1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-06-27; Part 1 of 5

the pope c is ann patchett and is that going to cover up also made him perhaps unwittingly the principal of a political and constitutional crisis that watergate not minimize this but it isn't the political party has been because the truth was coming out because of insinuations that the white house was a particular cover up and above all

because the white house was like to say things about watergate perhaps as part of an untrue these consequences were john gaines doing my testimony answer is in great detail my dealings with mr haldeman ehrlichman the white house it is so the united states acting individually or in combination with other in the presidential election of

nineteen seventy two when a campaign canvasser other activity related group from washington and back he's a senior correspondent good evening john dean president nixon's chief accuser has weathered his third senate testimony and it was by far the toughest and most dramatic and after two days of silence in response to dean's great accusations about the president's alleged involvement the white house was heard from in a series of sweeping accusations mr nixon special counsel fred buys art a tentative been the main blame for watergate and the cover up on dean lee written statement treated by the committee is a kind of dean cross examination in absentia by president nixon also revealed a fresh version of the white house defense of alderman and ehrlichman were innocent and the demons that the long before these dramatic moments the bulk of the day was occupied by

a surging attempt by florida senator edward learning to diffuse beings charges against the president throughout almost being firmly and truly stuck to his story attention shifted briefly from the committee around and today when it was learned that former campaign aide frederick loewe wrote the way the right to a grand jury indictment and pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing justice says the government information filed a charge indicated at least for illegal acts it was obvious that ruled that made a deal with the government which could get the charges to a minimum and returned for its full cooperation or alumnus of the oil man who managed the nineteen seventy two nixon campaign and south believed guilty before judge john surrogate it says it will impose sentence until all the other watergate cases are disposed of action also encouraging wrote a tell all on the chart was the first attack by federal prosecutors as part of all cops took the job a special prosecutor one of the continuing questions raised in the urban hearings is who is the

enemy at one time it was the white house against critics in the senate today it appeared was one white house action against another but also today there was a reference to simpler times when the white house appeared to be altogether and enemies seen as anyone opposed to richard nixon today we learned it was a bureaucratic and the list drawn up in the administration that nomination submitted by various age and ultimately winnowed down to the top twenty or deserve special attention and their cars from npr today was at the hearing room today as the identification of those on the list emerged here's his report it's already being called the top twenty are the dean's list and it deals with persons will actively oppose the nixon administration its purpose according to former white house aid charles colson is how that the federal government machinery can be used to screw our political enemies i wouldn't work well he white house staffers would pump in these people are and in turn the information over the white house aide and lyn nofziger who would use such things as internal revenue service

federal prosecutors and federal grants to put the screws on the opponent's the list that first included twenty means alexander barton the director of hope was call the most powerful man who oppose nixon in nineteen sixty had gotten the managing editor of the la times morton halperin of common cause and also the scandal would be most helpful here leonard woodcock the head of the uaw sydney davidoff top aide to maryland zoo of new york was called a first class s o b wheeler dealer and suspected bag man like congressman john conyers and ronald dellums dan schorr cbs and mary mcgrory of the washington star both of whom are covering these hearings later on all kinds of other names are added leonard bernstein time worker former defense secretary clark clifford and eugene carson blank alaska getting longer and longer from all feels media celebrities one name that nobody could really quite understand was that of jo

nemeth a good quarterback with that these nobody knew of clinical settings were really couldn't go to his right not only that that was listed as being with the new york giants or conscious administration's intelligence would have to limit mammoth has always been with a new york jets you say neither here is npr's hour by our breakdown of today's testimony and our number one john dean turns over a new batch of documents to the committee one of those describes white house intends to make the internal revenue service more politically responsive under questioning from senator bernie dean says he's leaving a washington law firm did not involve a violation of professional ethics and the second nineteen says that after patrick gray was given some politically sensitive files gray told him to hang tight about the files being describe president nixon's reaction to requests for one million dollars for watergate defendants as nonchalant and a third are deemed hands over some more mammals listing

