1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-11-14; Part 1 of 3

the pittsburgh liu xu long is and so in the senate of the united states on a resolution to establish a select committee of the senate to conduct an investigation and study which collectively increases competition with others in the presidential election of nineteen seventy two or any campaign activity the committee as

various occasions a position washington november forty tonight unabridged videotape coverage of today's hearings by the senate select committee on presidential campaign activities years and black correspondent jim lehrer no today executives from two of the nation's largest oil companies still senate watergate committee and the rest of us alan why they illegally contributed corporate money for president nixon's re election campaign last year and as you would say the cases of actual oil and global a remarkably similar it was contacted a one hundred thousand dollar contributions on the implied basis that this was a quote of the nixon campaign had set for major corporations in

america both his foreign subsidiaries to follow the money in cash to the committee to re elect the president also asked women were later asked to cover up the illegal contributions by stating that the money to come from individuals and not on the corporations when this happened each went to the special prosecutor's office phone bar and then asked for and got the money that they have also pleaded guilty in court yesterday to campaign violations like the major differences in the two cases where that actually his decision to contribute was a joint company management decision and the golf case one man a vice president made the decision that the situation desperate and one other way too the vice president claude weill also contributed ten thousand dollars to senator hilary jackson's presidential campaign and fifteen thousand dollars to wilbur mills and both of those elements are democrats there's another short day for the watergate committee just to tune out our session and peter

carey has a lot in an interview which relates to what's next for the committee here i worked for the watergate committee's final phase of the investigation and the campaign financing and at this time it is somewhat confusing as to where we've been where we're going and i hope of deputy chief counsel the committee can shed a little light levels it seems to me that we're just now getting into a very interesting part evolving presence of big corporations in illegal campaign contributions and the sooner we get our feet wet than we're going to be another of the city so when you have a representative sample hear about big money is dispensed the eye i think that we can promise of people in which rules infraction same story which in fact is there is that they have been several and not so subtle pressures placed on corporations and their executives to contribute money and i think that that was general patterns

not so much of a quid pro quo it's the fear that this particular cooperation with not being in the good standing of the administration and they did not contribute to suggest or to mali have two airlines and the goodyear company in the world that in this particular phrase and you're good for the thanksgiving recess if you promise of face of corporate givers so yes i think that word unless we came to a point where someone was very very significant because i said we can be put on now most of the people who will tell the same story what we're attempting to do now is to show a pattern and practice and then we can do our legislative analysis and projections and suggestions from these representative samples and this particular phase phone conversation by looking ahead to come back a week after thanksgiving week for four days what about not find absolutely not on what the next step has been directed to really get with it

and be ready to government time and then there are five final days tentatively for the week of december third inning on december seventh the long awaited durable so hard big campaign contribution to the president or whatever it was but i don't believe that we've been working on that this long enough and of course the stuff like a recommendation to make a decision but i think you can safely predict that that will come to fruition that week perhaps unfairly investigations in terms of future legislation this one in the campaign finance and maybe the most significant other words you may be able to write more on this and on any of the other two phases in addition to be a drop off in public interest in coverage by the news media but also in attendance by the centers themselves how come when i think everybody has a tendency to be tired and you've got to remember that at one point that we were hearing on womens rooms the people of america volume

never wrote about the clothes and i'd say that we have a live show says that much at regular congressional hearing now and my goodness and when fallon act like those measures but this to me just happens to be the most vocal area because this is a fairly conservative movement around when it's a matter of several were suggested today that witnesses and the center of the nano every witness a laptop in this area as sydney for the mistakes we had somewhere that would have protected us from obvious subtle and not so subtle pressures we've been very very thankful for that reason as much about the what's the status of the committee's appeal on the jets are advised decision on hearing the tapes there are of course giving us jurisdiction going to court has passed the senate is over the house now the

senate urban just contacted chairman levin of the house judiciary committee this morning listen to negotiate directly and i'm sure we'll have a bill through in time to argue the case all the way through to get what we want there will be back at the end of the hearings tonight to discuss the day's testimony with jim crow investigative reporter for the watch and star knows who's also with us last night is you're a cop is a man who's devoted many miles to this whole subject of campaign finance but now let's go to our hour by our menu about the relatively short michael's forest and the first arm ashland ore chairman orrin evans tells it responded to a request for a hundred thousand dollar contribution the nixon campaign finance chief maurice spans the money was taken from an african subsidiaries account in a swiss bank and delivered and cash back and said you know it was an illegal procedure that city and his associates at ashland were motivated by a

