1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-09-25; Part 1 of 6

it's b employees who serve as a liaison with a little spying that jack was acting in a connection with yeah there is you but as black man and of the bacon of the greens as you yourself going or recruited political spot mr gregory to concentrate on the muskie campaign and then later on in the government a campaign that you can't plant convention security for the republican convention you a planned disruption at the democratic convention you plan and just gathering network at the democratic convention he recruited men to provide security for general and disrupt a peace demonstration the

capital you provided advice and guidance reading you plan or is great brian mann reports you got to see and you were requested but you know after the attempted assassination of the loss and i i take it that during that time when you envision all these activities is it not true that you also were working at the moment and i'm renee montagne

young americans iranians be i would appreciate my mind for the jury that i can think of several instances off and i'd like the opportunity to study the russian traditional flowing into much has some of these activities were intertwined with others were not necessarily performs only that

the instances of one principal perhaps i was asked one person do something for a second party that turned out to be all about a third of that sort of thing this way anything that you would like to just get it you can't avoid that so going to day issue because i would not want to have a very good white and center without further study into the lead actor category is a true sine effectively i find ms

gemini kind of a difficult question because it tends to as i heard them to our cave cleveland to commit a certain duties with mr i've suggested that i don't think that such an allegation is consistent with his overall testimony i asked him he was so well known and pieces the questions became week i mean is that true it was that you wanted to be

able to link the candid ministration to the gym or throwing the assassination said basically correct answer my question is and before you ask the question oh no they've won ninety six of those papers and cia station chooses cable prospects inside out twenty eight nineteen sixty three they were supposed to achieve vietnam's removed it actually protocol and it was like wow i'm a close at that time the director of central intelligence agency

now so the situation it was both fees this generation

oh no i'm fine remember in this case for criminal policy states is

a chance of generals depends on them but advance at least as much or less thirty says we should pursue to make an all out give the generals to move on without a question is whether it was an instrument cable from such estate investor while important to this publication year twenty nineteen sixty three then on studies says the message for the meeting of the national security council members as he discusses is this wasn't you as well a view as

armed forces about my question is if you're trying to really candid ministrations overlooked though was a fabrication of these cables actually mention necessary following my studies my position was addicted to an eminently clear that the kennedy administration have done everything except put the gun to have these two government officials to pull the trigger colson that the big cables that up the legitimate cables lead up to the crew of the assassinations still he asked me if i could not improve on why yes sir i do

mr butler it is mostly a conclusion about republicans want is a clip that goes on the basis of my extensive studies in this example cables that display to be the major cable they were going to get asylum request four zero that's right political reasons it will be hard to my heavens yes i do believe that yes sir i believe is to do not only of

the pentagon papers but awful as briefly succinctly as i can ambassador lives who have requested a period of consultations back in washington to that job and a special aircraft had been sent from washington to saigon victim of greenback washington that plane was grounded about their fears fears or knowledge of the protein crew became more solid during an interview with him having more knowledge that there was some concern that show that these are

examining whether our request asylum thirty plane which was there for everyone to say at the main airport that used to go to expert it at the exit from the country of the law that would not have the fewer arranged to get addicted to metropolitan financial others say which is where the united states government that they would not likely want to go with it that there would have to be intervening fueling stops for example in nineteen ninety five because the administration was very much concerned that the two brothers in their families might abandon their pets at one of the intervening steps and establish a review of government in exile which would be a great embarrassment to

the united states government ministry yes sir you know he said no and i don't

know what is it homeland security committee the fact that there are that have a lot of wind and then specifically been made unavailable to the juice of the saigon government circumstances and i would categorize as here's a generation of don't personally been removed and corny the division has been removed and that's because of the crew and in fact when the crew did take

place there was no tv station in south vietnam do you remember the most egregious examples were in that period immediately to and just following the crew richard nixon the prominent role most americans a lot of praise to him how he was deceived

