1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-08-06; Part 5 of 6

the plaintiff through the planned interview with mr barry oh and most of your gains june the twenty second and july the sixth close up and i would say perhaps a just a guess a couple dozen times of that was discussed and that request was made in our communities and how many times did mr helms tell you that there was no cia involvement so me and that specific matter except for the region twenty second conversation because my other conversations were directed to laugh a specific question for example the conversation

specifically there's no and he said no companies that means if you have with mr bazan must've felt training june twenty second and the united states when you call this mcgregor the three of us mr davis thank you did you get any other greeting guests at the state of the investigation that was going on from other people in the fbi during those meetings aren't any other means not at

the colonial how are you keeping up with the state of the investigation and a period of time there were these initial twenty eighteen i guess did you think that mr dean wilkening to persistent in his request that you're not there or so the interview and i'm just going to resist but circumstances exist

you're so well he even continue to request that you not pursue this interview on interrogation unit after unit told him that the cia had assured you that there was no danger of involving the cia in mexico is not correct that's correct now you were talking to two very knowledgeable man mr felton is to base with respect to investigations they were meeting you and you were going over the state of the investigation now you collectively that

that being persistence was actually a design to do something with respect to this investigation those are the reason i didn't is that we're investigating one small class of a witch and i mindlessly didn't turn out to be a cia money for a political contribution so i can truthfully say that we didn't get that excited about it except to say that these leads are going to be covered eventually and we continue to work closely with the sole exception of interviewing individuals concerns are and then what was the basis for you including weekend workers at the president was about to be victimized or that he might be morally won't because general what was conveyed to meet a very clear impression that he was going to be directed to write a letter the meeting would say the cia interest in singing oh mandy well carol ann arbor that

was his preoccupation and that was when he would discuss with me and did discuss the fact that he was going to resign and he wants to see the president that this would be a great disservice to the present but this will be injurious to both of our institutions the non and united states that you'd get caught mr mcgregor at ten fifty one and received a call from the president at eleven twenty eight mr may soon that it's an invasive figure some curiosity in your mind i think there is i don't know i really don't and then that if you a few days thousands of the two telephone calls

if you were thinking of calling mr mcgregor to ascertain whether or not your call assertive not because i believe it is there anything to be substance of the questions with you oh interesting finding out what the reaction the president was if mr mcgregor talking about your message well i may very well have been arrested on the road bang on the president's tour and amanda reply help but i didn't see the chief executive officer of the nation the information that i want and i was really surprised because i was going to say why did you select mr mcgregor actor as the messenger carry on your massing waiting to call the

president to sell because i didn't feel that i have to call the president myself one does not want a president without doing it some do but you have been at that point that the president was being victimized though that he might be mortally wounded that it regretted their rights secular yes i know why didn't you wrote the findings or did you it is my responsibility now did you ever report any any part of this investigation results that optimistic when he's been any as stage between june twenty second unstable the first of nineteen seventy though substance because that this isn't the way it

is thank you and you're welcome the yiddish your parents on your nomination you a complex vivid colorful sir during the video is senate judiciary committee was passing on your nomination to be director of the fbi you know they have a conversation with jell o you have a copy of all the al qaeda model seven a late nineteen seventy three

and i have to thin margin six nineteen seventy three i thought that a certain only six thirty four pm now you're welcome you're welcome that girl the contents of all say one of the agents in the fbi and that these documents and others to all about twenty eleven you yourself another time i don't know that i was concerned lots of cities do to

you and you know and i think you're right the name of the titans and the brecht parable about what he's going to be absolutely son an emotional line that they had to the fbi and don't make a distinction between the fbi oh everything sen allen what i was telling them mr erlichman there was told him on the evening of march the sixth it's not much to celebrate because that is the day on which we received a letter from the aclu what i was that i can do now that because the language of mine is is right there with

reference to the letter that was delivered on that day and that was an evening of march the sixth well what is mr chairman if i may be areas that i was being pushed up with audience or the fact that i've got to get in the midst of being reports the fbi interviews and had emitted mr dean sittin on fbi interviewed well the place all this is that you all along are you a vote on west indian the couple boys set in our ways and say it came out on principle unstable admit that the fbi and instead of sum up i'm in the eighties another giving the right the message mr chairman let me say that the messages that i gave to mr erlichman was the taliban being shot up what was

