involved specifically and i was referring to mr bernardo mill worker mr eugenio r martin is mystifying based urges to mr

riggio arkansas' flowery state the sons i was subsequently informed by bernard walker just before the trial began in january nineteen seventy three that he hired one another and maim persons in miami had brought intense pressure to bear against a cuban americans who are defendants you say ensuring that it was a cia operation at my stand taken against that have been a decisive factor according to mr barker causing this point to be dropped and that restaurant was very bitter about it mr hans bitterness was later revealed really in the trial on the same individuals advisors that said that i was responsible for our being in the plight we were in were not going along with the cia at a later time i heard from barker that he had been told that the

cuban money was suspected of being funneled into the mcgovern campaign i have no knowledge that the suspicion was ever verify paragraph to december nineteen seventy two meetings with me where on december twenty one nineteen seventy two and on december twenty six nineteen seventy two at the first meeting with me at the monocle restaurant in washington dc where jarrett walsh and bernard shaw when my attorneys present at the second meeting western college and the meeting was at his offices in boston massachusetts in the first meeting all stated that he had just come from a meeting with william orbit than attorney for e howard hunt and i receive the impression and the discussion that far conveying an idea they're following a suggestion

from all that i use as my defense during the trial the story that the watergate operation was a cia operation i heard him out on the suggestion which included questions as to whether acted extensively have been recalled from retirement from cia there's a point in the operation he said that its so the personnel records of cia could be doctored to reflect such a recall he stated that question here the director cia who's appointment had just been announced what could be subpoenaed and would go along with it and quote i had and then newspapers of the day december twenty first nineteen seventy that have been announced by the white house that mr schlesinger had taken over as director of cia and that it had been decided that they will be supported by the white house to be prime minister of the fbi also went on to mention

testimony to our statement made to federal authorities but gary bender and metropolitan police department undercover officer when i had seen at the courthouse on june seventeen nineteen seventy two when i was who were arrested were arraigned today and which button under reportedly claimed that i had told him that they in that the watergate operation was a cia operation i advised also a button under have made such a statement under oath that he appointed himself and that i had not made such a claim but bender can be interviewed to determine the circumstances under which he made such a statement and whether his statement was in fact an honest fear of impressions based on events which occurred in cork which could have the slogan those were that some and some of us were identified in the hearing in court has formally connected with the cia also an argument in the name of the actor mark kelly who

he was when he was considering calling to describe cia training in which its employees were trying to deny cia sponsorship of an operation if anything went wrong he also requested that i meet with him in boston on december twenty six nineteen seventy two which at that there he opened the discussion by showing me a written statement of an interview with the lender in which the inventor claimed that on june seventeen nineteen seventy two i had told him that the watergate operation was a cia operation i repeated to her ears to the under heavy the provisions of harvard medical segment of voters i cannot use as my defense the story that the operation had been a cia failed cia operation because it was not true in addition knight told him that even i would not turn on the organization that hadn't while driving for nineteen years and all the deals that are damaging blow that

it would take years for him to recover from a violently of the organization of the wildfires organizations of its kind of the world will not let anyone else wrong only the operation that the cia but no i was completely convinced that the white house was behind the idea in the ploy which had been presented and that the white house is turning ruthless in my opinion and politically expedient at any one particular point univision on friday december twenty nine nineteen seventy two i visited the large items office in washington dc and let him read a statement which i had the prayer which i proposed to read to the press on december thirty nineteen seventy two releasing all just not turning i believe that although franklin had been present at the first meeting he was not a party to the event producer desperate shape and suggest the idea was an opportunity to meet with

me don't explain why he had undertaken the course which he had such a meeting was set up for tuesday january two nineteen seventy three in washington also failed to appear are not delivered a letter to just make a really simple just not turning ultimately called asked to meet me on january three nineteen seventy three and has to continue to monitor it we met bernard stated that he and conveying the request made of me on december twenty one in december twenty six nineteen seventy two was acting out of what he thought to be my own best interests by this time i was convinced that the point to lead the operation in cia's doorstep have been headed off to be given a second chance and this time i was also convinced that the white house had fired homes in order to put it on my own and control at cia but his world to lay the foundation for claiming that the watergate operation was a cia operation and now to be able to claim that