the middle americans it's people you listen up that point where is that it's been the point i can't justify that would have been within the frame of reference which we remain such a psychiatric information number of concerning mr for a great deal of the second and third hand the so called psychiatric information hidden there compiled by a psychiatrist who'd never seen dollars and the water and the navy subject of large scale was divided democrats in that campaign the conversation

with thousand and ufos nineteen seventy one on one as before since then the us citizens is that you have some information furnished over before you get to the white house before well of course he isn't happening now is that people are supporting him aiding and abetting and there's no question about it when he visits the middle i was thinking at general of the land people brookings all of the halberstam

five cause funds certainly a large portion of the new york times staff have been actively engaged in the and those seeking surface the pentagon papers were those obligations so relations song winner i don't know ms tomlin as just one more question about me through you know or have any reason to suspect must move any foul play in connection with the

wife knows it as german the question mr chairman chairman of the vegetables for the fact that everything that we've done here is the most venomous one long conspiracy well i disagree with that for more than one reason that the safeguards of instructions to juries conspiracy theories among other reasons a shirt that doesn't want to follow the movies as people invited and that is that we have a reasonable the ocean

those decisions mm hmm i'll tell you that and now the conspiracy

any other reasons for a generation all right

witnesses his business just a meeting oh well if that's the case or a weekend if that means that you will be food restaurant theres was to make a one page closing statement as allow couples some of the question thank you mr

chairman members of the committee counsel as you know where i've been testifying before this committee in executive session and in true to your order i regret that because i have an underage time for a long time my responses perhaps have not been as libby i hope i've managed to convey my desire obviously there's been an opportunity to either closing statement which had an appreciative of his record there's been no time for example the detailed explanations objects left open by certain questions and then check the transcripts of the executive sessions will qualify for lately i was like really to reiterate that while i was engaging in activities about which you've been questioning me i believe that my actions are being taken with the knowledge and approval and under the direction of high officials of the government and according to those engaged in a lawful act and conclusions i've said

i regret my participation but i do not do not think that justifies my conviction or the punishment which have been imposed upon me i think thank you are being damaged and thus the committee finished his business with dr george will washington editor of national review was here with me now to interpret and analyze dan's testimony and the committees and when allie first george what about our car ms dorothea the losses was today's show i think howard announced two days and ways a fitting symbol of the watergate episode to

date it's almost as though he combines of his person and in his testimony certainly and certainly that day too and now most dramatic moments that kind of slapstick tragedy tragedies obviously isn't and quite broken he's lost his wife has been sentenced to extraordinary thirty five year term provisionally so more about that in a moment the slapstick element appeared once again today with that yet another oddly names are emerging another slapstick element i have to call it that was mr hans theory that they were betrayed at the watergate break in itself by a double agent there's simply no reason to believe that he has a i think as a professional sort of desire to believe that they couldn't have simply must the job which in fact the idea obama sets of a stamp point about his testimony concerning charles colson you think peter colson it is hard to tell if it's not that what he said about calls and wouldn't hurt

a normal man but most gazans not a normal man he's been hurt i think quite enough already i'm not sure you can be tracked a cubic from his stature as it were because of a very curious case in all this he left the white house in march just before the bikes begin to crumble around the watergate was anyone to work for a washington law firm that is what washington law firms practice in many cases a very peculiar kind of law they don't go out do you will's for your duties for you they in fact fixed lines with a government all perfectly legal system where the government works they depend on the influence of particular man with well known names delay no personal basis with high government official's particular same regulatory agencies which make decisions affecting the distribution of millions of dollars a picture yourself now your name is charles colson after all of this and the reason you want clients to come near law firm is that your name is good well charles colson up picks up the phone

