1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-11-13; Part 1 of 3

is is and in the senate of the united states a resolution to establish a select committee of the senate to conduct an investigation and study what the extent of having to actually like to invite any person's acting individually or in combination with others in the presidential election of nineteen seventy two on any campaign to have a sort of activity on april six those caught mr vargas of what was best about is secretary of the corporation things considered an informant and that it had a bonus of five thousand dollars and that i was to make out a check for three thousand dollars to the committee to re elect the president washington

tonight unabridged videotape coverage of today's hearings were the senate select committee on presidential campaign activities here is anti correspondent jim lehrer but at the senate watergate committee heard fascinating testimony today on how a major corporation the american shipbuilding company raised money for president nixon's nineteen seventy two reelection campaign to executives of the wildfire into an elaborate scheme which involved the awarding of only bonuses to employees who then automatically concluded the money the nixon campaign committees the two witnesses also admitted they participated in an international company effort to conceal illegal program from the fbi the committee only met for two hours today before recessing to hear from more corporate witnesses tomorrow and thursday i really good hearings the committee got together in private the vote still another step in their move to take testimony from president nixon year came here the

committee met in executive session and voted five to one to seek its own audience for president nixon the lone dissenter was flawed as edward kennedy who said he would join other senate republicans and meeting with the president but the other two republicans on the committee lowell weicker in howard baker said they would meet with the president only as members of the watergate committee and whiter added that the committee believes a record of this conversation with the president should be made public today we heard what james very aptly described as fascinating testimony about campaign fundraising know how typical is this testimony and what can be done to prevent future abuse is a man who had many of the answers was a lady jane wyman one of the democratic party's most successful fund raisers before his untimely death a few months ago mr weimann raised millions of dollars for president johnson former vice president hubert humphrey and former california gov about fourteen months ago i interviewed mr weimann in his beverly hills la office interview with film just as the watergate

story exploded and it never has been shown before been viewed mr weimann is rather prophetic observations and the nature of today's testimony i believe it is particularly appropriate at this time if a business feels a particular candidate is more vulnerable to that business on that business feels that there is an initiative on the ballot or proposition bets going to increase its taxes of course that is expected to work against that but i do it news and years and years and i raise money that there will even fewer ok and rare occasion where there's been any quid pro quo or persons said i'll give you x number of dollars and i want this it really doesn't happen what happens when a person says that putin that many years ago and i think that's what's called dangerously i think a fundraiser has to be very careful of a kind of money and takes a candidate must have a great deal of confidence in

his fund raiser anymore have that kind of confidence and was he knows that the fairies or his judgment when the weather conditions attached to the deal yes but don't fund raisers themselves are big contributors have a bigger voice in court first of what may gene wyman have a greater influence on a candidate and some other successful beverly hills attorney well i appreciate the compliment really not sure from experience whether how much it is heated i don't think that she needed all i don't agree if you're asking your question that the systems that and i would really love to be put out of business has to eliminate the whole fundraising situation is that first of all is that for the candidate it's that it's embarrassing you have people running for the presidency united states senate that have to ask for money i explain why they should receive money i don't like that

i think that and i don't like being a part of that except somebody has developed the system was based upon and until we have a tax system where huge priority will get so many millions of dollars and each person can get credit for a dollar off of their taxes are going to have this assemblage that have to be reform because it's costing more and more and more voter romney's campaign is getting out of control that proposal to live broadcast to discuss the raisin in campaign funds with mike mcallister a washington based political consultant that's writer right now let's go to a rundown about two hours and today in the first hour american shipbuilding executive matthew harp as it was given a thousand unaccompanied minors really understanding but it must be contributed to the nixon campaign and then made false statements wanted the fbi to conceal illegal transaction said he did all of this at the request of his superiors at the american

shipbuilding company in the second hour of the accompanying companies manage argue the fundraising project says seven other employees at the company are served at the same time the thirty thousand dollars twenty six thousand two hundred dollars of cooperation on that their taxes which went to the reelection campaign and he said he implemented the legal procedure on direction of the company's chief executive officer george steinbrenner and sent the money to overcome back a committee to reelect headquarters in washington and on the city's fire marshal is used as it spends about your systems to raise political money now to the hearings and a graduate or by vice chairman senator howard baker chairman is necessarily epsom attending another committee meeting this morning and returned later in the day