quote homes have been fired for quote there had been indications as early as july that the committee for the reelection the president is claiming that the watergate operation was a cia operation in late july nineteen seventy two i'm told howard hunt in july but the committee to re elect the president have risen informed him that the watergate operation was a cia operation the society said that her husband had been hired to write and that it was a cia operation by early december nineteen seventy two it appeared that the white house was beginning to make its move events of the summer twenty one in december twenty six nineteen seventy two only confirm this in my mind further based on an earlier discussion with robert martin martin in a nineteen seventy two it appeared to me that the white house had for some time been trying to get control over the cia assessment

some estimates they can conform to white house calls white house policy unquote one of the things that this nickname was that it could mean that cia estimates and assessments could then be forced to record with the early estimates a feature us weapons and hibernate this could be done at the shifting an intelligence function of the only from cia are being by gaining control over at cia among other things this also smack of the situation which covers intelligence cheuse found themselves in in the nineteen thirties and the nineteen forties when they were put in the position of telling about our military capabilities and intentions instead of what they really believed which was one of the things which led to the nazi germany's downfall only of what i saw happening to the fbi pat gray that controlled the white house and appeared then the government agencies which should be able to compare the reports and to conduct your business with complete integrity and honesty

in the national interest or no longer going to be able to do so that the nation was in serious trouble has since been confirmed in my opinion what happened in the case of great leadership of the fbi e howard hunt there's additional information want to write about today but i've stated to me on more than one occasion in the latter part of nineteen seventy two that he can't add information in his possession which quote would be sufficient to impeach the president in court in addition this is e howard hunt on november thirty nineteen seventy conversation with me steve that's a hard time which prompts attorney william hulbert an advantage in parkinson's the attorney for the committee to re elect the president in which letter purportedly flattened quotable the white house of the war unquote this is at this point in her conversation with may also repeat of disparate which

is she too had made before which was that e howard hunt had information which could impeach the president i regret that the senate was my mom has taken a slight support in view of the nature of information which i had furnished however it appeared that there was no other way to adequately so the material for it and to do so in the context of that building material in events being reported i should be glad to hear and answer questions under oath on the material which appears in this memorandum and it has the signature have a feather in addition to that statement agreed at this time to see the summer nineteen seventy two letter to john caulfield this letter is relevant to the may four nineteen seventy three novel submitted to the senate watergate committee and to the federal grand jury on the subject of pressure to place some blame on cia operation

the letter was written to john caulfield during the week of december twenty five nineteen seventy two records to this letter has appeared in the press during the best we can speaking of things and to me to be a ruthless attempt by the white house to put the blame for the watergate operation on cia where did not allow a hit it off by sending a letter to call theo katzman strong language because it seemed to me at the time but this was the only language that the white house understood the letter read and substance as far as to the best of my memory dear jack i am sad to have writing this letter if helms goes in the water and operations later the cia's report does not allow the victory in the

right now there's a message that if it weren't the right course letter was unsigned and did not contain any message or cleaning requesting any contact with called deal my request i just get me out of occasional case on facts not know such contract at any time i had wanted to talk with the cocktail it that would not have been necessary for me to go through any complicated arrangements and a tripling of the un's office in nineteen seventy three i mean only have made a phone call to call home energy usage call call now the deal brings to mind another set a communications hotline on december six nineteen seventy two on december fourth nineteen seventy two jets are bigger at

stake in an open court that the jury in january nineteen seventy three would want to know who hired them in the watergate operation on december six nineteen seventy two the washington star carried an article which appeared to me to be an administration plan story answering job surrogate cory stating words quote reliable sources state that mccourt reportedly for cubans and that they believe they were working on an extremely sensitive mission unquote business disappeared the need to be laying the groundwork for a false claim of the trial that i was a ringleader of the watergate pot this would draw attention away from huntley and oblique possibly with the white house and both of them had only worked at the white house i have not the same evening december six nineteen seventy two against

women but the attorney for hot and bernard parish residents in miami florida skating star story was untrue as it both new and asked for comments by returned mail from barker also local color on a letter stating that says he also knew the story wasn't true you sell copies of the programs can probably be obtained from the west new company with political appeal in late december nineteen seventy two i was trying to head up an effort to falsely labeling the operation caught on cia in a telegram sent letter to heart and the others in december nineteen seventy two that i just think i was trying to have on the part of the cubans up on the ladder with that internship the focus of the top of those formally connected with the white house and in the libyan campaign from those who in fact had actually recruited the cubans the ministry in the statements that i have her to read