political opponents and to tell senator and why they say i was only on them in describing the events just before he dropped a prosecutor's dream says that at one point he was summoned to an emergency meeting but telephone call plays from air force one white house party was returning from california and the meeting was with john ehrlichman and the fourth hour of questioning by sen bernie dean clancy did not withhold anyone to get information from the president as more memos from his files it turns over one less fat cats who attended a dinner for senator mostly in the fifth hour senator inouye start using the white house memo to test these credibility the memo describes dean is the principal author of the watergate cover up and says the watergate break in was the result of a mitchell being the memo also coach john ehrlichman telling the president the thing was in the cover up up to his eyebrows not a big earrings and chairman sam irvin we have to question

whether the rest of the committee witnesses the first witness you're welcome that's right sex all true and special pop up on lake interview as they fall the second question is because

of it the second question is to include delivered leaks of information to the media on what you had told investigators vegas is restless and a model residents report wealth and i've got this thing in your quest for the seventh nineteen seventy three percent of the rules committee there were questions sega have only just seen the us now but there are questions submitted to be able to witness and not many

wonder you do we know one of the long and the second series of the questions also is not the one who missed so that the fourth questions that the rest of the committee but perhaps i am as chairman there's implied that it would be inappropriate for anyone to address questions to the committee and it that is in fact their internet the letter that you disagree with but there are questions about it you're

welcome i think the committee has to act provisions that terribly on one occasion the lead chairman our world that we reject there's fear there might be technical innovations a method of operation the boats have been unanimous senate states you've noticed that doma required to vote in our request an interview so i agree with my chair in the only strategy this committee has followed in his contract provisions of the available statute law in order to gain the most information we can in order to present at some risk there's a number of years ago but i didn't take it that far

different position of the attorney general should have the ability to not find any request of a committee too many witnesses mr david do you think we do this morning the exhibits that you indicated you had on the committee requested run the senate savannah flattened these are our profile untitled opponents loathed and political enemies product document filed police are not in a chronological order is a briefing paper that was prepared to formally call them in for a meeting with me we have an internal revenue service and the role of the rating paper which was based on the trailers provided to me by mr

caulfield who in turn got information from the internal revenue service was to make the irs politically responsive to the white house and i think that the government to stop explanatory if not more than they have been exposed to accomplish make us politically responsive let's go i'm a reporter it

nineteen seventy two let's skip that he's an autonomy time ago and i've been an anti nixon person and he believes that target should be in awe at once and the first and foremost the november seventeenth nineteen seventy two i mean the fact that he has received information from an informer some information regarding mr jack anderson we're

referring to an issue he's found in the room a lot of equipment in connection with the investigation it is which indicates that he has witnessed or not them not to come up with a candidate to assist in the enemy's budget next tuesday copy of a memorandum of august sixteenth nineteen seventy one it was prepared and others of the white house by myself which addresses itself to the job of dealing with political enemies and a strategy which would involve a number of members of the white

house staff in various phases of that budget deal with political enemies and acts as a detriment september nine nineteen seventy one and charles olson to funding which mr golson has shut in blue those that he would be a top priority on the enemies list and eight series of letters that were written about mr paulson's office of what were deemed opponents are political enemies an active members of my mind and then september fourteen nineteen seventy one which the momentum for myself to

be he had requested in connection with the political enemies project and a limited of that list are some communities mr holmes but there's a section of it mr higby to me indicating that be in state treasurer robert strauss be on the last night of the documents needed i'm seventy imitating

that information the next is a memorandum from gordon strong member of the nineteen seventy one cast of a character when there were which indicates that he fits into the enemy's the next tuesday one of memorandums of a man was one of dated june twenty eight when there was a continual updating of the opponents and

he names mr wegner acid and we have a little make up for members of the committee and certainly in america many physician martin reporter ammons reporter new edition of our exhibit was following up a big reason why i committed a number for most of these exhibits so they followed these exhibits well that's right testimony

and i'm sure you're ready for this there have been serious charges in the testimony level we have many people including the president about its faith certainly the duty of this committee is to seek out the truth together all the evidence we can turn every witness an especially from you probably will be the most important witness in the fall hearings the committee would be very gallant if it didn't get all the evidence the quran and

it probably the best places dollars and is at the beginning would you say that is i think maybe there was an atmosphere that might have been several precursors to that plan plan was a an accident of fate where they culminated into the specific proposal that was presented in the attorney general's office go to meetings but as far as the watergate break in itself is really

