1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-08-03; Part 1 of 5
- Transcript
it's b mr mann yeah at the time i accepted the two thousand being an american and at the time i destroyed them and on the several occasions that i'm i'd been out in interviews and on april sixteen and which i resisted disclosure of the fact that i received the documents i believe that i was acting faithfully loyally properly illegally pursuant to instructions given a bike shop assistance to the president of the united states and i have come to believe our what i should've realized then that my acceptance of the documents in the first place and my keeping them out of
the normal the art briles was a grievous was that by destroying them and resistance of disclosure only compound in the air that the documents were not in fact the watergate evidence while legally significant has not lessened might present believe that i committed myself to be used to perform a mere political chill i shall carry the burden of that act with me all wrong and so the united states in the past he's a senior correspondent
the senate watergate committee this afternoon adjourned for the week after hearing the former acting director of the fbi explain how there was constant white house pleasure last summer to derail part of the fbi's investigation of the watergate l patrick gray says the white house fired john dean suggesting that manuel garrido who ran the mexico city money laundering and jonas dahlberg a nixon finance man in the midwest both had cia connections that would be compromised by a continuing pearl gray says that even while the cia was telling him the fears were groundless john dean was urging the fbi interviews be delayed but he's finally got to a point in early july gray said recall campaign director clark mcgregor to complain within the hour day recalls he got a call from the president about another issue and used the opportunity to state his complaint in general non specific terms it was told to pursue the globe and later came to think of himself as an alarmist for harboring fears about white house pressure it wasn't until months later gray says that
he realized he'd been wrong from the start he also explained how he destroyed documents from howard hunt safe and subsequently lied to his friend lowell weicker a member of the committee about how and when he destroyed the papers should be interesting when the committee begins to question gray on monday today's testimony at times may seem amazing reconstructed telephone calls conversations and meetings only give your vantage point from which to watch today's retelling of a chance we'll summarize some of these in chronological order remember the watergate break in was on june seventeen nineteen seventy two patrick gray first heard from the white house on june twenty four hours call from john ehrlichman warning him about leaks to the press telling ending was investigating for the white house dingell later and then visited grey annex de grey called cia director hal prince told him there was no see it involved in a meeting with being on the mexican might the next day that meeting with walter's it was earlier that day the
general walters and director helms network haldeman ehrlichman at the white house it was on june twenty six in june twenty seven at walters talk to jon bane requesting and been requested cia assistance and asked him about a month not a mexican operations of the cia backed about regret you got a call from being on the twenty seven after that held called ok an interview with a mexican white ending call that asking the interview be delay on the twenty eight the series of calls from being ehrlichman and helps the result another delayed interview i canceled meeting cia chiefs it was on june twenty eight the great picked up far from being an early on the twenty nine been called out for another interview delight and another important series of conversations came on july sixteen brandon walters confirm know cia involved in watergate that led grade to call pork mcgregor express uneasiness and that was followed by the call from president nixon watching the hearings workers
today has been georgetown university law professor jack mccabe jack what you think of the most significant points for people look for this evening already the focus continues to be the interest of the white house in the cia in this critical period a few days after the breakdown as generous aptly summarized as molly the dates and times of meetings are amazing it's very difficult to sort all that out as you watch but i would point out in particular a couple of the mostly one is the fact that while director helms was able to assure the white house in june twenty thirteen and what it was to be on june twenty six the mr walters was to deny the cia would not be compromised the investigation went forward but the fact is that no mention was made by either waters or how those meetings of something they apparently knew at that time which was that mr martinez one
of the first letter in the word was at the time of his arrest retired bases on the payroll of the cia does highlight something else jonah wore his testimony which is a protectorate with respect to the agency to protect the bird which i think we also observed yesterday in the director helms testimony they didn't want the cia to be like today as they did what they could to keep it away from publicity john waters will speak about the lack of desirability of the fight which would bring the cia in the limelight you know i have to put his word against johnny leaves on a question whether there was something peculiar going on here so i think that the focus there and to many of the details which is one of the white mold probably follow as ceo follows this amazing recounting phone calls and meetings in the next two hours but it will talk to get work again when the hearings are over later tonight and then that's peter kay will explore the future course of the hearings which he counsels and that at the conclusion of our paycheck this