calls some artificial of a regulatory agency and secretary says mr colson on the line i think the line goes dead i don't think he's done his law firm anybody anymore in that sense the last two days a certain amount of vegetables george nobody knows circles and force was originally scheduled to be delayed awkwardness is a space began again and in the last minute to cancel on the basis of a possible legal action and on the albert case the testimony that came out yesterday and today and i'm a lawyer but its animated western ports was what was paul's and can actually offered data was if i listen carefully today apparently was the fact that she gave them my robot that the expenses that we did that that assignment that's one possible connection the most obvious connection is he fired power plant in the first place mr golson raw power of the white house there i would take above all jobs in the world at the alumni magazine for brown

university these days because those obstacles mr conner browne alumni and this cannot be cost and the va came up in providence rhode island these men have known each other for a long time obviously some bitterness their take on the part of howard county feels that certain promises were made to him by course as always with colson promise of a tenuous and heads around an easy to get out of journalist turned the committee itself you know some people are saying that the committee is on public trial now as much as anybody everybody else watergate in terms of proving the robins test that sen bernie raise yesterday on the question of sand that's how you feel about that the company i think it is fair to say that literally literally does not know what its doing the question before it no longer is what the president no on one ballot as senator baker said to three months ago but distant pre history of watergate now the committee can hardly plausibly argue

that is serving a legislative purpose to go into these exquisite details about who handled what money between but it's hard for the committee documented or not i'm trying to argue that this the answers to these questions woman to really affect legislative proposals might come out of this the committee certainly feels the country ought to know the details about watergate a nicer show that feeling however i am i'm very bothered by the use of any congressional committee simply to deploy the truth simply to serve as an educational body for the country and i think john mccain has that well because it's so subject to abuse any senator who can control committee and therefore go on a rampage among scientists committee is going on a rampage of violence they have senator mccarthy did go on a rampage twenty years ago frequently not making any pretense at those a legislative purpose to this simply sign that he was accounted for their upper limit the country and cons

managed that's very dangerous and i think if we weren't were in danger now getting another one of these free floating committees without a clear mandate in what happened yesterday with vice president i saw understand that vice president biden has been on the house urged the house to establish a committee to investigate the charges against him that has not requested that the committee be formed as part of a far more preliminary to impeachment proceedings one of the committee's not formed in that way then we may have another committee that has no real purpose other than to investigate how long we don't know for purposely but if you were to take your thesis and moved back a few steps what howard hunt i mean howard hunt bit more power plants parents did mark a departure from it so it cites originally came back several weeks ago oh it certainly did i think they're more aware however there's a problem because howard is not a big fish they've gone through the big fish

without a month think about this and now after a breather unrest but there's some question as to what they're doing symbolize the small fish aspect of this and was one place or mention him he said i assumed because i was acting on the instructions of time government officials which he was that therefore it was illegal or just isn't as safe and friends with this administration ok george secular march that we've been speaking of the committee and the senate what a committee is the senate watergate committee is known for scheduling switches and now after two days of its new phase plans are once again changing your day as a rundown on what's coming up next medical legal and procedural problems have forced the watergate committee to change its order of witnesses from the white house a private eye john jay coffee a list scheduled a follow e howard hunt on the witness stand and in turns to be followed by jon j reagan a former fbi agent and also former director of security for the republican national committee

but castillo who's testified before is in the hospital with answers and reagan who allegedly how bad the apartment of calmness joseph kraft sweating out in immediately and exhausted today another deck security from our star witness chief white house speechwriter pat buchanan to many sources say that buchanan because extensively on overall health strategy for campaign has been as this is similar to what he had already supposedly done in regard to daniel ellsberg the committee will hear from another presidential speechwriter ken khachigian possibly can fail reagan and political dirty trickster bottles and ready joe wright will be back tomorrow the testimony of patrick buchanan is the committee's work move more directly from what the watergate break in into the area dirty tricks until then for our guest george wilbur and back in the day i'm jim lehrer thank you and good morning but washington you've been watching gavel to gavel videotape coverage of the hearing of the

senate select committee on presidential campaign activities this program was made possible by grants from the corporation for public broadcasting and the ford foundation as much of an impact are the vision of a greater washington educational telecommunications association you're only human fb