not certainly a message to tell him that if asked under oath that he could not testify because i had previously spoken to john being on this very subject and i asked him if he had stolen reviews and everything about those same very files that he had told me and i don't know what that means we are right now at the interview i was telling that element of the gun being shut up unless he told a real axe over a question about that and he that is being in this is that is that is correct between the watergate evidence and among watergate

evidence is they told me all right paul ryan you have called him and through him and yesterday while the governor's plan and maybe say ok now right interpretation of that so that you go oh oh and i asked

him to see the dj at one of people that got that you think that all the contents of ponce had been delivered that the odd one comment today is relevant part of a lot of record i think you got to put that in the proper context as the gemini just that all the day before john being regarding a seminar in which i went into a chapter and verse with him because he had told and repeated sin of the delivery of groceries fox tv and i asked adina to you john paul handley everything you told me about those files that they were non watergate evidence non watergate related she clearly not be permitted to see the light they were political dynamite so this has got to be put in the proper context that there's no question about it and that's all of well i was saying that john erlichman vote on being shot up as he was making nice distinctions that of those who did not make it with me or my assumption

was that they had the liver all of the watergate evidence that was in restaurants vows to the eighties principled opposition businesses thank you dan talk about this in tehran on the contrary to how liverpool the fbi and we didn't do that in the call on the end and that big you're questioning sadly that was my understanding of the law again tell me one thing i said yeah if you want to appeal

how are you those who are patient the conversation you as politicians and security committed we elected president then the most part time it was discovered that battle a white house consultant the reason the white house was oh all implicated and

yesterday you're welcome oh yeah that gradually found those alienated investigation by apple you started working on that improbable call form knew that the job was done in connection with the fbi and cia i know in this investigation that was the very first day that i was back to my trip to the

west coast that was on june twenty three is the libyan foreign media giant being at conducting that type you got to have the communication you know according to allow you to put a farce we didn't feel it was that your communications human cell field communications you don't want a communications you are her recommendations do i make him a cult classics communication between you and being part of the regime as an anomaly in college you get from that that investigated as leader of the political money and the cia activities well he didn't characterize it as

political money at almost family told me that there was definitely a cia interest in these two gentleman and obama whoa whoa whoa who has testified before you would see you but the white house in all of this bob so that was as you will the investigation into the mexican tension about were well i continued the peripheral investigation as i had previously testified mr chairman that there's no question about it but there was a temporary delay encountered and interviewing mr gary owens for dr no question about that in iraq

it was all the investigation of the cia for so that's the reason that you will move more well <unk> statement the media at least three times during my july sixth meeting and you were directed to write such a letter to me saying there was cia and tristan couple with mr edmonds cancellation of the meeting that i'd spent on june twenty eight the answers as well hello robert

mr yoo right yes because you know after i thought would be the president mr chairman i thought surely that the channel waters and i were a line to stand up for what we believe to be so was not so the moment as well as that just the way that we do i do i agreed with gentle waters that if you were directed to write such a letter this could be modeling moving to the president and when settlers got up to leave after putting his hands behind his death and saying to me oh i haven't americans are

not concerned about my pension anymore not develop these kids kicked me around we discuss whether or not the president should be going and i don't know what it was i first mentioned or whether it was gentle woman yes sir we do so i knew how to get him the role and then you got to call this survey and well you tell whether that all the world will be heavily whoa whoa no more as i said that one reason i really haven't some people and used that are kind of modeling and when you act did you expect that you will a memoir about how one wanted i wanted this message out of the president with great fear and trepidation and i expect that the president would ask me a

question now those are not the medieval me you know when i said to them i get in their message and then i said i just told them that record and i've asked him to speak with you and you say you are welcome but you know what mr chairman i don't think i'd testified that i would've i checked with general walter isn't the meaning of september twelve and on the meeting of i mean the july twelve and july twenty years even president called him i would i was and i was interested to know they will likely among the decision well in your testimony helped the new compilation