is a relatively short day and saw our program tonight won't keep you up until the wee hours so that you can plan your viewing areas and that's our by our rundown in the first hour general walters the cia's deputy director says that white house counsel john dean kept pressing him to tell the fbi to call off its investigation into the so called mexican connection between nixon campaign contributions and the watergate break in wilder says he told him that if the white house insisted on a course of action that might compromise the cia i would resign much of the second hour was devoted to general walter secondhand recorded july sixth conversation between patrick gray and president nixon water said they told mr nixon to get rid of those involved because the investigation of the watergate break in really quite high and the government and our number three john waters as read a long series of letters from james mccord are a friend of the cia waters says he wasn't aware of the letters letters chronicle a chance to get record to admit
that there were cia involvement and water get off so and that our water's is out why his account of his white house marching orders conflicts with a child opens wider says i will stand on my recollection in the fourth our country great justifies city council interviews with kenneth wahlberg and a mexican lawyer after john dean urged him to allegedly because of national security matters it's not given a written statement to support reports of cia involvement and our number five great confirms he told president nixon people on your staff are trying to mortally wounded and in detail and how and why he destroyed the files apartment safe ray says the reverse this judgment now the proceedings themselves and senators my knees and
deputy director of the central intelligence agency and the present time acting director until mystical being sworn in the senate and i live in arlington virginia a lieutenant general in the united states settlers since the second of may nineteen seventy two was the day i was one part of a deposition or decision to do that i was the defense attache to france and how long were you and a half years but now prior to you join this you just briefly tell us what contact with any of you at the president as the president's first contact with president nixon was when he was vice president i was the jail to accompany him on a trip around south
america oh i went to a country where the main services interpreter a translator and at that time and to have those countries i was in the car was nixon when extreme violence was encountered maud watts and if i would tell this committee that i did not feel admiration and respect for the current incumbents ms nixon showed that time i would not be telling the whole crew subsequently i saw i do not work for mr nixon again during the period between the time he made the vice presidency and at the time he became president i saw the press two or three years in those two or three times and those eight years after he became president i went on to israel trips abroad to countries where i spoke the language and to translate for hawk i have not had any private conversation with the president since i became deputy director of the central intelligence agency that is since may
second thank you shirley actually after the deputy director of the agency did you attend a meeting at the white house yes i did during the morning of the twenty thirteen illinois i received a phone call i do not recall exactly how telling me that i was to be there in his office or c that there's no my sectors see that just stating that i was to be at most romans office when the stones in the companies the health sector aw one thing that afternoon as thousand i went out and we did not know the subject of the meeting was we had lunch together and that one thirty we went to visit relatives office our card
now will to the best of your recollection relate the discussion that was at that meeting only you who would you say oh i believe mr obama was doing than nearly all talking i'm not actually participating actively in conversation i know that you relate to the committee what was going on set aside and said that the bombing of the watergate was creating a lot of noise that the opposition was attempting to maximize this that the fbi was investigating this leads might lead to some important people and he then asked mr helms what the agency connection was like what in fact when there was no agency connection and ms nolan says
nevertheless the pursuit of the fbi investigation in mexico might uncover some cia activities or assets mr helms said that you told mr gray on the previous day the acting director of the fbi that there was no agency involved none of the investigations being carried out by the fbi were in any way jeopardize any agency activity mr hall and then said nevertheless there is concern that these investigations investigation in mexico may expose some covert activity of the cia and it has been decided that gentle lovers will go to director gray acting director gray and tell him that further pursuit of this investigation in mexico and i wish to emphasize that the only question investigation involves mexico the investigation in mexico could jeopardize some assets of the central
intelligence agency began has now said he was not aware of any activity of the agency that could be jeopardized by this but nevertheless there is concern that for the pursuit of this investigation will uncover some activity or asset of the cia in mexico and it has been decided that you will go and tell as destiny you will tell us to acting director great apostle you're mr oh my the problem of the cia that was an investigation in mexico i decided i do not recall being put into question for director for which you understood that would be a direction