desire to be heard in washington he denied ashland receive anything specifically in exchange for the competition however in the second hour vice president of government affairs for both says he made to fifty thousand dollar contributions to the nixon reelection committee the money came from a good company in the bahamas while said the decision to contribute was syria's and has allowed and he did it because he wanted to make sure go up oil was fairly treated by the government in washington and the short third hour senators coburn and baker trials impossible legislative reform ideas while you're exactly said he favors a combination of public and private financing of political campaigns and noted that the whole watergate matter what does that attack a possible contribution violations in the future and that is a sound of a gavel and

you swear that the evidence is usually absences select committee on presidential campaign activities shall be the truth the whole scene ms jenna james hamilton assistant chief counsel i get the question about right with their curriculum with the media as a counselor a second term it's benny amanda farris of the political debate and he's

chairman of the board of the actual oil value the g executive officer that was one of you would be reasonable activities on oil terminal in the band the refining company says which means that it probably buys about ninety percent disapproval primarily refining market in transportation company we also engage in the chemical business and in road construction and mining coal that's because businesses in the petroleum industry in september nineteen seventy three three million forty

thousand dollars it's about a million dollars workers so in terms of sales forty three years and this is what we know and it is and is that where you contacted only moth nineteen

seventy two bio respects yes mr spencer what was the purpose of misunderstand that this was their contribution for president nixon's can withstand request that any specific beaten forget it yes sir and it also mentioned that there is either the corporation purchased advertisement in the republican convention for a few years that this just ends recommend that you should personally ensure that a certain portion of the hundred thousand dollars and solicit the remaining amount from you associate us what if you feel the news to stand forth requesting that the contribution the ones that you personally always the soliciting in your opinion contributions from corporations well it's a difficult question to answer

and respect which is that you just did not make any comments that were the contributions should come from email at one thing in miami about something else what was well president karzai's word that in my own mind that could only come from one place in the corporation why did you were one hundred thousand dollars bottle of money and that stores did you consider that and assigned october day in the republican national convention that since he made it was clear that this is another reason that involves soliciting operation i guess i didn't really relate to necessarily one proposition

then as their money selling cars contributions and his anonymity and his band to that well again i'm not sure that i was interested that in my company of my cell phone is is that a question but when it's bad well yes within the judicial

office after it received calls a mr clive and move sometime later i consulted with our western world war between morsi you know at some time and i'm not sure at what stage it could've been for after my recollections are imprecise undoubtedly talk to our presence jets but with mr welch has its title is vice president external affairs and lose in this war and if the anc is that the judicial woes and as you say

when you made that decision did you know that the president will again not inside your be precise question i get i guess i view that is somewhat analogous to the situation in prohibition that was a moment where was martin reads by observation and and thinking back on real we're more concerned about the income tax aspects of situation we were about copies of aspects i guess we have our priorities in the wrong suit well again the situation difficult racial lines we were not seeking any particular privilege will benefit because we don't do

any significant the us government all we were attempting to do is to assure us also formed the heart where we had a larger factor in our respective industries we can expect to have access to administrative officials the executive branch of government without what he's been in relatively unknown cooperation despite our size we thought we needed something that would be sort of the calling card or something that gets in the door to make a point of you are not expect didn't expect of what it is to be accepted and i want to deal with us and that was our thinking a rationale is why we would be interested after he leaves the decision to contribute once that's going to take to get the money together i would be huge political competition well

it's very significant amount of money expense accounts porsche create a number of problems in context also of the point of view of internal controls related to just take out a lot of our companies like abuse of all that if you send as puzzles since he was going to be and we asked him to stop and it was really you

why did you make the decision do you speak of polluted city are well again we were concerned about the income tax consequences of any transaction we want to be sure the tax purposes and national audubon oil exploration and women chad is an investment and lancers people under the police solve it is a technical term and it would disappear never be recovering primaries the committee what type of fell under the local police will tell you and how big money that was attributed to that sale would

be taken into account for backers well i'm not sure i can exactly explain it but it's a count which represents the investment in and in the bridge which is a non negotiable asset since there is a lump sum ol man those expenses go into that the cost of sending people down to negotiate the concession would normally be capitalized and there some seismic calls rattles things of that nature would go in there and they kept was the merger that's completely clear cuts collections i can make of the situation and i take it

all right productive it would have some time down the road might happen to nafta practical matter i think we had a red flag so that it would just sit there but the words it might've been written off point than thirty years now until that time there in italy so again it's incorrect it would've been written off when it would've been written off or what purposes but not protect workers why was the decision made to withdraw the money one hundred thousand dollars in cash is a commodity which us banks don't believe normally do and they did a bit i think this was a new more sophisticated financial society arguably we're used to doing

