1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-07-10; Part 4 of 4

it's b and this morning speaking french no you're wrong bijan plays the expediency of the next election but the responsibility is an animated vice president of the cairo surrounded and there was a deputy campaign director thought it was his two closest associates in his office in law all around him people involved in crime moderate successor happen if i

knew really rudely refused to lead scientist at the expediency of the election was more important than them you think you think anything's wrong eric thompson i went through the first time winners thank you mr michel i have no further question just jam so tammie just taken the initiative and looking for motivation and in this case the answer was a combination of loyalty in politics in a moment we'll be senator burns turn

public television's covered the senate watergate hearings will continue after a paltry station identification on a bridge to coverage of these hearings is provided as a public service of the member stations of pbs a public broadcasting service fb to pay the pay

and that continues its coverage of hearing about the senate select committee on presidential

campaign activities you again correspondent jim lehrer actor the testimony now with ms bonnie thanks bruce prisons no i didn't nineteen sixty two many discussions with him during

nineteen seventy one really nineteen seventy two about the upcoming political campaigns seventy two correct there were discussions that i'm writing about as many as you might expect we did need a daily or even weekly or sometimes months would go by a whole week means ghosts well in any of those discussions mr mitchell well the president and this time did he have on electronic surveillance introduced in nineteen seventy two nineteen sixty eight if this is true

malaysian he's still protesting still as one of the vice president's plan was a campaign in nineteen sixty eight this is in nineteen sixty my question is in the nineteen nineties

no i believe that the conversations the origin of the security of the buildings and in the personnel electronic surveillance obviously that we did have we discussed from time to time sensitive sweeping for a determination whether our electronic surveillance sensitive areas with the campaign or add color of course as far as the president is concerned an assault was done the secret service was not so much a concern and his party's course he personally was involved just to make sure that we give them security and no question about that

swedes and television corporation before for a march at risk senators are and today but it might help why explain the circumstances rather large house it was below that one family house and follow along with that

second generation so that i'm leaving west he had been the committee for the reelection of the president for quite a few months and he was fortunate reason would call a special assistant know until we get the place to organize that's right

and he was paying for his mission he was prescient immediately earlier testimony today

you mentioned the twelve supposedly the same as the mitchell well for information about the bugging transcript testimony of course previously your attention this morning this meeting in rome which is just in terms of our customers as a regular at thirty years neither would you

ms brennan no said that one weeks thereafter he gave up the miles and show the meanest teacher and that i don't like and therefore i called william and i you know in the morning second plant just a fight

i never saw a top was living on the second night of february until the fifteenth of june of nineteen seventy please do camino secretary gates it was a bomb imagine my

surprise with me is everybody came in now these mass so here's us so that they finally respond to your question as meeting so called it's very persuasive with them from living and june

nineteen dollars this was the first time that anybody really have to talk only means testimony mr levey complaint honestly he may even going to stay on the second time around libby lewis reporting for instance in statements and just

strictly with with who call one reason for it was that the takeover was first instances during the campaign when you have a campaign or two were ruling over your head on his own without your knowledge or without your direction and two days thank you one example i have a question

girls girls well mr mcgrew are here or do you know many instances where most of them have been carried out instructions or anybody else in connection with his duties with a committee or connection with this is that we will find others say maybe seven years ago he was right that's right

as queen nineteen discussion you know your explanation the route who were very welcome to campaign nineteen seventies and then on a series of california on saturday and sunday and we have no concept of what the american wasn't there on

the plane and on the democratic side and there's the next three months ago and it was a religious encounters with respect transit patient our positions obviously and security

mr springsteen concert that we needed an investigation which they should take an action with a sense of in the sense of the animals to whether or not by the time we have gotten back in the nineteen nineties as well or not the democrats thats right and some wires occasionally my knowledge names

for that the colorado already begun my recollection of the first important meeting at is this june nineteenth me or any discussion isn't it mr dean said well through june nineteenth means that they cause the head and i was not really in that that was certainly that was also part of the country i know of these

dean said that he did that day in which he you know the conclusion of the cover up that are inspired by the timing of the meeting of nineteen he also testified that he did not discuss any of the subject matters with us at the meantime many specific instructions specific instructions for a while you know

i'm fine what's going on payments meaning were used giuliani hadn't uttered comic to raise money for the carbon you have denied this to light recently did so well meeting in one

eight and which sequence and when they were at last and then there's a meeting with martin movie in myself and i say have been you know get someone in the white house open them even as i was in new york the quran along with and as i said before the way that