i understood that direction and since mr haldeman was very close to the top of the governmental structure of the united states and as mr helms testified yesterday the white house has a great deal of information that other people do not have i've been with the agency approximately six weeks at the time of this meeting i found quite conceivable that the stolen might have some information that was not available to me you know why no not i mean if i thought there was any impropriety in this request i would have given him the same answer only to give mr dean that i would resign rather than do you wonder why you should go see yes i did a number of hypotheses crossed
my mind i thought perhaps he thinks it took jerry and a lot of people have the mistaken belief that military of a blinding i thought he might have heard reports that there have been some friction in the past between the fbi cia and perhaps since mr gray was new in the job and i was new in the job that that might be a good way to start out i did wonder about a divided and this was his privilege to do it any way you wish your recollection of that meeting they did this to that five days later when this thing started and i do not have that unity memoranda of my conversations iran on tuesday the following tuesday listening but the question today ordered the question to explore the possibility of the cia going there and paying the salaries of the suspects to regale i realize
that this time he does that he directed so following that second meeting on the twenty seven i sat down and i wrote memoranda for myself they were not intended to be a verbatim account of the conversation or cover all aspects of the conversation but notice to jog my own memory i wrote a memorandum on the meeting with mr haldeman ehrlichman i wrote a memorandum on the meeting with mr gray i wrote a memorandum on my first meeting with mr dean on monday that twenty six and a memorandum of my second meeting with the study on the twenty seven on the twenty eight ton that that must've been for the third and last time and i wrote a memorandum i believe the following day on the subsequent memorandum i'm at my calls on this today i wrote those memoranda either on the same day and i have talk wednesday of the following day if i may i would like to make one point here i've been alleged to have a splendid memory and so forth and he arrives make a confession that i'm afraid will not fit in with the stones with white writing his testimony yesterday
in that the question regarding pay and paying salaries of these people came out on tuesday when i reviewed my nose and before i wrote the affidavit i did correctness and activate namely that the request about to bail i was not only close to that i think every state that when i ask about the meaning of being a lot to show you a copy we have a memorandum reporting from you or written by eu on june twenty eight covering the giant white beard may ask you this is a memorandum yes it is now
he left the meeting my dad we walk downstairs and we stood and talked to close to the car out in western secular and mr helms are said to me you must remind me to grady of the agreement between the fbi and the cia if they run into more appear to be about to expose one another's assets they would notify when you should remind us now in time i do not recall when i went back to the agency and not i don't think time would have allowed because the appointment been made to see this great two third i'm my recollection is not clear is what i went back to the agency whereas they downtown i have a feeling i stay downtown added to thirty i would see this day it was the way it was
i believe he is absolutely justifies the dean had told him that i was on my way down i know what you really what conversation i said to mr gray that i had just come from the white house where i had talked to since thing is that members and i was to tell him that the pursuit fbi investigation in mexico the continuation of the fbi investigation in mexico cook might uncover some covert activities of the central intelligence agency and then repeated to him what astounds me about the agreement between the fbi and cia he said he was quite aware of this new tenant to observe it scrupulously out did you tell him a government agency how did you do that without being
summoned substance of that conversation so we express pleasure of meeting one another out intending to call on and so forth and apparently will only be covered in the memorandum which was in your possession it you've testified that you also on june twenty eight include a memorandum of the meeting with his thick gray on i like to show you a copy of the memorandum and as you if the us as great copy and does cover the year because the money just yet ms bee the problem is it isn't remember now
after you met with his gray did you return to the euro is a bit and you make a report of that meeting throughout former director l i did and i also thought a check on whether this was a fact i talked to the people in our geographic area and of mexico and i'm not sure whether this was complete on the friday afternoon or whether it was completed monday morning but it was soon clear to me that nobody who was responsible for that area in the agency fell that the ongoing fbi investigation could jeopardize any of the agency's sources of activities in mexico now so we receive any communication from the white house on monday morning twenty six the job i received a phone call from a man who identified himself as john dean and he said he wished to