i must leave the hearings very shortly to attend the meeting of the commerce committee conjunction with the northeast around legislation and other matters and for now it will reside in the absences chairman and the vice chair council called first witness witnesses here the pope so that i see that you are accompanied by counsel council visit that if i'm saw a record low do you have a statement which he wished the reader gets to the committee knowing what is the president's position is that what i am director producing with the

american ship we're our corporate offices and is in cleveland ohio and are unsure division which i'm affiliated with his in lorain ohio and get and get some major ship building to prepare for bird ness of various divisions of nashville tennessee cincinnati ohio well it is a it is the police yes i think for president since march of nineteen sixty eight at that time you know

my first position with the american ship was that of an estimator and then i move on the excavator and then you hear in charge of producing functions of our ancient division for material for the boats as well as and enjoy victory sixty three and compensation did you as a normal our receive bonuses from the company which you could keep we're on you know in nineteen seventy two in the presidential campaign did you receive a bonus briefly give him at the details

it received a bonus and that will inform you about and what we expect to do with obama's on april six clovers called him mr vargas office was just the bottom line is secretary of the corporation whose content an informant and that i had a bonus and five thousand dollars and that i was to make out a check for three thousand dollars to a committee to re elect the president the informal as to who had informed him to knowing that you know are everywhere who set up one point i cannot say that united in another even years analogy might now they say when i want one cat who were the researchers

won for three thousand dollars and one for one hundred dollars you know i woke up the conservation for the president at three thousand one hundred fires today stately committee in the house so it's a positive and so you hold anything is uncertain whether not that three april six was well why weren't widely and doing things so it's with me now you know does that fit with some of the exhibits antecedents have won

you look at that one and you identify that one for the committee that is might check bouncer for the voters in nineteen seventy two that's right now i wasn't agreed that yes out that someone in the is that at thirty one hundred and thirty seven what we do know was not there were some cash donations that i cannot recall at this time the monster too you

know oh yes yes want one among the things around three hundred health check written to get and closer to the american ship for me and you get the records and then through the visit to be a copy of a copy of a project one hand out too lima beans society

right now why has the pope i'm on disability what was that this is as the economist obama gave me in order for me to make the correct amount into the current means of it yet another those committees were recipes that you didn't receive a personal receipt for discussion of knowing how to make a contribution which was

you know i don't know without indicating the measure that little contributions you've received some of our houses at a time for conservation from the company in the same procedure that you just indicative that in this nineteen seventy two that is true and that again these so called lawson is one fact that was and it was mine from the corporation did you follow

that he wants to do you had to pay that well you wear as one years did you know it was illegal for him to make a political reforms very quickly it is you have a conversation tell us what

the conversation is about mr steinbrenner mention that the fbi would be interviewing us about our contributions and that mr meltzer our corporation lawyer would be talking to us about it further they suggest in the family was already pre planned the most tumultuous not mean that he can't say anything further just not to be concerned whether it was routine that the investigation and you shouldn't be concerned about how how how how was before the meeting near the isi leaders three or four days prior to a meeting with the fbi agents that i believe it was a weekend in between and i know well and

he told me that we would be questioned by the fbi and to tell on them my wife and i decided on their own to donate the money to re elect president nixon in his mouth and i did not want to call my wife and whatnot that i would say that i will mr mansour had in his possession previous statements by mr martin in two thousand and he asked me to tell you that was a little controversial in his possession from at the bottom end of the house the statements that were given to the ipo yes there already is that is that yes he

should just by holding them up in front of me and saying i have any weed ports by mr belcher burgers tuna caught in his apartment and i want to act where through here to get out to look at them to get an idea what they said well they recommended well the impression i got that we were he had mentioned that we should say that the regulation because of our president nixon's involvement in the shipping industry and help the shipping industry and to get it and what they and the other thoughts or it's morning edition that's right yes

i went down and that confidence to borrow may he did not have this report but i then went some <unk> he did have his report i did read it in israel about presence and return it to him yes they do thanks david there is a way yes you do

