1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-07-16; Part 1 of 4

the pope is is take this opportunity to deny any prior knowledge of the watergate break in or participation in the formulation of any planned conspiracy to cover up that incident or actual campaigns either tied or unethical activity why actions in that period immediately following the reagan which involve the raising the funds to provide for the legal defense of the watergate defendants and for the support of their families were planted in the belief that such was proper a necessary to describe what i assumed to be a moral obligation and the reason in some way the fact that i had been directed to undertake these actions by the number to a number three men on the white house staff made it absolutely incomprehensible to me that my

actions in this regard could've been regarded in any way as improper or unethical robbery in the senate of the united states a resolution to establish a select committee of the senate to conduct an investigation and study extent if any illegal or improper or unethical activities ring gauged in by any person's acting individually or in combination with other in the presidential election of nineteen seventy two when he campaigned canvasser other activity related to it from washington and black rings to gavel to gavel videotape coverage of today's hearings with the senate select committee on presidential campaign activities years and black senior correspondent robert mcneil good evening robert comeback the president nixon's post will adjourn a fundraiser and admitted batman for watergate hush money was billed as the star witness today but before he came on the hearings were rocked by an air forty five minutes of laconic testimony by a man no one

had heard of before here's alexander butterfield until recently a presidential assistant in charge of administration butterfield revealed that all of president nixon's conversations in his two white house offices have been tape recorded for the past two years and so have his office phone conversations were stunned ervin committee which discovered this fact only last friday immediately began planning to demand the tapes of crucial watergate related conversations those tapes could settle once and for all how much the president knew and when standing alone her big comeback who followed butterfield would have sounded pretty sensational and self he spelled out in great detail how on white house instructions he secured the money to pay off the watergate seven oh i know that today's testimony came without trumpets are flashing lights it came instead in flat monotone says minority counsel fred thompson put terse questions to butterfield of the installation of any listening devices and

i was aware of listening devices yes one of us is poised on the wolves approximately the summer of nineteen seventy i cannot begin the recall precisely yes mr johnson isn't the installation was made between this is a very rock as april or may of nineteen seventy and perhaps the end of the summer early fall of nineteen seventy you were the devices that were the executive office of us at that time list of st louis the same time the listening devices butterfield said were automatically triggered every time the president had a conversation in either office there are conflicting claims tonight over whether this administration is the first room or recorders in the

oval office with committee vice chairman howard baker if liking republicans says that's irrelevant the most important guy baker says is the tapes themselves it's really very very important new information requests are something we very very badly need access to and it's my judgment that the committee will meet in executive session probably on wednesday morning to try to formulate a formal request for the relevant portion of the state that they're on the matters and catchers for this committee this is true and you can constantly looking for a way out between the president's version of the committee's attempts to reconcile these differences with these tapes then provide the president's defense with these tapes possibly be the way out that you've been looking so long for a while they really take issue of looking for a way out what i've been trying to finds additional information that bears on the subject matter of cab drivers and i've been here before calling on

the president to make available to us information about his perception of these conversations are a special knowledge will obviously the tapes are already made for that the tapes are extraordinarily important in that respect i'm not even guess what the how white house response will be if we requested that that i am better requests that we will there is and that's unlikely preview of the testimony it begins with richard moore on the stand in the first hour he says john dean described his role as innocent participation and more says the president had his reasons for saying he had full confidence in being even after the council admitted he'd been deeply involved in the watergate cover up butterfield testifies in the second hour he tells of the recording devices in the oval office and elsewhere and explains which for presidential telephones were read for a recording and a third are butterfield explains that the recording system was a secret and no one was to know about he says he thinks the tapes were to be used in the president's defense and that he hopes his testimony won't damage that defense

former presidential lawyer herbert come back takes the stand in the fourth hour saying that john erlichman told him to go forward with the fund raising plans to provide money for the watergate seven and john baghdad's ehrlichman said the effort must be a secret because of the press found out our heads would be in their laps ehrlichman fear that the press would misinterpret what was being done during opens with general are now dropping his gavel some of the objectives but the powell and objectives of the senate select committee on presidential campaign activists are i have never found a final statement and respect to be