speak to me about the manners that mr haldeman and mr ehrlich to discuss with me on friday i had not known as td and i expressed some something to the effect of i don't know who you are and he said well you can call mr wittman see whether it's alright to talk to me i'm not i promised to him and i had somebody reached him to find every june and i said to john dean was talking about the murders which are discussed and you would just all on the perceiving friday and he said yes it's all right to talk to him he's in charge of the whole matter it ended with you and meet with mr dean i then began and he asked me to come down and say about the eleventh hour forty five minutes and i would do the conversation you know cities that he was handling this
matter it was causing a lot of trouble it was very embarrassing the fbi was investigating as the leads that led to some important people are likely some more important people of the fbi was receiving and three hypotheses namely that this break and have been organized by the republican national committee by the central intelligence agency or by someone else well one i said i don't know who else organized that but i know that the central intelligence agency did not recognize as it for the moment related to my conversation with the previous friday and told him i checked within the agency and found that there was nothing in any of the ongoing fbi investigations that could jeopardize cia activities or sources or compromised in any way he then said could this have happened without your knowledge or i said originally perhaps but i've inquirer
i've talked to mr helms and i'm sure that we had no part in this operation against a democratic ticket that i kept pressing this that must've been these people aren't used to work for the cia on the status of maybe they used to do what they want when they didn't and he pressed and pressed on this master that was in some way i can help you and it seemed to me that he was exploring perhaps the options and seeing whether he could put some of the blame on us it wasn't any specific thing he said but the general tenor was in this way and i said to him they don't have an option to consult with anybody i simply said mr dean on any attempt to involve the agency in a stifling of this affair would be a disaster it would destroy the credibility of the agency with a congress with a nation it would be a grave disservice to the president i will not be a part of it and i'm quite prepared to resign before i do anything that will implicate the agency that's
none of this seemed to sharpen somebody i said anything that would bar any of these government agencies like the cia or the fbi if anything improper in this way would be a disaster for the nation somewhat reluctantly he seemed to accept this a lot of our old george says you have it whether in fact many fbi investigation in the meth in mexico would seriously are all over the activities of the cia and you report that phil mr dean of this meeting that you believed that you were responding at that meeting come all ye says they're shaggy and at the risk of perhaps a naive in retrospect that did not occur to me that the best
thing would not tell us to try to estimate on when he was in touch with his team has been a domain that has degraded in retrospect i should of course the promised a great record i regret that i didn't know and you haven't checked as the levy thought was being that he was a person you can talk to to do that is for now i think you were just lying just a little while ago fourteen year memorandum of june twenty sixteen something that should have been another meaning i want to show you your memorandum or a memorandum that a memorandum prepared by you want to twenty eight dealing with the conversation you had with the midst of the nineteen twenty six and as you if you want to make a correction of the program for the record you'll notice
origin of it it appeared to be a matter of national security if i would've taken action so it really the form sixteen seven paragraphs belong to the conversation of the twenty seventh running the conversation in twenty sixteen with a question of this is that correct the meeting with ms didion on june twenty six the new report back when gently what transpired and he approved of my
firm stand with me and my roommate in some detail the various madison i discussed with him as the dean and the fact that i don't mean that no agency assets would be compromised by the pursuit of the fbi investigation i think again when the next big news today on the following morning the twenty seven june i received another couple of nasty and summoning the governor's office i went down to these officers leave the time i'm forty five and has to be said that the investigation was continuing that some of the suspects whoa whoa and mike talk about civil rights just too bad that it has nothing to do with us because nothing that they can say connecticut the agency so unions that haven't you discovered something about agency volunteers matter and i said no i have not discovered anything about agency involved in this
matter and he said listen that's something that the agency can do to help i said i don't see how we can be helpful in the knees and he said well would they be any way in which you could go they'll all pay the salaries of these just says defendants while they were in jail and i said no way to do so would indicate the agency and something in which that is not empty i will have no part in this again i went into the reasoning of the politics i'm a plain view and that if the agency were doing it even as it would become known in the leaking atmosphere in washington that would be a total disaster and i i would like to say if i made this point that i have not spent the whole of my adult life and the central intelligence agency i joined for the first time in may nineteen seventy two but i am convinced that an effective cia is essential if the