at your questions and want to proceed and reading the statement says you would prefer for major newspapers over the weekend also referred to some calls to some local embassies job to explain those in a statement his time in july nineteen seventy two twenty five it was a cia operation center she said that day

operations they're now reporting changing immigration law i'm selling in september nineteen seventy two also in september the government has a better candidate this is the toe and i do believe that in august nineteen seventy nine go

to college until a court order forced the search for law enforcement agencies and turned the intersection of a lot of indians calls the chilean embassy i knew that the government in addition to that the government had not been truthful in denying wife and the couple's case some years earlier and harder case subsequent years for several weeks until it was forced from the government in an effort to test the truthfulness of the government and of the defendants phones and white watergate cases including the song i made two goals in september and october nineteen seventy one this is in nineteen seventy three victim of the government

and even talese was and sort of different government agencies are such records and believe that the government was not telling the truth in january nineteen seventy three after caulfield that initiated contact contact with me advising of the country to give them a greater and secondly of the two telephone calls just before two other indications to me the legal perception of my phone call and both he came back a few days later and said that the government had found nothing on the phone call he did not say what he had found what he had done about the information of perjury in january a journey to renew the motion for discovery of interception michael saluted be two such requests on the record and i believe he did this on january seventeen january sixteen nineteen seventy three

i knew that the truth in the cigars would be insufficient to overturn a case because that would happen if such were on the record would be for the government to take the information to the bench and for the judges to get information furthermore the government with state that the information would not be used in evidence anyway i did believe that observes disclosure would be a way of testing the truth was so the government regarding illegal interceptions and i was concerned that there had been other conversations and those available beginning june seventeen nineteen seventy two other heavily in that believed that such it's such an illegal interceptions of my phone calls that occur kurds side to have a blank on the case i still believe that was such an intersection just as the elder believed that his own phone

calls had been intercepted and that is a testament to this new york times of the day state title of the article warning against blaming cia is late to court and continuing on the topic of this memorandum that section of the watergate operation john mitchell pritchett have his of his position as attorney general of the united states and john dean richard his position as counsel to the president but their consideration of the watergate operation in my opinion a sanction to the watergate operation but both the white house and the attorney general's office is i had been accustomed to working in an atmosphere where state sanctioned by the white house and the attorney general was more than enough as

with white house staffers it was not my habit to question went to such officers sanctioned activity and capable force and effect in the heat of a presidential slot section preceding thirty years i've been working on the question of the matter or an activity would always be sent to have legal officials are a legal decision on the matter or if they sanction that that was sufficient i collaborate on this in another way i have plenty of other things to do at the committee to re elect the president that he wanted to how he came to be seeking their help with the word that had the approval of the attorney general he said it was a privacy invasion in order to obtain information regarding but on the political intelligence but also regarding violence were even groups who would be planning violence against a committee in washington

and later at the august convention site there by endangering the lives and the property of the committee for the opportunity and it's personal my mission was a protection of such legends as property uppermost in everyone's mind at that point i'm uncertain in mind was a budget which had occurred at the nineteen sixty eight democratic national convention in chicago and i constantly some intelligence from any source which might help foreigners and help support in nineteen seventy two that danger to the lives of our people right to demonstrate to the right to peaceful assembly is a right guaranteed in the constitution absolutely no issue that it was a two to three percent of the demonstrators who focused on balance damage to life and property that concern in nineteen sixty nine we had seen the bombing of the capitol building itself in a nineteen seventy two we had seen the bombing of the pentagon with the equivalent of eighteen sticks of dynamite in february nineteen seventy two there were four

pipe bombs in place at a police station in manchester new hampshire reportedly in place car with him was a young woman who had in her possession or letters which said quote we had just bombed the offices of the committee to re elect the president in new hampshire found in her apartment for the makings of other pipe bombs it was clear to me that they had to be to others that the intention of the two work going from the police station and drop are other bombs or crp offices in manchester where there have been demonstrations in trouble a few days before and then action a few days later in oakland california another pipe bomb wasn't placed on the first floor of the republican county headquarters and below the windows and then there's a part of the building luckily no one was injured or killed already there