it's a fund raising activities or very difficult music just to get back in you're right they did with well i understand

the resulting from twenty nine i don't know i didn't know that somewhere along the way there have been money transferred to fred and i forget just insurance here this is the amount of money that mr stanza i think so it was turned over to us alone stands a device market which is raise

money raising activities and payments to you have the greatest distribution of our city that is freezing cold tennessee williams instructor going to offer it to call and that smile was a complete fabrication negotiations

mccord started when i was wearing a flower on this call was unmanageable conley and i think if you look at genes you'll get the same conclusion that i have come to the discussion of executive clemency that i ever was there in some time and it wasn't a psychological state and reggie katie

wales terry gross host in the president's office and also in a conversation because they call sincerely discussed press their dna evidence he says the policy review discussion of the present diseases you know the president had been discussing

this with anyone anyone of touch base with you on law i don't know that's a procession forty years if there's a problem this is bosnia you mentioned the premises the president's office

the show a number of times that you did have conversations with the president discussed in there was a meeting you know we discuss the successor thank you resignation and we have agreed to certain people would

because certain people and so forth this these genes forty three

to put it no no before a national convention two things

oh no the announcers this conversation took place we're done it doesn't i mean you're right

many of these meetings you're right investors all

right prof morris anything elections that sentiment mm hmm

anything else and on august primary defense bill is a call from san clemente from the president today here in washington warning the recall i don't know representation of the various factors in nineteen

seventy six convention halls how are you there was a meeting in germany the new record nice job i mean that's where it was clear that senator

specter was there that we discussed about wanting to stand on that the desirability of the president playing a commission commission investigated or special prosecutor center justice kagan suppose september twenty six there was a meeting between what about these meetings one

is that the president met with the first thing for thirty four forty two so this is for the jewish community and went on to fairness and hotel or nelson rockefeller as political personnel came from their back of the president's week which shows the president's call myself were there from six forty five to six forty two people

or does it immigration and that's a political meetings and i'm sure the son goes something to do with the campaign true this is

true lloyd webber's york and on november twenty fourth there was a meeting in new york with no arms as a comedian from before in one medium or another reason is that it didn't talk about people for years people

the reorganization no question and that vision of this committee

spends a prospective respected executives i mean these kinds of meetings no sir and i hesitate to use those with impressions of these national park on it that's because

of this bill here's a new meaning anything to me i know and so that is

substantially all of those bad on that subject matter then the conversation stands later on reports for a few people merry christmas i guess it is a sequence and i think that that's being

testified that he did not receive at airports until sometimes jaw now those july twenty third of the very first person to deliver as well and so i don't see how they could have been discussed back in twenty fourteen it's bright you know don't think yes jesus

there is fear these days as best as best i can recall disturbs me about that meeting was that prosecutors wanted and i was totally hands and we have an accurate description of what the play is not just his recollections between please

individual prosecutors troopers well why do you think he's got all this time talking about these things where you can you give your version of what this meeting is all about the circumstances were i was going to be in washington there is a journeyman discuss this matter over very many months

and i think that he was coming through without telling the prosecutors that sector of the economy and the early eighties when those options or no i don't know twenty four that's his vision

because obviously simon for years true story thank you

but i also the first day jan mitchell's testimony ends with his reputation for being unflappable still intact but there were against that things could get rough for later and the rituals demeanor might change that was georgia senator herman talmadge strongly suggested that mitchell might be guilty of perjury for testifying before senator kennedy last year we had no campaign responsibilities while they were still attorney general mitchell now admits that he did have such responsibilities and he says the squabble distant or semantics of talmage sees a conflict there and over a few classes when mitchell singing getting upset by questioning from key committee counsel sam dash each time there's back down to restore the narrative mitchell will have at least another full day of testifying perhaps too and he will be able to explain the greater length why he chose to tell the president nothing about the watergate cover up after today's hearing npr correspondent

peter kay talk of florida senator edward kennedy about the impact of mitchell's testimony and that's a particular testimony that was true of a lot of discrepancy is that a contradiction to what he said between the germans and injured mcgruder said aha well there's no question we can resolve those right now because we don't have the notions of the three people but i do think as other witnesses come on key witnesses in this affair that probably some of these mothers will do so because he's taking the music the organization

merkel said that's what was often shows that was you know that was one of the reasons why i question him again on that quite some length was present at that meeting coming before the committee in a room at the outset congress would authorize or whether it was a number of instances i think where we can bring the witnesses who said light on the contradictions last quick question because there are times you think perhaps with challenging testimony that perhaps the president's credibility with the testimony john mitchell now there's an even more confidence in his own world yes in fact i have said that many times in meetings with private do people ask me about what that i thought presidents it was probably the first i'd under questioning from senator gurney and others did john mitchell in fact tell us