united states is to survive as a free and democratic society in the rough world in which we live and i was determined that i would not see destroyed or implicated as as might be desired in this business eye for a little misleading that when we extended funk covert funds within the united states we were required to report this to our congressional oversight committees and the scene the coolest enthusiasm considerably we had a few more discussions and he asked me whether there was any way we could be helpful and i said no thank you the postseason the beating of twenty at the meeting of the following day just as the silent s
it's been first let me tell you your copy of it on june twenty seven when asked if this is a year where copyright twenty five years is that more medication to see the mob
i learned a new report mr helms was extremely interested in this whole business and i reported to him immediately and returning to the agency on each page now on the twenty eight as when you began to write the program the right to do but then i tell the committee what will need to begin to put this down writing well so to see a question of baywatch and paying the salaries of these defendants i realized for the first time this was a clear indication that something improperly i was being exploited and i discuss this is down some really great again i don't know what he or i
suggested that we write the moment iraqi member and on these meetings and he'd record them and that is another mannequin to the record it'll be noted that i wrote five objectively on the same day to catch up with us i know was a thirty seven it was with a fall again and a third meeting that you had with the us today you got twenty eight yes i do when i write i do have it with you read that memorandum will now on the twenty eleven jun being asked me to see him at his office in the executive office building i saw him allow he said that the director's meeting that is directly house meeting with that degrade fbi director was canceled and that john erlichman had suggested that great deal would be instead the problem was how to stop and the fbi investigation beyond the five suspects leads to two other people
can dollar and the mexican maintain them dean said that eighty nine thousand dollars was unrelated to the biting jason gallagher it was refusing to answer questions in that has totally whether i could do anything or have any suggestions i repeated that his deputy director i had no independent power that was not in the channel of command and had nobody other than that given to me by the director the idea that i can't act independently was a delusion and had no basis in fact dean then asked what might be done and i said i realized he had a tough problem but if there were agency involvement it could be only a presidential directive of the political risks that were concomitant appeared to me to be an accepted a president that was a high explosive bomb but intervention such as he had suggested would transform into one megaton hydrogen bomb president it was awkward unpleasant direct intervention by the agency could
be like really marvelously became known and the chances of keeping it secret until the election were almost nil i noted that scandals have a short life in washington another new spicy ones soon replace i urged him not to become a newly agitated by this one he then asked if i had any ideas and i said that this affair when he had a strong cuban flavor everyone knew the cubans were conspiratorial anxious to know the policies of both bodies would be towards casper that therefore had a plausible motive for attending this amateurish job ginny skilled technician with the war this might be costly that would be dean said that he agreed that was the best fact that they think might cost a half a million dollars you are so great for the second time the agency might be risks of agency involvement were unacceptable after a moment's thought he said that he felt the race cancellation of his appointment with director helms might be reversed in the next few hours been thanked me and i left all first what was this
meeting to be held on june twenty eight i did not know was that action did not know he was talking about i presume that some arrangement outside it had been made for direct it comes to seeing his degree when an event has indicated that that you'd prefer a great review on an ongoing basis this is what has been said about it out so the committee have these what your version was a hit but setting that far memorandum really say we use that as like because you concerning the cuban sports world of law and the statement that i agree but this was the best actor jake what might look at them and are yes which are being went back at this point the conversations are members of the three hundred passing this it was something who could've done this who could've done this he did not indicated any time that he knew where the argument as well
and frankly at this point my principal purpose was to divert him from pursuing the option and that any agency in this i had read i believe about that time a lot of the newspaper with the age about hypothesis that humans might have been part of this in order to try and find out what the policies of the democratic party would be if it were elected in nineteen seventy two this is what i basically said the cubans had a plausible motive for doing this was the dean obviously understood this is the suggestion of mind that he should try mine the cubans in retrospect it's often said here from his table i should have corrected frankly i was so relieved to see him apparently abandoning the idea of involving the agency at least retreating on the idea of involving the agency that i did not direct his impression when he said it obviously but i was investigated by it that is a that the