this is i gave a necessity operate wessel investigations then that made them come from richard m nixon rather than that made about richard m nixon in relation to his activities own membership on unamerican activities committee of the house with the paper records to the investigation into the guests whittaker chambers this so statement else in the jail this by paul volcker is how strongly that it made

its surface level necessarily buying purposes well that congressional investigating committee is that really to investigate second the center for what the womack hasn't exactly right for the government it's also have a place to sit and corruption third man in wilson's new problem most important global issues i have served on the committee long enough to realize that congressional investigations of commerce activities were essentially all these purposes i knew that if the committee had failed to follow through loneliness case the effectiveness of all western investigations in particular though some appeal converse activists might be impaired for years but more important about problem afraid of the committee

and i feel it just required that this investigation will follow if tables whatever the truth this meant that the promises have been able to in less active support of men walk out of the us in education background an intelligence among the rare destination to be if this were the case then show the congress should be informed and promised to determine what legislative action might be taken to deal with the problems in this is the end of the rotation i know that got them settled investigation been conducted this committee most of crucial to wealth of the nation the committee and sean astin best analogy is investigating allegations that man exercise in great financial foul greater political foul and wait a

little while now in chaotic about the integrity of the process by police presence in the united states are nominated and elected i don't know anything in which the country would have any great interest and then the thing which requires congress in time when obama such conditions existed and well the legislation is necessary to prevent that process on through today and if the police department ms gemma pita you have been testifying for some

time before this committee an outlet i can find my questions to the areas where i believe you might throw some light or clarity you that you had time to reflect or some of the statements that you've made over the like no recollection that you have manifested with respect to some of the items contained in the questions asked one of the questions you with me costa meeting in california on february the tension over two days you met with mr bateman mr d now trying to develop some kind of strategy with respect to the watergate affair and perhaps other situations

it has been just fight through for this committee by message again and i refer to page one sixty seven is there mr dean i said as far as i was concerned that they would have to take this up with mitchell as funders in that mitchell felt it was a matter for the white house is going on as for the white house was doing that he nor should open until recently laid out that it was mitchell's responsibility to raise the necessary funds for these men it had been decided at the outset of the first day of the meetings that moore would go to new york and we want to make sure

what had been dissolved regarding dealing with a senate hearing now ellen was telling moment that an important element of his visit with writer would be for him to get michel to raise the necessary future funds for the seventh ward again defense then mr mitchell testimony three thousand seven hundred and seventy seven of the transcript an answer to a question of whether mr johnson nor he said is far off there were questions from the fans let me ask you are as a civic me as you can exactly what is exactly what he said to you in signing on mr mitchell well i don't know as i can remember the specific

phrase but there is one part that sticks in my mind which may or may not be the exact words but it was something to the effect you would not be interested in help raise money in connection with these activities would you it was more of a question then it was a plea and my answer to that was made mr thompson what activities mr mitchell the activities the payment for the support and the legal fees of the people that went well there's a bounce that he specifically mentions of support for the people involved in watergate ms mitchell well this was the general tenor of the subject matter yes did you have any talk about that or at least i understand when he talked about raising funds that this is what they were talking about the

stars that is the way he received it from your end of the conversation mr mitchell yes sir mr bounds huge also discuss the committee to reelect how the committee to reelect was going to function and then on the mitchell yes nine vue lead to statements which have been made with legislation you know you try to get money for the event these people have presented their testimony on what exactly would you want to change your server problems yes the early in the year for mr mitchell was basically seven seven

seven of the transcript and to the statement by mr dean was on page one sixty seven of his statement as presented to this committee we will have the original testimony yesterday he'll find it or like that having said that i can't those words were these activities according to an event my testimony and i said i don't know at this point about what seems to be one basis of money coming out and i said it was right now you know how could you tell him that you did not

know what that was all about when you'd spent two days costa california talking about you know the nature of those they want that money while i am all i did an animated way i was there's a case in the world and even raise money as unpleasant i knew john if you have no interest in raising money into i'm not well i wasn't going to get into a discussion of why sales pitch of becoming a fund raiser i didn't say that in a certain sense let's do this