in february there was a pattern then the bombings beginning to develop to develop because the committee against republican caucuses subsequently in austin texas the offices of senator tower were destroyed by fire alarm which i believe as i recall that a million dollars worth of damage and destroyed irreplaceable mouse so the concern was not a theoretical threat that a realistic threat about one in advance notice from anywhere that i can to see that action plan against those of the sort of advance notice of warning so it could take measures to protect against the need to protect our people's lives could be replaced lives could not questions were on my mind in such as who are these people who bombed in new hampshire and go on in the pentagon building the capitol building how the funding for that working with those a collusion with them encouraging them vietnam veterans against the war was one such violence korea or any group that was already saying in the

spring of nineteen seventy two that they're going to cause friction to life and property of us republican convention using in their own words their own bodies and weapons and other weapons as a spirit of the attacker these are their exact words and some of them have since been indicted in tallahassee florida with additional evidence plans to cause damage to life and property of convention later in the summer of nineteen seventy two the vietnam veterans against the war did in fact have offices of the democratic national committee headquarters in washington as i understood it also received information from internal security division of the department of justice may nineteen seventy two that some individuals in florida college credential to get into the republican convention site and look up the communication centers of both parties there and cause havoc on the

convention floor that information was part of the basis for my going to miami in june nineteen seventy two with members of the white house staff to survey and the strength and the security of the hotel robert the white house that fantasy art piece that were to have both officers' quarters or july and august nineteen seventy two some thirty recommendations remain as results of that survey of mind to help protect against such announcement the that most were put into effect before the convention i don't say that word from crp sources alleging that the mcgovern committee had a quote pipeline directly into the offices of an agreement the president in washington and allegedly they were beating up on a regular basis policy position papers that is plans and strategy which really important to the success of the candidates campaigning the other side were reading your program to get new data plans we had word that

one of the volunteers at the committee for the reelection the person had in fact prior to coming aboard committee john mitchell and of other persons this was about the same time the government by an assassination an assassination attempt there were numerous threats in writing and iphone and john mitchell and his wife one such probe for talking to the unlisted phone of mrs nugent their apartment that are greatly upset because it would appear it appeared that even the unlisted telephone number no longer appear to say we certainly insufficient indications about oriented groups were up endangered wildlife and property with some two hundred and fifty thousand demonstrators trying to go to the convention we have heard as early as the early part of nineteen seventy two and some of the statements that when the uk and the us the questions were of course who were such people who are funding them who were or

encouraging whose inclusion of a planning next and where our human being supported and encouraged by step to reduce that members of the mcgovern committee or dnc i had no indication whatever in the park just to the contrary i was completely convinced that it's not that i was not so sure that without their knowledge that the numbers might not be working behind the record quietly encouraged such groups as the va budget governor a political base was with some of the questions were up six ton of such an urgent if any and how hard it'll go the bailout such confusion telephones and work in their offices are indications later nineteen seventy two that such groups actually did in california and the dnc in washington these were then

some of my concerns in my role as a security chief its european felt at the watergate operation might produce some leads and things on these questions and have been advised that the operation had the sites in the white house and the attorney general attorney general in hindsight i do not believe that the operation should have been sanctioned are executed national averages harbor eventually yeah so my motivations and what the atmosphere was at that time and those are some things that make up the atmosphere and the motivation comedian in the cia in late nineteen seventy three john mitchell or key members quote intelligence advisory committee will

announce soon that this was the intelligence evaluation committee refer to i believe in the new york times a may twenty one nineteen seventy three i have previously submitted to the senate watergate committee which i believe contains material which was a product of that committee which i paint on the evaluation section of the internal security division of the department of justice a contract status to mr robert martin in a nineteen seventy two i had no not much of the sources of that committee has a separate part of mr robert martin during a brief conversation in june nineteen seventy two stated to me that he is going to be in charge of intelligence operations at miami during the convention unquote he did not elaborate further the next item is

different in january moore in nineteen seventy two gordon liddy told me that he was going to las vegas nevada in connection with the chasing dreams editor of the las vegas that he said that attorney general john mitchell and told him that greenspan had in his possession blackmail type information involving a democratic candidate for the president but michel wanted that material that you said that this information was in someone like you're related indicating that the scandal became president the racketeer international crime syndicates would have to control or influence over him as president and the nation at this point i am speaking of today's biggest does believe the allegations against democratic candidate referred to go out and to believe that there was in reality some other motive for wanting to get into greenspan's a prayer let it only one day in february nineteen