stem from the salute is planning a budding electronic espionage not the specific plan to renovate the watergate would have begun with the plan recommended mr levy live at the committee to reelect president i have drawn a recommendation about risky for mr crowe <unk> mitchell an unfair unbalanced that recommendation and sent him over to the reelection committee would you recommend mr levy to the material it for us how are you not to my recollection know i was personally was interviewed by mr mitchell and again when he was interviewed by the trigger did you ask any questions about its caucuses at that time and they simply asked questions i ask i ask questions of mr obama's qualifications at that time when he first mentioned him to me

and they ask questions during those interviewed yes did you ever ask him what he had been doing for mr crowell not it not be important in finding out his qualifications and previous employment well i was told for example when i met him the celtics in a very precise way mr levy wasn't honest a lot of his duties would be in charge of security things like as the world is you're

asking questions of him as to what he had been doing in the area of security i mean and when he told me he thought the possibility that the qualifications judgment was good in fact that it was putting those working with me for my position of the us as a result of my coming to the white house that you know they're going to do what he had been doing for copenhagen not enough the january twenty seventh meeting occurred and as i recall you justify that the original plan i don't know what the word was that you used to describe the mission

impossible did you ever talk to her afterwards romney's plan about whether it really was competent to stay on work for the committee to reload as i recall any conversation that was a conversation that really was thank you i don't think anyone knew that a plan about the mission was going to be presented at that time were you know that this man came up with kidnapping and prostitution mounting an all around that you never really discussed it with mitchell magruder is true it has a capability least capable of staying on the job of them never believe it and

it was so much that was so that there was no in my mind that anyone was never proven plan like this and it was going to run for a fourth our collection is that you came in little bit later this may my recollection also testified that you again this is to understand that what he was proposing is that true and another this version is continuing among them apple member of the united nations destroying charts and secondly as we were leaving the office i told him that

i would and discusses with money for that idea indicated remember me it's not my nature and what was my reaction was that you justify utah him and he was never discussed this thing again with you is that right the prologue at this particular time

you were writing about the president i know so the idea i didn't try i never had before my reporting i went out and drove with the proper recording and what i've seen my reaction to him and wives and necessary and the philharmonic read with me syrian activists meeting with ms mckeown mr mcgrew well this plan was going to be implemented

on a much better plan again know the precise date and told me that he couldn't get his crew i reminded him that i wasn't going to talk with him about it and he said he understood and he didn't talk about and we went on all day on election monitor when was this i mean it was february no i didn't before we do a toboggan clerks and testimony of yesterday i've never been entirely clear on this war for an instant it came in the middle of mr are several characters question

yesterday what exactly happened you were representing the law firm and connections from television adaptations that if there are and i think we need to review i was in a communications law firm and to infertile communications or i have some incidental dealing with some findings of fact and things of that nature that moving and before the year the fcc that i couldn't cry myself a communications lawyer in any risk that if i was to have been in a while representative

the senior partners in the public interest around the country as a result of their processing applications many investment money and a television station and oxytocin might be six we had some preliminary discussions about it with the lawyer who he had selected to represent his application a man by the name of course can lead to a job senior member of the communications bunn well respected member about that time i raised with him was there any conflict for me become unbearable not while i was still at the firm he indicated to me so long as i was to work out a poem by the time the application was actually file which would've taken mechanically monster then a family atmosphere

i had some it accumulated some papers on on the matter and my pets and apparently one night looking for some other unrelated matters and kim masters of the movies that was in connection with your venture yes there were not a lot for them there were standard which there were standard forms that were used on virtually every application for filling out various forms the application and i was preparing my own my wife's mr fellowes there's a buzz and corporations and cto believes my mother worried as payment for unity while incorporating work and you do yourself either some papers related

in there and when we discovered that i was going to the office next morning and i came and i remember there was a very serious he asked me to explain what i was doing i have seen in my guest david weigel the night before and was quite annoyed by it and so i decided i would say nothing nice to not have nothing to say about this so there than in cities that were going up and coming about this your fire i said well i'm not going to resign he said you can't resign to avoid fighting and that was it so was arrested an examination and