a podcast we'll find that the testimony that relates to this is really an expression of a necessity not an expression of what was said in the meeting you knew that there was a balance and the finances the president of that time i don't know any direct information well what did you conceive your mission to be at the town's image of the regime finances that if you did not have the details oh i don't know i've been wanting to do what i didn't want to get into this we asked him to do imagine a big man

so much of what we were maybe persuade them to do this may be trying to think of what it might have been i don't think i don't know if you have a law school to individual defendants do at some of the individual scientists also republicans you had players so it's like individuals and what any aspect of the fun and whatever happens we used to be the ones that at this day being used to defray the costs of his distaste for solo so i don't know it in that i don't know what well as a lawyer mr moore with the great innovators and you conceive of the neighbors lying to see another person and that

person please raise the money i can't really wonderful what is the situation as of this was on the second day a delivery of a second sixty one one little about that assignment was given because they know the recipient of a suggestion i witnessed it would be one of the reasons why you can't remember so well or that if you wouldn't admit that you did ask mr mitchell to try to get its funding for the silencing of the defendants and for the representation of the defendants

that you would be no cover up no sir you had a little you asked a hypothetical but it goes to the parliament state of the purpose of being an illegal guns that have been if i had never i had been with them when i would say like it's not so and so you're going to be doing and tell the president everything that's been happening including presumably this which has been the case an eagle i love your possible

alien believes that you might become and long is this one of the reasons why you hesitate to enfant mr mitchell with more specificity with respect to the fund raising the reasons deliver superior with it second the reasons why i was there with you like it was exactly what that's exactly one of the things you have been listening to a very intelligent man as well as mr beatty testify that said your mission there was to get money for the defendants well mr mitchell testimony was that was that was that this request to the least twice before our live event people i can see how the senate unanimously need to agree i think that it

may have some reason to do this alone obviously some reason always here for us would be was at a subway ride to get a donation but the man who has the knowledge that this money had been asked for that purpose with a target and it's also clear that there was this we believe that they will anything that anybody so the answer is that's the question

but when the same subject matter and out with by me in this case mr dean mr mitchell and yourself and they seem to foreign fighters just loneliness that guy and you seem to have a feeling that i did not discuss with specificity the particular mission that you had in mind when we went to visit mr mitchell oh wait we if there were explosives or what it's about a possible that i would have over the religious message but that position but as far as mr nettles speak of repercussions it's entirely possible that mr mitchell of his talents and when you invest in the festival and he sensed the morning i was saying

that it was an enormous advantage to take the lead which has not yet been established but it's a level that i was sitting in the room to amend the highest level of anesthesia in the world and that they were talking about the legal objectives on the second day they need a reasonable question i was not mentally prepared to take a leap to assume that he had gotten and his visit to the president's western white house with his two closest couple of lines that they were talking about something that was really all i knew was that time and again and my gaze at the justice department i was he has to go into the slick done dozens of them want to close to make a speech on a press conference about that and here i was a model again when you get a lot out of the

program you respect who believe that like we all have that flavor that potent that it says i will i'll make you know eventually and that's what it was well mr moore i want you to understand talk about i don't want to contribute to a dishonest moment on this kind of mind you know tell me whether you were doing this for the reasons that is now so that i can i think that whatever was a conversation taking place of a background of this there were sixty the nineteen eighty four and then in the sort of

scope of the first time in the nineteen eighties that one though plenty of times those who didn't know to discuss the kind of thing that has to be disposed of which if anything you said like there was a recall of the things well you know yeah within the nation jon meacham that reason to steer and you worked on the gunman's that's an asian and for being an he had great admiration so expensive in this committee now if he said certain things would you say send them because he believed them to be june less and would you say the same thing about mr mitchell he said

honestly it is entirely possible i understand i just want to put this thing up a focus on so that's a testimony of the two teams stand against your version of what took place and i was going to another man a new word indicated here that day you and mr dean had discussed different phases of watergate i had the time that mr dean was canceled by you to go in to see the president and tell it like it was now would you read at a smaller

less of those conversations that mr dean what you did seriously with him with respect to me again do i believe that you had a meeting on march the fourteenth witness to me or he told you about their master plan demanding a lot of money out of the blue late in the day i then manage you have another