they kept a proverb talked about the war and he says among those are the eu who's right do thank you mr chairman that is making observations are on the very first sunday that i went to mass after being appointed acting director of the federal bureau of investigation the lesson of the maps and the little leaguer that was passed out of damascus the story of jo and for some strange reason i put that in my briefcase and i kept that there ever since the power is

back it is your muscles did you ever take your telephone conversations or your conversations in your office no sir i've never given you ever voted for him and so does it ever done for him was it ever got to the best of my knowledge information and believe this was never done i saw no reason to do it airline which after all a pretty strong charges against the nature and quality of the fbi investigation in order and light of that article if we chose

to look into the matter and interview the saying in principle agents and others who are actually involved in the investigation through june tell us who we ought to talk to a search service before this committee seventy six seventy seven one thirty four when eighty one were that they support the law the intensity of this investigation mr mccourt is being very unfair and his allegations forty men and women of the federal bureau of investigative force much attention on wednesday many witnesses would be characterized as unfair about one party or the other depending on the point of view

but are you in a position as the names of all those officials of the epidemic but this is new those names right but i wish you would if you don't mind can follow so we don't have to go through the exhibit of every person and the fbi to have some part in the investigation of the watergate episodes of medicine like thousands of it jim yes sir yes but receiving land here investigators interview

yes sir i'm not sure that it has in it is within the an hour of it was the gray or myself you come up with the names of all of the agents working on their word on one investigation by germany's those copies of documents which he doesn't in his possession i convey that one ever that we've made too this is the preparation for information from the fbi in recent weeks has been denied as i'm not complaining about the emmys when i try to think it isn't possible it was great to come up with all the names that your question seems to assume now at the age of forty three of them

those days in the fields i really don't know what i want i don't suppose were an investigator interview all three hundred and forty one ages but we might but what i'm interested in is information that we can arrive by interviewing npr personnel vary on the allegations by the most important his article which says senior personnel of the fbi's all search warrants were turned down and other matters in terms of allegations that were made in the article that's really what i'm after many other names even supplies that you think would be helpful in testing the quality of the investigation and the enthusiasm the burners of the investigation be helpful but i have to you to yours appeared to have that respect obviously i'm not calling on give us exact detail will coach or not in a position to do so at this point which are in a far better position that i suppose

if you do your best in that respect and appreciate the lesser known as the mysterious this week while talking about the fbi investigation as i've indicated the michael moore article aside there's been a good bit of speculation about how there aren't approaching it was like a long story short the fbi's warrant top spot he's been in the league organization and joining us for a reputation i think it's still great organization and will continue to be i'd like to ask this is it seems to me maybe there's something about the nature of the relationships of the fbi to other writers government and particularly for the justice department the white house don't necessarily make it the best possible agency for the investigation of alleged political activity of this type now four s of course now with a year in advance i haven't

even abiding this address that the federal police system i'd be terribly shocked and surprised this country ever came to the federal police force you have any thoughts you can give this committee on how the fbi might be structured the city damon i'm a part of the justice department or not art or whether it should or should not be bitchy investigatory arm or things of this title you surely you had better insight and that that idea but can you comment on the nature of the fbi's future or that might relate to political actors well this is a very difficult question answered because i found some of my research that there's never been a situation like this with the fbi i would like to find my son

the morale in the fbi is why the fbi is not the law last year and even letters that i get the day from some of those free agents do you still write to me what has happened here and i think you do it is very difficult at some of the exhibits before this committee will have tested for example where one of our special agents was accused by two newspaper reporters as being a source of their story a very controversial and very inflammatory story getting so right in the fall and this is all happening at the same special agent i'd rather in connection with the interview

of that this is i wasn't going to remember me it's this type of thing i think that perhaps those predictions in this kind of a situation may very well have been overwrought by individuals with whom they had to come and contact in the course of their interviews and they may not have asked as tough questions as we might have wished to do yet i have a report from them that they didn't ask of those tough questions there were plaintiffs in an independent agency would create a national police force a proper individuals select that that agency and with the idealism a love for this country that is so