that was a comment in that examination that i've been dismissed or unethical conduct at that time i asked one of the lawyers had been a plot point if you look into it because to the ethics committee if necessary he looked into it the potion that made the comment that it was known that the common and the mother was like that one that the matter of spiritual connection with the house judiciary committee as the senator knows the house doesn't run civil service examination zone step in connection with your poem that legislation and i was asked to join this that is the associate director

of that commission was at that time when i was my next that snyder rose and your contention but as far as the determination of employment was the last time i do understand that you have this job i would say it was a rather strong my unwillingness to talk about the matter with that we'll be a partner who is asking the information now putting about two really breaking of the warning much of anything the activity surrounding the committee to re elect the president from february fourth meeting until the watergate break here

and i understand it about the philippine islands on the eighteenth and then returned to washington and one in your office on the nightly news and then as i recall you said that you had received phone calls and talk to a number of people call feel routine ehrlichman strong wholesome slamming you ecology and climate i always do my office was one of the one idea that begins with the election committee i didn't know all the parties involved i was

asked to investigate major any wrongdoing administration official for example in the grain deal came up as a senator or khomeini itt matter resonated with the us on that matter of my office i think we met and some of rust itself with the republican members of the committee is not directly with you there was that type of thing to come out this persistence made what is not have to do a walking the type of thing that would come to my office and now by putting office and would get into a firefighting before june nineteen yes sir

no no you mentioned in your testimony of q unheard of the cover up with you tell you and hurtful i didn't have the center stage yesterday in your response to a question and then you said that you're heard of a cover up watching either way i understand her that's when i when i came back and he was on the nineteen talk to mr strong i realized that the cover up was already in effect in mean when i realized that when the judge vaughn told me of the documents that he had destroyed mr

holmes destruction there certainly wasn't going to be a revelation of the white house involvement in the murder and i didn't know john mitchell they are at the white house mr mr which i don't recall a book on the nineteen twenty five he recalls a meeting an instrument that i don't recall specifically which there was a recall meeting and i cannot recall with any

specificity any of the discussion you use these people really beginning so what often happens in my relationship with my superiors at the white house yesterday is that others would set policy who said i would say that there was no alternative at that point in time and the passing of his birth

meetings between everybody did you have as opposed to what was going on some of the first time i was on september fifteenth there was one occasion i recall before september fifteenth immigration stop and it had to do with the president's testament trade favors an occasion that to even give a whispered about

in nineteen fifty seven news coverage i didn't like that i don't think anybody like that you think is a presence attorney you shouldn't drive people who haven't won him about what was being done at the picture though that i was american i reported in astronomy and was also being reported just for a moment the fbi reports of the investigation it's true for astronomers declining for your

information i don't know i will be honest mr at what point in time i actually raised this with either peterson were planning to my recollection was that the proper edition about it sometimes and he suggested i go to but gray and i cannot really with specificity tell you what one time i went to say but i do recall discussing the witness today declining so this is extremely important gary johnson is the eyes on and i use

your you can't recall them you ever talk to him about getting these children they may never call in minute detail into on an almost everything i understand that that's my recollection to recall everything i do not recall specifically we're finding that that's the year that's right mr peterson on this decline means for anybody of conning your recollection kelly oh that you couldn't get these fbi reports that the president himself would have to get them unless the findings that was defeated and have to give them to the president i don't recall a red state you have stated i was

told that the best way to deal with situations going to play they initially seventy one entry reagan in my office i see so you that you could not have a militia gotten through the present after i read this in the paper sender that this is close conversations with them and with real true thank you

and when we discussed that he wanted some assurance that this information was being reported that made him such an assurance that was more specific mr gray testified that quite sound like before the judiciary committee on this response to many questions for your i have and i saw go through in detail all the accounts i not sought to go through in detail all of the great hearings for example had not sought to sit and watch these hearings and the receiver long history of the fbi interviews was not a big thing for me in its weapons that very clearly in my mind it was a pretty big thing i think the fbi

three days when i first received the initial of course i only recall after a summary report was prepared on twenty first of july holiday and i showed that report to the white house and the people at the reelection committee that began i let others read you let me get back again now to the conversation with mr greer it wasn't a pretty specific whether the economy's new attorneys things over to you that's because the rest of the interview senator and it means today from the very outset he was very anxious to be any assistance they