conversation with him on march the twentieth the next day the us and there was a dead during this conversation that mr dean told you what you can see there was a puzzle highly improper activity that might affect the white house was in the nineties when he faces criminal act of a lot of the men are going on and we are saying that unless they receive this money by wednesday i don't know

why we need bees which is the culmination of this we do a lot of it was trying to be nice to people before

but this was the point of this the president but the fact that the president of the committee for employees of the committee were outside people license to the committee that this was a hard time and then their family members he's a developmentally you believe it i like it because of that back when know

that i don't know well then the president relate to you that being in there and a museum and had told him quite a bit about this bear he gave that when i brought up the president and the president except to confirm that that's blackmail conversation because i mentioned that the president and his party says yes that that's what we don't know perhaps the president did not tell you everything but a dj you're not to engage you that mr dean had actually talked to him about this there are yes in the sense that he's coming yes indeed good

coming it raises the question i said i've noticed that they weren't twenty one is that we really we learned the serious charges i said i think that the family political issue i said yes i'm eighty four and he said yes next question reading out march twenty second when that there was a gentle discussion around the white house that mr dean sure his liaison with the white natick ma where this may be more exact

do you recall any conversation taking place at the beginning well there were some discussions on her about what's the twenty seconds and again this is the danger that his liaison between the white house and this committee i first heard that here or read about i don't think i was twenty second youngest member of twenty seconds and the mostly latino support that weren't aware of the music i believe that was the date as a group and as the july

i think of course the questions on this we're going to do it now on what's the twenty thirteen mr mccourt third letter to say that was involved and ray you recall that isn't a minute and in that letter mr mccourt stated that others were involved in that country had been committed now did you get involved in anything at all the action with respect to this letter know sort

of overrun with the cultural conversation building an involuntary reaction that we've even veterans to being awesome we've seen every game matters natasha and of course you knew about the president's pronouncement to the press and what mr siegler we've gotten say that we are interested in and you have a president who would be doing all these things we are not well prepared and you're right that's just what i think

and then when the state president in a press conference and a complete confidence in this continuing colo you know there was a statement and the washington post now read to you wondered at once twenty seven the president nixon the nie today that white house counsel john dean a third had any prior knowledge of the watergate bugging and said he had absolute and total confidence in d the president telephoned being this morning from his office in key biscayne to discuss with him a los angeles times report that the presidential assistant gives jordan river at advanced knowledge about being a democratic headquarters following the

conversation white house press secretary tom elzey flatly deny that dean had a knowledge about the world the president has been a competent and mr dean and wanted me again here this morning to publicly expressed president nixon's absent you and mr bain in this regard ziglar said you have any reason to doubt say that the statement was made president by monsters inc mm hmm they just ate one and nonwhites the twenty first going to see the president

in total output that there's an extension no worries oh yeah revealing a police stations but what it is that's right yes but the main thrust of this statement was that he had complete confidence in mr dt and with the president

i don't know whether this policy up on investigation way to balance his fellow disposition of philly that the confirmation i don't know but it sounded good reason for at that point in responding to that los angeles times story which was the stories are spawning and that way then they are twenty eight according to an article written by our model yes mr ziegler with the president still have confidence in mr dean and in response services each year and he would check with the president

and then came back and told <unk> long haul that the president had total and complete confidence in mr dean now when that sound in a nevada on two occasions mr dean had never with the president about everything defers as i said i don't know what the goal of the everyday of my favorite oh i'm melissa block but the president had told you that good morning was the prominent black violence that's all the only goal here and i must say that the president chose to make that statement on a visit and this march twenty eight according to that story

because that was reported investigations at that time that may be the very time that the president was searching for confirmation of a decision he later maybe i was not prepared to alert anyone that of activists being with a separate investigation into the connection that you find no listen here on april the seventeenth nineteen seventy three the president issued a statement that it was his own robert was the president's remarks because it was one of the president's remarks and housing developments and procedures to be followed in connection with the investigation and this is whether bin said my second announcement concerns the ykk is directly on

march twenty first as a result of serious charges which came to my attention span of which were publicly reported i began intensive new inquiry into this whole matter now there is the president telling the country that he was told that point two thirds now you say that the president these charges at the time that he affirmed his competence and his duty and also the time that he reaffirmed his cumbersome as to be going to mr moore no one wants to twenty eight usually these charges when talking about this