necessary i think that it could safely be done and removed completely there's no question about it with us with justice we were right in the matrix well no question about as a parent gets to drop her statement that it might be possible or have an independent agency but george annas jurisdiction he has served as my feeling and even my confirmation hearings i testified that i wanted to work with the committee on the judiciary i wanted to work with an oversight committee and i chop even with people who heavily criticized the fbi because i wanted their view i wanted to know what they thought i met with the protesters who have the princeton fans to see what i think that with the type of man and woman notices in the fbi legislators considered an independent agency operating under an oversight committee

without fear the creation of a national police force that's become a bible i didn't see any evidence at all in the year that it also hear that i have in the federal bureau of investigation of independence seaport at national police force i said just the opposite i'm sure we'll have an opportunity to discuss and the private conversations legislators like your suggestions are well taken and i think they will and just a moment senator walker drive to tie ups and was centered learning great relationship with president nixon over television coverage of the senate watergate hearings will continue after a pause for station identification i don't read coverage of these hearings is provided as a public service by the member stations of pbs of public broadcasting service it's b fb

and that continues its coverage of hearings by the senate select committee on presidential

campaign activities you again correspondent jim lehrer so i carried out resumes questioning his friend l patrick gray so insofar as my question's concerned but there's one lesson i think that i want to pursue trying to the president's state of the theory of maple were thinly on march twenty one outer and i personally one of those conducting investigations to get all the facts and reporting directly to me right in the suburbs and all i asked you whether or not you'd receive such an order from the president of that time you know i just

if any responses come in the future from preseason reporting is that we put them in the proper context it could be interpreted the reason why he received no such order was a law you know any knowledge that there was a lack of governance lack of faith in you at this time march twenty first on the part of the prisoners there no says another fact i received a call from the president on march of twenty thirteen were among other things he told me there would always be a place for me in the nixon administration like here you have another conversation april first or work out to this committee the nature that

phone conversation it to make annoying we might shorten up in iraq ended on april fourth it was just too human moment for comedy withdrawing her nomination on that day or the next day it was indicated to you by the attorney general moved to crimea would be allowed to lawyer named and at the white house was expecting a call so with that background that he wanted out of that background please do isn't that evening after i met with the assistant director of the fbi five thirty to tell him that i was going to request the president withdraw my nomination i call president and i told him it was obvious that i did not have the votes and that the nomination would not come out of the committee and i thought the best thing that i could do would be to the question to

withdraw my nomination and he told me that this was a i can't these are not his exact words i know that but that thought it's clear that this was a better thing to have happened to me then there'll be another time to fight our enemies and he again said i'm quite positive there be a place for you in the nixon administration and i believe that i read to him what is this until my successor will be named and confirmed president said to me i will want you to do just that and i did i remained there until april at one is that they feel that the police and so forth up that they both have firsthand knowledge but first

yes because i mean i'm quite certain i read in that in my letter words that i would remain jittery desire until a successor is nominated and confirmed now leslie or korea was on trial starting with a phone call to me from here on the seventeenth of april morning around nine o'clock a really limited that live within them all an assignment that moment in time for meetings and twenty twenty six and subsequent days following the truth all the complete story to me and the committees there to the committee i believe miriam says the committee

today wonder why and in some instances is incorrect and that i have because he told me first is not like that on record in saying that and even going on the way more troops came from you know one of the local morgue in this time i think of an example that finally something in people's minds that happened right before this committee we all talk about the july six phone conversation i remember hearing that in some thirty in the morning the morning of a big tent john walters reports that

given testimony before we march for islam at an issue that visible example is through the money matters that you live for certainly i don't know and deeply appreciative of what must have been a very difficult role and nobody has exonerated anybody else and you've admitted to committing yourself to the burdens the us but li says that doesn't undermine critical question and i noticed that the women are going to come out of that maybe the agents were over on those who hadn't intervened les paul my question you were you over awed by the man the man institution of government that you were before

i know that i was overwrought i certainly every year well classified as a deep and abiding respect built up over the years for the office of the presidency and knowing him feeling in my own mind had no matter who comes into that office he always rises to the burdens of that office and of the individuals and that in my judgment in my books have always been a well then beyond reproach and with perhaps with that in mind senator like yeah you can say yes to that i was overwrought but i believe they're not interested and i think i had every reason to believe and trust and that no time that i ever consider that i was dealing with individuals were trying to sweep me into the very conspiracy that i have the responsibility of investigating that's a madman's are i just didn't have that the beginning of the record