could for example when i first met with him he told me he was traveling with certainty i can explain the circumstances of the conversations that you understand example he was traveling all around the country a lot and i should be with mark felt that to be evidence they want to give assistance that i didn't if he wasn't there to talk to others on the same tenor was in the conversation that he would have to check anyone at churches these are going to the president this information about the president and why should you or well that her opponent once the panel reversed that pri materials the reason why you were four it's because the president had requested to serve for seven understanding then he says i want to know

and i assured him it was you know you're surely single want me to rio to fall so no not to my recollection un report a single information was in those costs not to my recollection i might've reportedly general kennedy of the investigation which was i might say that there is do you report it as much the gender get across from us the great about this newspaper story about one of the report's main shown to you yes i do

when we met stuart wrote great army massed me if that were true and i said absolutely not that the fbi reports that never left my office and i never showed an fbi report which in fact is true i never showed an fbi report and it's ready produced by thank you i don't know it would probably be at work together the private investors and was reported that he probably was outrage yesterday and i didn't have that type of conversation he says a

limited effect of that is that true of you know i don't really do that and i said no it's not true and i never showed security at the fbi reports you are the problem of justice some time and i suppose you have some familiar it really isn't that a most unusual thing for a three on two reportedly led the fbi office demanding that the white house received on a regular basis and my office with the recipients on a regular basis of countless at the idea of the nation novels deal with everything from background investigation trio to fall afoul of that singing i it was never

released you're close that is good well as a protest but after the report on the twenty first came to my office mr martin was actually the master mitchell thought that was a good idea and also that the term mr ryan and mr parkinson also come see them they came out those are problems and in them they decided that there really wasn't much an avid interest and then thanked her yes in my mind most is that mr martin wasn't familiar with reo to an fbi investigation mean the internal security division said that you know may have just heard while here because the tone and the tenor of the

interview officer from one field offices are field offices of the tone of the cables always been some out of headquarters working for the reelection committee anybody else on a farm leaking stories on security related matters and that time mr moore was given ms lavette and work those documents as they're related to sobriety come up and taken and strong litmus the chicken was distraught

welcome to mr mcknight i never showed any witnesses that that was requested an iphone of these people have been interviewed the guy usually does but i think of him let's go through the material so material was turned over to the fbi about some materials will help that it's a

statement to call i think this was a combined effort to extract this material by feeling in my cell sometimes feeling was going through it would make reference to something and at one point in time i decided we had to extract an instant within a month i am not you testified that you carried some relief around the trunk of your car that's not the atoms that was the the greek case it was mr

evans welcome that was ten or the meeting in annual grants from that has been given instructions to eighty six i had to come up in my own mind with a persuasive argument as to why not eighty six and destroy documents i decided the best way to persuade him was the planet to feel like i've been there seen important feeling that humans and for all those people to be clear that the fbi would result in our online suggestion attorneys right yes it was because i don't care why why did you suggest that mr burns i want to be able to testify that i'd turn everything

order the fbi and subsequently when that came out and they were getting more specific than that the conversation what was the conversation as a semi i'm macy gray went to meet with him and set up a table and then you and i wouldn't agree to set up a meeting i have the impression of something else and it wasn't specifically on this review suggested the most development meeting the grade again the remainder for

a moment on a thursday or gaudy or the week and that's the visibility here and go in on monday and he said i'm reading this we are really deceiving yeah mr davis following the reception area a man mr ukman maybe national committee raised the matter and said that these are materials from that you can save five billy beane is turnover other material to go directly you have any discussion with documents and laid them on the coffee table i'm sure this was a way that i believe you might need

i was going with it renee montagne host now prior to his coming in the office i understand that you have the papers in and leave them down and my question is did you have any discussion was derelict when at that time on what you know i have many well we wish you understood what the meeting was poor so what must that have any extended discussion other than the fact that they are very politically sensitive that as i recall i call them political dynamite when i raised them with way that he should take custody of them and that that would be away and that was the white house was concerned

was that in a time of great destroy the documents feeling it was really sad the fb