inference the city's they've been a michael is to have the man hours would require action hang somebody off but i was like simply the state but just as i believe the agency involvement could not be false implication of the cubans could not be sustained i should have corrected most of the at this point said this is not what i was maybe i'm dancing in theory but i did not i don't want to like do you read it read your mama mama i have a exact copy of the memorandum here alike to our show too dated june twenty nine covering your meeting with mr dean on june twenty eight the ash to look at it and indicated this is a copy yes it is this memorandum art there's an
exhibit there will be wars on july five years and you tell us briefly what the polls about i believe in this race at me at this point russia's well now to continue the investigation and unless he received a written letter from the salvo for me to be affected for the pursuit of this investigation in mexico uncover cia assets are activities that he would have to go ahead with the investigation i do not wish to discuss this with the story of the telephone until i would come down and see and the first thing the next morning so this was at the end of the business david tennant sixteen
and did you ever go down the next morning decided would you briefly tell the committee with the nature of their conversation was great that time i told mr gray right at the outset and i could not tell him an even less but i give him a letter saying that the pursuit of the fbi's investigation would in any way jeopardize cia activities in mexico i have a column i haven't quite frank with and i recounted that meeting with stalin i told him that i have seen as the dean on three occasions and i've told this to me what just the middle name of mr gray seemed quite disturbed by this and we both agreed that we cannot allow our agencies to be used in a way that would be detrimental to their integrity since i'm discussing with someone else said i would've liked to refer here to my mom ran out this memorandum unlike the others was written i
believe on the same day that i saw today would you prefer to know my memory would you want from watching basically is innocent i couldn't be in the lead of this affects i could tell in this and i cannot give in the lead of the effect that further investigation would compromise assets of the cia he said he understood this he himself told hall alderman that he cannot possibly suppress the investigation of the matter even within the fbi believes he had called on the components of his field of truth about these leaks i said the only basis in which he and i can deal was absolute fact is i wish to recap mind boggling a cycle of building at the white house with i did not mention the name i've been directed to tell him that the investigation of his case for that mexico could compromise and cia activities so it's one that
seems to be the white house counsel told him that would have a kind of unpleasant implications of watergate were the two engage the agency would not serve the president would enormously increased the risk for the president i had a long association with a president with desires of anyone as anyone of protecting him i did not believe that a lot of the agency asking the fbi to lay off this investigation on the spurious grounds that it wouldn't cover covert operations would serve the president settler in the current atmosphere of washington i said quite frankly that i would write such a letter only and direction from the president only after explaining to him how dangerous i thought this action would be to him and if i were really pushed on this matter i would be in his life like that makes my factors that he said he could not suppress this investigation within the fbi intends to climb into this little mr obama's policy would prefer to resign but that his resignation would reign of resignation i would raise my question is that would be detrimental to the president's interests he did
not see why he or i should jeopardize the integrity of our organization to protect some mid level white house speaker who would act of improvement he was prepared to let this go to a halt on which he felt it was important that the president should be protected from these would be protectors he explained the news was to haul manure explains finally i said that if i were directed to write a letter to him saying that huge investigation of this case would jeopardize the security of the united states and covert operations of the agency i would ask to see the president explained to him that the service i thought this would lose interest kegel danger to the president of such a coarse far outweighed any protective aspects that might have for other thing is in the white house and i was quite prepared to resign on this issue they said this is very awkward matter for us to come up and be upset about tenure you look forward to good relations between our two agencies that make my friends and that was that i didn't know or the
like so you have a couple we have of your mom i am on july six covering a meeting on the life that was his big breakup yes it does we have this come a time shortly after filled a theater but you've met with the acting director us that meeting and what was weird been passing it on the second was on