so the syrians the peterson seventy one senator in a way i think that was the evening of april twenty six but the attorney general is larger private ups yesterday did say that you agree with this observation so i was sitting there i was sitting in the overstuffed chair and i remain sitting there as mr peterson laid up and down seventy year i'm scared that i said why is that because i believe that human rights are not and i suppose they'd say didn't care and i said do you think i should go and he said yes

i get out of a chair is a new agreement edition's observation i couldn't believe it because i had no basis on which to agree with it and wanted to supervise a partial because i that was the deal isn't when you don't agree with them i didn't even in the sense that he and i were expendable or not but i mean that and certainly as i testified earlier that it appeared to be that i was that this memo to extricate myself with water in this situation in which i promise of at this point in time those data centers that's the nation's

defenses and this was close and the debate as a question to you in the good of the fbi because the us and the justice department was in the matrix a political activity in washington and my reporting is that and when i said that matrix of political activity but certainly in a political matrix of the question about who was until monday you made several speeches and some have suggested that these were politically inspired your belief that these were justified among political speeches senator inouye as the five and i believe that i went out to talk about the fbi to talk about america which i love very very deeply this is my country and i was talking about that because there are a lot of people who were knocking this

country and i was talking about this it was in fact senator i want to know that there were people at the white house who are complaining that i was making too many states believing his degrees i believe in my country and the whole leaving at all pleased to be taken as political speeches i said i'm charlie we're going to continue to make those speeches and get out of my country now other men will definitely and they have said that this was what was in my heart in my mind i'm making those speeches given that so the fbi may have a thorough investigation of the watergate incident and decide a patent sixty employees of snack portion of the prison were interviewed by donations is that correct that's only one of the tracks that i cited

senator and that was in response to that direct question that one of the members of that is the comedy but that is not the basis of the investigation and says police and witnesses in september nineteen seventy through the non operating bug was discovered and the democratic national committee of all i believe in the form of his disposal we think of it right i don't know the number that we serve and i know that the assistant united states attorney was very insistent that that he ran up very early because a contented was made that this body had been there all time and

serves seventeen nineteen seventy two whatever senator those of the senate are generated and so not only are the fbi raided the border x number of interviews for the democratic national committee was any suggestion that the democrats have themselves to hear this is an especially relationship was the biggest concern was given that request the destruction of certain classified documents these papers that he suggested and probably have to

testify live on the cia and watergate and it isn't just a question of interviews with hillary but given the money is eventually be suspicious of the disease there's a sitting there is counsel of the president if i'm a senator he didn't request it is this was my impression of the conversation the clear impression that this was work that there was a message that this is what was going through and that's

a disappointment for classified information the impression that i got was that they should be destroyed center in a way and i'm just five years on this is it is clear is that as the director of the fbi are going to operate on the basis of the impressions so this was the situation president obama says that the president wants a new senator has to be a clear message with distractions are just on april twenty seven vote this year you became suspicious mr beatty right the city's

twenty six twenty seven nixon denies it but as the next person president of ending this morning from his office and he was going to discuss with him a los angeles times report that the informant was that wasn't that a lot of the vetting of democratic it was now your command and he said that must have been was clear and clean that you still believe the us being was involved in some way this was supposed to be and

i am at the involvement is he's confirmed for me later on it was on the fifteen and the subsequent developments the president's statement and the whale leaders of europe i was overly concerned no because i testified that this is the first inkling that i think would've been involved and then the fact that this was subsequently confirmed later on the cell phone conversations of april fifteen and the events that follow but this was this is the first glimpse of the same and i think the president's statement the race that thing when i go i

think he was very dismissive of my state of mind you're welcome writer and i was convinced that the senior executives of the fbi where we discuss this you know this isn't something that we did not discuss we consider that these people were sort of intelligent to be involved in this kind of sordid business just disregard every other mr delaney dme has been a government it is an