i don't know the city's drivers was this so they tried to beat against unstoppable not the locals were i think that's exactly the point the president was trying to make the process as he said later he renewed intensify its investigation of these matters i don't know what those charges of wire and i don't think anybody in this room knows yet and i think we'll find out but at that point the president was not advertising to anyone what who was the suspect that like property like involvement by proper executive general terms and out of aleppo syria where it was german victory forget it before nineteen thirty

nineteen forty i wanted to have that record but first more on page three it won for what i was asking you some questions about needing a concerning it i wanna make sure that the record is sure which means it should be i would like to make this comment attention for a communication from the name of the polio like a up above all books is that has been uneven book in the spirit so verification isn't this nice

i mean isn't it he was in korea and i understand also that you had a meeting with mr silver the us attorney's office sometime in may nineteen seventy three is a little on the line now i suppose it goes the ones recollection or either that or your committee reports are inaccurate that meeting that you have referred to several times when you interrogate us what goes on thursday of last week at a meeting in my office for a day of june not the seven stage and just continually refer to i asked

him about that meeting that name did not take place until the next day or committee staff report reflects that day or what but i know that that meeting took place he was witnesses might be true bobby flay build ten references in the record where you get the wrong day and i'd like to offer to request a big director and it's true one of them unlocks some however nigerian that this was a failing to remember their day without some connection references something happen to anybody

and that it just as a substance but what happened the president that this is a reminder that the date by itself doesn't always know something's up all right honestly that second so it would you know when you have an interview with the us attorney's office in may hear that oh no no people think that

i like to cheer you know what he's going through more of the interviews that he is head in the united states attorneys office mr morgan right on wednesday of last week he spent most of the day without the special prosecutor and members of his authors' now i i think we won't give the committee desires that you interrogate these men concerning what subject matter at the us attorney's office and a special prosecutor i went into with respect to what is now when i asked the chairman of the state again this is something that should be considered by the committee i

if i would ask myself that would have some reluctance to have individuals with them before my office manager before the committee and interrogated concerning what they were at china but as i say it's up to the chair saying that no rumors that a witness maybe a large stated in it of course this is great and we were disgusted i have no position i don't think the state of the economy

my understanding now on the line investigations of violations in a lot of states that the quest interrogation witnesses and what they were asked about would permit to others who perhaps were under investigation to ascertain the thrust of what the prosecution was seeking what areas he was probing into and generally just wrote this post publicly well he's investigated my experience was that a permit those who are being investigated an architect of the plan of roadside knew what the prosecution's case and it only i hated it and we have no objection he wasn't even a week the prosecution the mines

and i want to listen with this but i do not believe that this committee for them to carry this part of the exercise that this prosecution files the question of

testimony do we want to jeopardize any prosecution i think this committee certainly won't solve the problems that are brought to justice and doesn't want to interfere with that process that's the only reason i was raising the question here on april thirtieth or with us attorney's office date in nineteen seventy two well at meetings which are quite a few who would want to answer questions about meetings in nineteen seventy two that's on us you're listening to us it's a meeting

anyway something and i imagine your comment about where this investigation with this episode does not only assistance more in this context when you prepared your statement last week did you recollected that time you are a conversation with the president on april nineteenth when i was there that his statement reflect a conversation with the president concerning with rodents and vomiting and also a possible criminal liability just a denomination effect thank you but what the questions

include nineteen ninety one yes that's because the pope as white house special counsel richard moore takes a moment to check some facts we take a short break we'd like to remind you that when we take these breaks you don't miss any of the testimony we simply stop the videotape and then started again a couple minutes from now public television's coverage of the senate hearings will continue after a pause for station identification unabridged coverage of these hearings is provided as a public service by the member stations of pbs the public broadcasting service the pope from washington and pike continues its coverage of hearings by

the senate select committee on presidential campaign activities you again correspondent robert knight knew we go back to the hearings is richard moore is being questioned by assistant chief counsel to ireland's their meeting or thirty six seasons on march fifteen nineteen twenty all of which were attended only by the president yesterday and myself that anyone say anything in my presence which related to suggest the existence of any cover up fb