anything new today and if so what one would put that question now to a true gentleman who was the percentage was done there stephen hess former any dirt to richard nixon and author of political subjects and now a senior fellow at brookings institution and david epstein a former prosecutor here and the us attorney's office here in washington and is now adjunct professor of law georgetown university law center actor first human stress when that we learn anything they've you know i think what jon mitchell left us with after his first day of testimony were massive numbers of contradictory statements first he seemed to contradict much of the testimony out that jeb magruder presenting that he contradicted much of the testimony that john dean testified to look worried john mitchell is not going to admit to any wrongdoing about how hard pressed they are angry that all these awful things happen but one has to believe john mitchell he was not criminally criminally implicated in any

of them you never seemed to discuss anything very serious of the president his subordinates were continually insubordinate others we left unnamed actually comes from added his wishes and crucial matters his intentions were probably often misunderstood by those week that with well enough but we're left with the thought that john mitchell it would've believed his own words and on the basis of his own words may have been the most informed than incompetent presidential campaign manager in history what did you make of the fact that it's going to become true gold dust common thing is not an anybody come along after that witnesses it agreed with mcgregor and the testimony was like bats that were either corroborated by other ways for example meeting at a problem we have records and those are other several people have offended there appeared to be no additional collaboration for example of a

conversation a lot of instead of various times are in a sense your question no what did we learn from mr mitchell it's as indicated now that is hindsight as much further than his foresight that but and i think as the questioning that the committee should engage in in the next few days why are his highness i now lead them to different conclusions than a foresight into the tiny events are happening how big these different events happened with various people are acting in a non insubordinate ways and various people doing things without any knowledge of the person who was in charge of the committee to reelect president has said that you know accurately that mr mckibbin admit to doing anything wrong criminal legal standpoint is that corrective he say anything today that would make him culpable in the current conspiracy charge or anything like that as it relates to watergate and protecting the watergate cover up with quite clear and just think that had nothing

to do with the watergate itself on three occasions information was presented to her plan to prevent them but even linear linear magruder river suggesting some kind of operations but the damage cajun mr mitchell oh very definitely refused because they'd ever authorize we talked about it and obviously he was doing because it would be politically embarrassing the president there that is of course a question of semantics where the key thing that underlie yoga center scholar up now this last question mr hastert you pick up an ipad and to his testimony in terms of his feelings about any of the individuals involved as he fits into parliamentary maneuvers routine or anything like that but i certainly had a disdain for everything that seemed to go on in the white house he talked about white house farmers repeatedly oh i didn't mention <unk> mr america and specifically by name apparently

deliberately he certainly not the suspicion that that's who he was talking about they're not lose their marks the halfway point in the first phase of the watergate hearings we got seventeen days of hearings now an eighteen more days of schedule before the committee plans to leave for the august congressional recess it would be foolish to make any firm predictions at this stage about the outcome but one can speculate now that we've heard the thrust of john nettles testimony about the major point puzzling and wanting us all that is the involvement of the president a great deal hinged on john mitchell how much you've been eliminated from the white house by the suspicion that you might be being made a scapegoat of all the witnesses scheduled to follow john dean mitchell scene the most likely to have been in a position to incriminate the president himself today he made clear that he had not come before the committee to do that obviously you're still belong to grow strenuous cross examination of the committee's record

for forcing witnesses to change the main thrust of their testimony is not remarkable so one can speculate but mr mitchell will leave the caucus room tomorrow or wednesday with his story and his defense of the president in fact wells and the remaining witnesses is there a man with the motive or the knowledge to incriminate the president perhaps only one an eagle grove once chief of the white house farmers group who john dean claims god is authorization from ellsberg's psychiatrist breakin from the oval office and probe has already said publicly it is if this line of speculation emphasize that it's only speculation holds up the conclusion is that with today's testimony mr nixon past the high watermark a personal danger and of all it is true impeachment century of the president or his resignation was not in the cards were not tomorrow night for my colleagues jim lehrer and peter carey says robert mcneill good night for npr

from washington you've been watching gavel to gavel videotape coverage of hearings by the senate select committee on presidential campaign activities as coverage is made possible by grants for special events coverage from the corporation for public broadcasting and the ford foundation and has been a production of unpacked and a vision of a greater washington educational telecommunications association to so hang in it

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