investigation i want to know that i read your statement very carefully not once not price three times trying to figure out what motivated you just a minute i shall carry the burden of that ad with me all things this movie renoir and i can appreciate your situation and it had a lot of hurt which encompasses a pattern experienced by many others at the white house and at the canadian elected president now we as human beings cannot help but have compassion and intensity of the watergate

why do you think that the tentacles of watergate tax so many good people so adversely well senator i would like to save some i have a lot of hurricanes i certainly did no exception now my

responsibility and i had never played on anything senators and many others get to us and they are going to under similar circumstances and my sympathies in spite of their motivations hurt thank you very much sir i don't know what the question is but anderson memorandum to you that i do not mean the ones that he wrote regarded as an account of his conversations with you sixteen

this week does that there was another reason he's been seriously i yes i was at their

identifications that was on the record as chairman that we can make these memoranda all right at one hundred years you said that you in concert he's determined the scope of the fbi investigation but the same time that you and your agents were not allowed to follow leads and i'm asking you if you can the german spoken to necessarily determine the legion fall yes and that is not exactly correct answer because those investigations i think the exhibit shows the german by the department of justice he's sober this

investigation but the director of the fbi has not said the scope of the investigation in a situation of this we have an intercepted communications investigation in the burglary investigation will come a time i know legal counsel then we met people i should say my people to my accounting in front section of the general investigation division that with mr peterson on this particular sound beacon at this time mr peterson did not feel that there was sufficient factual evidence on which to go into that area that

determination isn't all those ragged not that's a matter of record recommendation before this committee oh nice the case agent level working with the assistant united states attorney and in conjunction with the other agents working on the case but the acting director of the fbi does not determine and set up the cleats mr gray you're you know the term we use making a contemporaneous writing following a conversation did you make any contemporaneous writings follow in your conversations with us while others and the president in relation to mr walters contemporaneous wright reveals of the congress

review as the wife you know yeah no i could not take any notes of those total cost of the project rather momentous occasion was a you know that is that it was very aggressive and i think the events in to remember it and do it right now they're entertainers that the record was re was never discussion talks about love recommending that the president appoint a special prosecutor for the watergate place yesterday

was only did you do who drew it up and a very carefully with them and disgusted with them discussing the same day about it did not approve of the new recommendation you stated that this would be very awful lot to the mob justice in the us this was just an act that could not be taken august break during her confirmation hearings you'll awkwardly and i reject the senate judiciary committee the fbi records out you're welcome mr adamson the watergate investigating the united states senate judiciary

committee but those arms no patients in those arteries i should say mike walker was rescinded by an order that i received from the journey down great never had any indication that any of your agents were engaged in any so called dirty tricks for the virus is so is this an indication of that this is national security and that's the question of that post it now when you worked before the senate judiciary committee we're misunderstood miss the

findings to make contact you and tell you that he would like to meet him every day maybe maybe the next day yes i think they did and those meetings with anyone or very few of them i think there was only one of the five o'clock hour would reveal it because of the heat in just keeping up with a girl were necessary preparation did you ask him to meet with you and at some point that timing said no pettis it's all over now no i didn't do that if you don't remember that you couldn't comment on whether or not you're getting the feeling of an issue being propped up those are a good feeling that i was being dropped into outright requested that the nomination the

withdrawal was declining stormy there are other candidates being looked into just greater than fbi agents years have taken documents from this game in this tournament in the manner which you did not report it to the fbi that would be a very large possibility that they would be invited and at least five and that's because these men these men were my superiors and certainly that would be his superiors and i'm not at all certain that i want to leave the matter and that is driving the president spoke with you on march twenty third nineteen seventy three you say this morning that you had a strange feeling it that may be your calls or do you have time to reflect and to know that there has been a discovery a certain take things that are having a different

reflection of the president's conversation to you that they are muslims and i don't want to put words in my mind in this i just can't do that i told my testimony i think was not that i had any revealing it was being recorded with the revealing that was being sent reporters and i really get a sense of the conversations good morning sir the engine an investigation we've had