seventy two that is going up to las vegas and might need my help if there was an alarm system in the offices when an operation was mounted later to enter a safe greenspan's offices to get that information a few days later politically that he had been to las vegas and have looked over the offices there was no such alarm system and that my services will not be needed subsequently in about a parlor maid nineteen seventy two political me that he had again been to las vegas one of the casing a response options they said that there have been plans for entry operation into greenspan's state he went on to say that at an intriguing country team finished its work they would go directly to an airport near las vegas where a howard hughes playing would be standing by to fire victim directly into central american country so that the team would be out of the

country before the break and was discovered her around the same time that that he made this statement to me about the howard hughes playing mr hock for him in his office one day that he was in touch with the howard hughes company and that they might mean eating my security services after the election he said that they had quite a while investigating security operation and has made from a business card and asked if i would be interested i said i would like to know more about what was in bob gave him a pardon but never heard from him again on the subject how to read in the newspapers at a july one nineteen seventy two the cup had apparently healthy howard hughes campaign donation to the committee for the reelection present sometime in nineteen seventy two gordon liddy told me in february nineteen seventy two that he too had held a howard hughes campaign check a donation to the nineteen seventy two campaign this is the extent of my knowledge that

question so i think there's a great deal of visual information number of new questions i'm sure my colleagues on the committee will want to pursue that are the questions i we're not getting along this first there are a series of questions i think that i think that your father elaboration an extension of your state of mind or motives and the several operations especially the watergate operation outburst more clearly at least to me let me try to paraphrase the essence of your motivation for goodness sakes the missile but i wanna know this is the general message that you're giving us one you had a long background of experience with government

agencies here yesterday it become accustomed to activities related to sensitive matters top security matters and to taking direction of accepting at face may have a reputation for the orders for the reporters are very occasionally taking the justice department but for a variety of reasons when you were called on to enter the democratic national headquarters in washington's watergate complex for a variety of reasons including your general knowledge of threats against the crp threats against general mitchell and his family threats against others by plumbing fire bombings threats of violence on the life coupled with your concern for national security matters if that's the proper way to characterize that you decided on that assumption that her authority was complete that you no longer need to concern yourself with legality of it that based on

this information today and based on the assurances with her forthcoming that it seemed appropriate that you undertake that entry is that a fair statement of your general motivation at the time and i think still is this reportage you have any motivation to enter the democratic national committee for political purposes as distinguished from security purposes it's not important in terms of the law and approved it is important in terms of your state of mind my own motivations i have stated here and rollerblade and a sense of an electronic

component of the team that played that role record speaking of electronic surveillance you know our barbecue ever investigator bugging of republican headquarters the committee for the reelection of the president headquarters here in europe or elsewhere you describe that the committee it was a regular ongoing activity at the caucuses in washington and that the new york farm of the committee for the reelection the president which was referred to as the november groups and offices of cleveland park avenue in new york this is the beginning of the year we're going on the sour part of the committee that

election did you discover any activity of lesser there was one incident on june sixteenth of some concern huckabee or offer sympathy for the re election of those residents there have been earlier signs of possibly some illegal activity at those offices are june sixteenth which i could describe it only after june sixteen nineteen seventy two about mid afternoon and received a call from the head of the office of new york city who's he but just that had just occurred you had to relate one of the secretaries at the office and received a call from a male individual in los

angeles california and that she had immediately told a party that you would call him back on the last line says police line calling back on that line and immediately but still she called and as i recall they will cheer hotel or cannot be absolutely certain that a phone booth there and during the conversation that the two of them have been about a few minutes into the conversation there was a cook over the phone which was heard by her and by it on the other end of the line and what appeared to be a tape recording was played over the telephone line which was as you describe it what i talk with with her an anti nixon and an anti war

cabaret and corporate america from and understand this to be a call initiated from your aunt wants climate is flat rate monthly telephone line over the country got to a number in california can you say whether or not the situation describe doesn't fly past that you're tapping or an intrusion into that circuit by someone and author gary despite have you ever locate the source of that day and i can relate to what we get what he says are the only living color would hurt the us to the two security officers also your company he had previously been contacted the officer stated that kind of

praise the point numerous points of access to the telephone line within and beyond the november offices themselves that investigation was to continue throughout the weekend and the reports will be forthcoming as to what they had learned about it did they know about what you were saying that they also consider the illegal interception of telephone conversation or their other incidents stop help fb