this book i'm a cartoon here they get free involuntary statement to ambrose puberty sooner and michael tiberi who have identified themselves to me especially because of the fundamental fear of investigation they were meeting with an interrogation advice of rights on which iran understood the meaning of an executed the waiver section of the sport i have been employed by the american shipbuilding company since march of sixty eight i am presently the director purchasing and previously held positions of cheese cheap next year an estimated my salary in march of nineteen sixty eight finding employment with this company was at six hundred on my present salary as of august nineteen

seventy three sixty thousand three hundred up in connection with the bonuses received from the americans when i receive known in nineteen sixty eight and may have received one in both sixty nine and seventy but i'm not sure of this year seventy one and seventy two i recall seeing opponents of about five thousand dollars each year this bonus will be paid by regular payroll check and it would be less deductions for taxes et cetera i cannot recall the exact in that among these voters in connection with the stock options at the american shipbuilding company i have two options to produce five hundred shares of stock beach one option being in the range of twenty one dollars per share any other options at about twenty two dollars which are these options will expire in nineteen seventy five or seventy six and today has not produced any of the stock

during the early part of nineteen seventy two the zachary the time i recall i discuss the presidential campaign with many of my thoughts and i felt that i want to contribute in some way to the reelection of president nixon as i felt the shipping industry was offering more since the passage of the maritime act of nineteen seventeen i also feel that i hope indirectly to bring to the attention of mr george steinbrenner chairman and chief executive officer of the american ship that i was personally interested in the future of shipbuilding industry by backing the nixon administration administration which the administration helps the industry and particular i recall speaking more to mr robert parker made about making a contribution to assist in the reelection of president nixon and that it wants to remain how i would go about making a contribution mr bauman said he would get a list of the organizations connected with nixon's re election campaign

and that i could choose one of these organizations to contribute to i chose one of these organizations from a list provided to bargain however i cannot recall the name of the organization or the committee but i do recall that the word society in it i also learned some time around forever in nineteen seventy two and i would be receiving it was but i did not or one hundred and ninety seven to three thousand dollars and why cleveland trust there are able to the committee mentioned about it is checked in this tomorrow with the implied understanding that he would see the check arrived in its proper definition also emulated nineteen seventy one on the nineteen seventy two i produce two tickets to a political donor to be held in washington dc

this president yes actually no right now the power to propose bringing us i was like in a paragraph of your statement the fbi beginning with tickets to a political there's no question that they do with the president in that case maybe based on the

bonuses is a statement overnight and so we're in the sports dealing with your desire to make a contribution to the mayor elect a president for the purposes of support the president's position and the shipbuilding industry and the fact that your own voluntary now if you sign a statement by any means for years i believe it was april of nineteen seventy two it was because nineteen seventy three nineteen

seventy three was when i received a certificate i mean do you see this and said that ability to sign it and i read it and i said something to him to stay in the devastating use of no one aside i know and ulysses years of nineteen seventy two and the sign that it was so

far and receivers that either directly or indirectly conditions are subject making the making money and organization or is it and he said yes yes yes it is a cemetery the new sign in april seventy three and

islam is read back of his backers now the city so the first year or two at that time it was going to end with the clock when he receives an op they leap on receiving a subpoena i went to the phone and call <unk> steinbrenner was not home and i left work for him to call me back my next thought was the calmest melcher i didn't have his home phone number so i called mr barnett i thought his department and i have been subpoenaed and i'm like have an

office phone number you give it to me and i called mr meltzer until nineteen sixty one and he was surprised that i think that i have been subpoenaed and he told me not to worry about it that became that we have to go we wouldn't we go with our great nineteen seventy three if you and this is a war on and meet with mr steinbrenner yes that was labor day and the rest of parliament calling in the morning and so the next time anyone to see me i don't allow president at the president and at the parliament look out myself a horrible of a satirical that

you measure time better where do you go that we we should not worry about in the column and that was very shortly later on mr bartley well let that our goal that's right and later mr steinbrenner followed him and at that time mr makovsky and i both tall mr steinberg that we were not prepared so that we would tell the truth to the grand jury he had his fbi statement president and said that he couldn't abide with everything that was in that statement now