the twelfth of july smash in the meantime the cia and cooperating fully with the fbi investigation asking them all the material rehab on these former employees of ours any other matters that were of interest to them we will continuously passing the memoranda and i believe that on this day i was still acting director mr helms was an australian on his way back from australia and as i recall and i gave him another memorandum on this day of covering various things that had been brought out that we had given a concert in the assistance given the month which had been terminated in august nineteen seventy one during this meeting with them as the great value that he had received a call from the president to get out of your event party memorandum were he discussed i thought you said last friday i believe it may have been the day of my previous conversation with him i
did not have a calendar in funding this was written on the twelve that was the proceeding friday he had received a phone call from the president the president going to congratulate him on the fbi action richard frustrated airplane hijackings in san francisco was the end of the conversation the president asked him if you talk to me about that place where it's widely hat the president then asked him what his recommendation was in this case graham revival because of not because it would leave the white house and he felt the president to get rid of the people that were involved in any attempt to involve the fbi and the cia in this case would only cruel moral that i put back into use my words because these were the words i just re the president and said that i should get rid of whoever's involved no matter how high replied that this was his recommendation the president asked what i thought and ray said that my views with a sinus is president of the well right and oftentimes i don't
say that an estimated tell me i'm not going to let the president obama go ahead with his investigation he was beyond england all right yes we did we again philosophizing morris has shown the memorandum concerning the need for the president to be protected from his would be projects either dollars likes to show your mom around her like thirteen which deals with its meeting with yes it is this memorandum
a problem among the muslims in the news even have a sense of how the horse did you have occasion on july twenty eight nineteen seventy to fall on yes i did briefly i came down to get an additional information for which he had asked relating to one of our people who have been in contact with is the hot august of nineteen seventy one in addition about a concern in this and consenting contacts with the start of a very divided than ever and then towards the end of the conversation terry asked me and i can hear a reading of the president calling on this matter and i said that he had not made and sent a lot of pressure on him in this matter that he had
not read my mind is a very poor read anything to destroy the integrity of iraq to aid agencies would be the worst to service we could do to the president and i will not do and he said he would not to make some reference to one which was not totally clear to me i then told him that we would terminate of foam which we have been a number that have been given to hunt to contact us two or three years before and he then said this is a whole other thing that was at the onset of our tenure in our respective offices and ivory heartily agree how does that this refers you know what this references to find any ethicist for the given day little about as enormous national security during a half before i came to the agency i really wasn't familiar with that the we agency was continuously passing to the fbi to material that was uncovered concerning his contact or assistance to understand i believe one of the memoranda writer to mr gray really
summed up a whole series of shorter memoranda we had sent it and this is just an ongoing process after this date the twentieth of july and a lot of what is that this poses it was not directly to abuse on the fbi a few mystical be in there but i take it that the memorandum agenda references to the fact that it was not related back to the prior year that like seventy one meetings the final question i'd like to show you a copy we have a memorandum that july twenty eight covering your meeting with great on that same day as if it were and you'll notice the summit says they're names that works because of the security reasons yes it's just that a xerox copy of mind that the chairman made
that memorandum the water receded of the memorandum would be a problem next the white house yeah i guess and this matters that in my job i think it leaves the white house with a big foreign policy and so forth that have nothing to do with me so when you have another meeting i do not have a call for mr john mccain i think is the john d got my message loud and clear the next time your business with the agency he didn't call me call the new direction that's less i mean that was on that night in february nineteen seventy three if i'm correct
and dr schlessinger as i believe submitted a memorandum for the record covering this whole thing that i was not conduct is lessened his office when the skin color my only knowledge this is the memorandum and what doctors listened to tell me about grace about things called outback sessions memorandum this idea the vision i show you a copy of every nine nineteen seventy three memorandum i think you're referring to measure this is a production is it is it to vegas important option yes you were briefly tell us what was the nature of the fact that the us i believed it and here i go from the klezmer and he referred to a package of material
that had been sent by the cia to the department of justice in connection with awarding investigation he suggested the justice we requested to return this package to the agency the only item that would be left in justice would be a card in the files indicating that the package of them returned to the agency and its request since the material was no longer need for the purposes of the investigation he indicated that the agency had originally provided these materials to the department of justice at the request of the attorney general and without the bees then he referred to some ideas to do you know what the pages of materials refer to hear that the agency didn't do because i don't have to have some knowledge of the us that my understanding was it was all of the right material and i believe also photographs taken with a cabinet which is what's called a pack and