some information from the bureau and the indications are that there were three hundred and forty three agents investigating this case that two thousand three hundred and forty seven fifty six of the time the officers were involved and twenty two thousand four hundred and three men outlived on this issue and yet we know now that there were tremendous actors which were not the only persons and i had one person who were indians to pour in the water you'd serve at the time of the great so that investigation investigation i think there's a sense of

pride i have the deepest sense of pride in that investigation which is one of the reasons that i operate through the united states senate members of the united states senate beginning early in april where i believed that i was going to continue to remain in the position of acting director we began to watergate investigation and the fbi i sat some of the talking to repair think the fbi investigation through the meetings of the select subcommittee i feel good but that was a very very very good investigation but i would also say that we have to take what people are telling us too and in many cases in conjunction with the assistant united states attorney people were brought right to the rancher we try with the ways available

to us to be the very best quell have you can't order now an investigation is in the results are produced and without that we have are producing some pretty decent the results of the town david you would just run for the judiciary committee in february and as of now matter how many man hours were expended on interviews were conducted around the agency resigned and the result was not as it appears to be uncertain i realize i realized that there's thousands but i still say to you that on the basis of everything that we have to work with them on the people we interviewed i think that there's a sense there that might have that is correct and that was taken up during the

meetings that we have part of my confirmation hearings and i asked a question and then i was told by a senior executives that we have absolutely no leaks that led to mr haldeman and the league was about to interview what gets them of a point he mentioned several times that that you were not naturally curious did you were you lived here as a lot of the investigator's standpoint other than that you have to be very serious and there's enough to follow leave that to their logical conclusions and the logical possibility he had the mayor elect people thought and seventy mc you're welcome the committee reelection of certainly were contacts between the white house and newt reelection of anything but official with the dnc by the committee to reelect ratings

agency that the possibility that someone in the white house would know about that would be possibly use issues or not it's useful major sources of speculation but on these things and then the things that investigators are supposed to speculate that the logical conclusion and if you did would that not lead directly to nato those i would have to say mr thompson in all fairness and with respect to you that my agents did not come up with any league's going to mr oberman and as a matter of fact i think all of us where babies in the woods there with regard to a relationship that existed we did not know that relationship that existed right now as you know i did i did not human in war that is correct

certain that that documentation isn't the record and as i recollect that was at the request of the assistant united states attorney so we're working with the case well who makes the foundation on the case who made the determination of those leagues were read the working level a case agent level working with the assistant united states attorneys and subject to review of course by the field supervisor in even by the special agent in charge of the washington field office and then even up into the fbi headquarters with the bureau supervisor working on the case and with the assistant director general of the city and you mentioned that you have grown because of information that would mean for

you by the people who you were going to make the determination as to what question i asked that question of my people and those attacking inflation before this committee with regard to that which sets forth the fact that malaysian is specifically told me questions to ask and how to ask the questions that these men are pretty well trained as investigators and reliance was placed upon them or to ask about her questions and i believe that they did well and going strong for example he was interviewed then interviewed rather extensively we also evidently was interviewed although with regard to this situation in both of them in a material which could be construed as a

result of electronic eavesdropping portal assume that and then he found out that he did have contact with all of the layers on to invite awesome new questions about those possibilities even though normally use in and accusations of possible have one option which all twenty years portland oh that he was interested in the low twenties that we sell to be the materials in the house not only women in refugee reviewing have you been led to apportion worried that the

untrained observer not pursuing these other employers are not going back and following the ball maybe this is a little bit unfair because i can't really account for the state of mind of the agents at the time with regard to nobody's specific questions that they're asking and i do know that the prosecution strategy was to uncover do to drive two conviction convictions were obtained on the basis of the fbi investigation and then that conviction too well some of those convicted were to disclose some relevant facts which is indeed what occurred of course this would not this involves huge important that the facts are true of the tourism commission yes that is correct mr casa what i'm saying to use

that that i don't know the state of mind of each one of those individual agencies he he asked questions and develop this report and as those read reports were review i really don't religions that was true whether or not it was a record of that investigation unit rent but lesser be inflation or political instability that opposition of the bureau it's asians were not realize how much turnover there is within the bureau for example mr beatty