please do we knew the regional interests in washington trying to delay or repairs and we were expecting a phone call from him the one where we are then that the understanding about five thirty that night that he had not been successful and we about ten forty five at night but robert level of our corporation called me and in essence told me that four people were going in for people were going the next day and i was one of the ones that was not going to borrow and i was not going to so was not going

this time we had been assured that you shouldn't worry about things you would have to go before the grand jury well at this time and the meeting on september third i tell mr steinbrenner that i had had this piece of paper that said i'd be there and i'd sure like a piece of paper saying that i don't have to be there but didn't know how yes forty now so with a number six years to say to tell us who was a letter that meeting on september sixth around lunchtime the following have met with

mr steinbrenner mr givens tomorrow may <unk> mr walker mr stafford myself and work where were like you leave us right now or the purpose of mating and briefly tell us what was discussed yes mr steinbrenner and then they called me to announce too is that mr williams an attorney in washington and the us and on mr lalas we're going to be in on the case now and minister winds who would help ordinary the activity of part of our parents during that meeting like we didn't have to go

you mentioned that he wanted to go before the grand jury before the committee the committee previous companies such as american and ran to the names you mentioned that you want to do that because he was advised not to we also i mentioned mr steinbrenner again as others did that we think we have to go we would tell the truth and we felt that we had to go back directly to mr barnett and it came about confusing words mr falk that we thought that he did not have a concern for us and there was a mortgage million mr makovsky about this up at that time so we said it said don't worry about it and i said we should

stop using a statement well we were very worried about it we were going out because we couldn't see it anyway any particular path that we were all i'm a gentleman before mr mel torme not worry about the fbi report mr melton told me not going on a recipe in nato may not know it because i didn't have to answer a grand jury subpoenaed and he told me not to worry about having to get out at all and i suppose i can see is me standing at my face behind bars and <unk> coming up and at that time we will after birth and the phone rang and it was mr meltzer joins term annuities and cupped over the phone so that your friend and i said well that you are again and the

new world war ii this is a camel that meeting it was getting into newspapers quite readily now about bout us and the name and so forth and so on and we were concerned that the most it's about our family center and so i said why we can and go into the weekend as which would've been fine and the summer was disgusted and in a fiat decided to myself yes i would go and go what is it he's a noted that and he had gotten some money and he said he had to take to adopt the

yemeni lawyer for this was in the presence of mr walker nail salon mr walker in the beginning mr walker refused to take my then as we discussed in this general discussion he did take the mud it didn't take and i'm going to use that money they don't have those and i was going to go away for the weekend and i didn't have an intent to do so i decided to get an inexpensive way to cover expenses and he said no takers so what did you actually dropping the girls

that yes i did but mr simon and said this is fake it's now i'm going to have a good week and the family because they've been through a lot and it shouldn't have to if you also take them away and they're going to have six sets of the exhibits and on a letter at a shipbuilding company a letter dated september twenty six nineteen seventy three the us to stand up for a chat with a pay period for a total of two hundred dollars now did you in fact that a reduction plan knowing better understand it it was a lot of that was

provided during the time that i found out so i thought at that and therefore i proceeded to make that this former later found out that he did not get the actual i decided that thank you yes or maybe it was just announcer mr mcmahon iraq was later myself is to borrow a moment for walker was a staffer the corporation and the others were

employees like yourself are being given bonuses and make political contributions bonuses you know there was a car corporate counsel was their nose mr rockwell and also a mr slater was there i don't believe it imitating ewe that he was acting as your lawyer in this meeting no he did not he said he was going to their vices and he was not acting as art house oh yeah we then had found out about that two thousand and one which came as a very surprised wallace teases title at us this is

different came up to me and said i think we got a problem here i have been told earlier this morning by judge will also our statement we make the fbi was to be considered under oath and know that at that time or our sons were in the meeting the judge was going to explain what it meant that when the tomb was just that morning that meeting is what about your state is one violation of at usc thousand was not really the senate has at most or all of them is a job as the law so overwhelming and evaluate your situation for you he went through and i think this kind of immunity and mention that perhaps or fbi statements