under what circumstances i believe when it was finished to after the hot guy who ever used to wear uniform or others that it's dealt with the elder brother i don't mean the session he was familiar with that was the session in his eyes that day i would like to say at this point what does this lesson that came to the agency in late january road in february i did briefly though these various approaches that have been made at the agency and myself so it was generally familiar with the background of this i do not believe this lesson into the details i do believe that he and i mean for the agency to requested about injustice to return these materials we simply leader now in the files pointing at either that time for afterwards been informed as to whether the package of materials which senator rick materials and photographs video we need them to get information
i really don't know as far as i understand it i understood the package to me all of the material that the agency had passed the department of justice for the beginning of the inquiry and all of the material of the assistance of the equipment that had been given to him i've now with us on this last year throughout take any action as the next session and i discuss his request was that question that decision in an estimated about intel has been this i did and this discussion what i promised the news in florida alec to be what a lot of at home i left the word in his office saying that was the judgment then i finally got a call and it was laid on i'm evolving crisis december twenty first of february and this is a very short time other question about dance lessons or a
columnist john green and his office in the white house at fourteen thirty two thirty in the afternoon i explained to him that in connection with his request that the agency asked the department of justice to return a package of material that had been sent in that connection with the watergate investigation it was quite impossible to request of journalists as this would simply mean that a note would be left to the department of justice filed that the material and sent back to the agency and we had been asked not to destroy any material in any way related to this place i again told him there was no agency involved in this case and any attempt to involve the agency and it can only be harmful to the united states he seemed disappointed and i left i mean we have email or messing with autism and lives that i'm not writing memorandum of this conversation all in early may not slash jill was having a thorough environmental aspects of this case asked me when i had made a memorandum on and i said
i have not yet asked me to make one that is the memorandum i wrote which was written some two months of support it's been it is the market come inside voluntary regulations concerning your meetings with the white house
i think former acting director gray uniform of an affidavit yes because the circumstances unlikely to put your recollections of these meetings and discussions i was in the far east in early may and when i came back duck session it's like that's the chicago he had asked anyone in the agency you had any connection with this case whatsoever to write and actually i did sell those circumstances of the right and it does include an substance and all of the matter is that the five years or any meetings with the white house and with the parent that's the minority that the activated may twelve nineteen seventy three nasa yes
we have mr chairman i have an abortion and among minority counsel fred thompson westra walters of the president's name was invoked and requests that you go to the fbi public television the it's
been
- Series
- 1973 Watergate Hearings
- Episode
- 1973-08-03
- Segment
- Part 1 of 5
- Producing Organization
- WETA-TV
- Contributing Organization
- Library of Congress (Washington, District of Columbia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/512-sj19k46s2d
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip/512-sj19k46s2d).
- Description
- Episode Description
- Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer anchor gavel-to-gavel coverage of day 35 of the U.S. Senate Watergate hearings. In today's hearings, Vernon A. Walters and L. Patrick Gray testify.
- Broadcast Date
- 1973-08-03
- Asset type
- Segment
- Genres
- Event Coverage
- Topics
- Politics and Government
- Subjects
- Watergate Affair, 1972-1974
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Duration
- 01:06:59
- Credits
-
-
Anchor: MacNeil, Robert
Anchor: Lehrer, James
Producing Organization: WETA-TV
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2342046-1-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 2 inch videotape
Generation: Preservation
Color: Color
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
- Citations
- Chicago: “1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-08-03; Part 1 of 5,” 1973-08-03, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed December 22, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-sj19k46s2d.
- MLA: “1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-08-03; Part 1 of 5.” 1973-08-03. Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. December 22, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-sj19k46s2d>.
- APA: 1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-08-03; Part 1 of 5. Boston, MA: Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-sj19k46s2d