right the ranks of the career professionals the only the only people during my tenure who are not career professional at numbers of the federal bureau investigation where the acting director and his specials that before you were born yes i was rider here thank you you're welcome

thank you i knew i was on firm ground what i wanted to do mr thompson i testified earlier was take a step in the direction of standardizing within the federal bureau of investigation you think you're fine the comments are made right in there that mr hooper disseminated women when everyone in this had been the practice in the federal bureau investigation and i was trying to reach a different object of these were you were an animal the river

mr question you're right they should acquiesce to do one of also pouring into the structural beaver be our time now the situation was the relationship between the white house at the edge of the road i think every president as the one the fbi as his own park not just this president in fact the research that we did in the federal bureau investigation on this question revealed just out and i think the at the one suggestion that i didn't make that too senator baker

has that i do not clear the fbi has an independent agency the a idealistic properly motivated individual there's the head reporting to an oversight committee or committees here in the congress i wanted to do i have that as one of the proposals that i made and i don't get work i met with the house judiciary committee early in the game i wanted that kind of relationship with the legislative knot because the fbi is in a difficult position and it doesn't make it but they get out of the corner of putting them i do it would be an independent agency yes with this the ball of the palm garden relationship the white house i don't know that it would've that's it's pretty broad that i could answer you say that it would completely resolved i think that the writers and at the study a little more intensely mr

thompson and you and i discussed it has been taken you have no problems many indignities that we have is the shawnee in a difficult situation and so after a day and a half of

testimony the former acting head of the fbi l patrick gray concluded his appearance before the committee tomorrow gray's former boss richard kleindienst who testified findings to succeeded john mitchell as attorney general resigned in april saying he felt he could not be effective any longer because of his close connections with several of the central characters in watergate l patrick gray a lot to say today about the fbi's investigation of watergate and also about the attempts by some to involve beyond the chief investigator in the cover up of the watergate and sold its ramifications with jack murphy of the georgetown university law center near a watchman is with us now as is david wise author of the new book the politics of wine first hugh jackman in your opinion how does patrick gray's testimony fit into the total picture of what we now know about the alleged white house cover of watergate a very general jim i i don't think that anything has to grate testified to provide the basis for a final determinations on the key issues of water ice water and land there's nothing that definitive on on the

basic issues but i think we could say that what was degraded have to tell us so was generally damaging or harmful to the presidency and the justice department and indeed to the fbi you know he protested the country with respect to that organization they point to a couple of things which i found troubles with respect to the presidency for example as we anticipate there were questions today notably from senator thomas dissented in a way with respect to that phone conversation on july six nineteen seventy two with winston read the present the question came up either one of them anyway why didn't the president ask you who would what you had in mind on himself who was going to mourn him that was just that i think are effectively it remains very serious question has said that if he had been asked by the person he would have given the names tina martin that's true i would just import which i think that my colleague eric a negative affect the reason never nick itself or why wasn't on june twentieth most today was lawyer william without serious question taking on files from the

american and an eight days later on july the sixties prepared to attack them with a pleasant very curious a contradiction there sullivan's about the president though which are worrisome the decision apparently on april twenty six that a meeting attended by climbing says there's your findings of the petersen says attorney general allen's gray at which that is permanent files phone call was made to the president present despite this information conveyed the message that the great acting director of the fbi found that amazing action by the president so i would point out that much of the wider as the president said on april thirtieth in his speech to the country have personally taken over control of the investigation because of women on march twenty first of this year i personally ordered all the people entrusted with the investigation to report to him personally mr grech there was a response to this that for march twenty first thought he was never contacted by the presidency with respect to this investigation the justice

department i think suffer a slight tarnishing effect on its image because of the information that in october of seventy three to one great one to expand the operation of investigation came from political activities and security matter he was told by the justice department not to do that on the basis of the evidence that would be imprudent also jack couple three times during the course of the day the question of the fbi investigation and all the statistics were side of it kept coming back to the fact that yes all the statistics of the work was done and yet the truth of a little was never got to the idea that's a question with you david you're an expert on the intelligence activities the intelligence agencies in this country wrote not only the politics wanted also the invisible government which was specifically about the cia's or years ago fb the