complete are we now recall a little more than what we had before and at that time i got my fbi report and said don't know that i live on the street or because now were we were getting someone upset i mean the fellows because there's you know and this tie together and the people understand that we were going to tell the truth and that point in the west that was not totally correct that they suggested that you should have your own council council representing you well this meeting to meet with us a return to the rain and mr steinbrenner was there and i talk with a brief we mentioned june we had a meeting and you also

some more things came to light that an invention general joseph says the pension contributions and what i understand as a generalization in that meeting gray area and the people in a given cash where were the black area and other people of the human these were the white area and in his view are being invited to the priorities of impropriety that were involved in various transaction that mature activity was sort of a gray area and you reported aspects of us is not yet all meeting with journalists he did say if we do

that we must appear before the grand jury we're definitely without doubt the whole time what you're going to do no i don't believe so no the day when he had wanted to go oh yes he had mentioned that on one people four men talking committee is the american dream and what are veterans there isn't he was advised by legal counsel not of your pain here on out it in a roundabout way is as present council as we do now this part and was paying the fee

i mean we have the arteries out was not to mention that the big corporation would take care of all the people i was i understand it in your article on the basis of the corporation and the fees that year even as the month a grand jury report any other body would be affected by that no you you were telling everybody what the truth is you know there's no doubt that the company however seek to obtain and then from you or repayment of the issue of impropriety or legality now in your testimony yes how would you agree to an exemption and then immediately i said the rebound off workers who was not signed and you know as a prosperous course yes you know when you might have admitting

thought met with the special prosecutor staff on monday evening september seventeen and you agree to cooperate with the special prosecutor's force and give testimony that would be truthful testimony concerning these events and it really i was and did you in fact testified before the grand jury and when roger tuesday september eighteenth that's right yes another question in conversation it has very great because a conversation took

place in nineteen seventy one and nineteen seventy five or do not recall i just knew from that conversation that the bonuses that visitors the war or political purposes only and i cannot use them online what is your relationship you're welcome for boys to play football in fact mr steinbrenner was the moving force behind the onus

is critical this is it and as you know there's a question in his mind he's made before that he go specifically only witnessed or by asking whether in his mind he knows the moving force behind that i can i think i can build those mr steinbrenner delegate authority there's no need for the koreans there you saying it's conceivable way to barbara ray edwards delegate authority to grant these bonuses and five i would have no knowledge you know i don't know that it's a fair statement to say that you believe mr steinbrenner

the pay isn't it and was this was granted for the specific proposal raising money for campaign contributions are you i don't know drew big question we might question was what was the amount that was in nineteen seventy it was five thousand so if you receive a bonus in nineteen seventy one november nineteen seventy one

incident what was the girl's amount of this fungus the same he received a bone isn't on april second nineteen seventy two what was the gross about this point five what was the net and out of each of these three bonuses thirty seven hundred dollars so on september nineteen seventy through april sixth of nineteen seventy two cd that tomorrow eleven thousand one hundred dollars to correct yes and out of that eleven thousand one hundred dollars you contributed three thousand one hundred dollars to the two committees to the committee to reelect us mr kweller you weren't any other techniques that were used to raise campaign

contributions come from what was the pay it's because big sometime in nineteen seventy three pearl is

the result of a cash on our turnover the department and your knowledge worries funds used for the presidential campaign of seventy two to clear debts and i have no further question the pope the question is there were discussions you have to do

this no well most of the time was just i'm a minute statement would say his attorneys all i think no one occasion he didn't mention that most voters to mcmahon so who was following this

bill a station identification on average coverage of the killings is being broadcast as a public service by your local public television station this is pbs public broadcasting service the pope fb

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join and blacks unabridged videotape coverage of today's hearings by the senate select committee on presidential campaign activities as bob as volunteer counselor suzanne now you have a statement that was the bargaining chip he was to read or get to the canadian ambassador's testimony what a sectarian narrative

since nineteen sixty five you hold its position as secretary the company during that time nelson's nineteen sixty five with what position the starter i started planning department programming assistant secretary rice promoted the secretary was souring and you now have a secretary to be a corporation twenty seven thousand you briefly describe your duties as secretary powell and in preventing video or indirectly admitting not a lot there fb fb