in such numbers that it doesn't excite anybody and curiosity if you walked in and asked for a hundred thousand dollars was by you did that the united states rather be wondering what you did with us kill you this is the fight for the money it says the campaign has to mr seaton vice chairman national passport number eight want to open for monday march prices tend to encourage patients checked his disposition one hundred thousand dollars

when we're in the delivery of eight hundred thousand dollars from the geneva that actually made them as just that but i think it was animated mr wagner flew over from that you'd miss the way reporters you and the substance of his conversation at that time that report made it the crickets thank you you know there was no way forward mr webb ended his spring of nineteen seventy three

have another occasion to speak with this day in the city and at that time in his band was later reportedly be allowed to be viewed as his fans originally called me in the office and my actions calling back and talk to strangers when the us failed to speak to you about going with with detail how about the competition you say about the competition wasn't interested in talking about sort of a confirmation ability to draw is an additive that mr webb reportedly do that is to stand for the reconstruction of the list the gas you to give him a list

of individuals who that contributed to be a hundred thousand dollars or less elizabeth taylor bob doing one page even he was trying to make it realistic that didn't work the way the conversation to be as precise as i recall effect that stands tall mr weber in all probability that there was a list of contributors that it did not come from him that it was floating around and that we were all about weaving ash and though shall not as being a contributor and that he was trying to reconstruct the list them would like to have from us any information with them and reconstruct

what that means mr jt well the finance committee to re election barrett what information on the source of a contribution yes i like to show you and that you had done a lot faster and recently i haven't seen it britain's participation it had my home address on it and my wife's name on it and the only contact i have ever had with many

contributions to the office and i just saw as you referred to is rose mary celeste was picked up and taken my home address or more social thing than business transaction and in four years yes i might add a viral receiving wetter for july ninth we had been in touch with him for sure now i'd like to show you a copy of a lot of randomness danson july sixteen by the government it was us exchanges where republicans are

informing the committee that the contribution have been from corporate plans and requests to believe and this letter does not get the finance committee was not informed and had no way of knowing that this competition originated from all over and that's the question that the hundred thousand dollar return was it returned just ended the return for a chat for a quarter century and gabriele was the battle of the midst of that i liked the show just to do it again and bridget love them as tobacco mr benson is also dated july

sixteenth nineteen seventy three as jack yes i remember now saying both the letter and the chet and with burton also indicated the finance committee did not know the one of the political coverage but what's that but it's still your testimony is that when you have a slate columnist and you did have the impression awkward least in your mind that the money was asking for was corporate money well in my mind of the running out to come from that when you say that you reported this contribution to the special prosecutor spencer and when was that but i don't recall

precisely the first visit it was sometime i think in early july every record european was fined five thousand dollars and i pleaded no a contender and was fined one thousand dollars a violation of a continuous city and the idea of anything else was that you feel that the reason that the cooperation of these distinctive benefit actual wasn't let me ask you about one specific

instances and the less i was you know eighty people this year the federal government lifted on foreign oil and i do feel that this government decision was mainly affected by and yet it gives of all the oil companies that have these rivers on pollination we're approximately three percent of the air draw in the united states i'm sure we did not have an effect on the facts and matter are that we import program was originally established to read deck the price of domestic crude oil and for domestic oil today is i think most of us are unfortunate where foreigners much more expensive than domestic oil and there was no logic to continuing the import for sure lynn no action on mar part of any action on our economy in the

foreign ministry led to the dropping of the closest you can you think of any way that you're corporation was distinctively benefit but i'm afraid that i kept so unfortunate statement to make our show for it with a copy the pope the first letter is a letter to july twenty six nineteen seventy three by a mr to propose cyclists you're applying the newspapers in july

twenty eight nineteen seventy three the us and i don't really want to know as an american region one because that was a good business reason making the constitution and also illegal in nature i am a distinctively benefited cooperation and stock options but questioning him is how the contribution distinctively that a lot of corporations is very difficult to be precise somehow benefited as i stated earlier its intention was to give us a means of access to present our point of view to the executive branch and so you say what were

wearing where rock you present your point of view an opening bid of the rubble we have continually present what we think is best for the country and in terms of our positions on various matters and when we do so we feel it beneficial to our nation when do you feel that your contribution to give you access to government for i don't believe that a deadly one time and i would hope that eventually it might have given us access but the timeline confusion has not recurred joe i have no further questions with that but i would like to have a document at the thought of lives of undocumented mr

rosenthal i think that's right the vision this question wrong it is the situation

and the gop convention it really is true this is for this committee it was a product they actually concealed identity of the contributors but i'll you're welcome i think that's one thing now you know

you can relate to i don't think the list of the committee opposed to leave the game and why no i suspect it came from the white house the white house ale with protesters also had information that is my supposition you have to be with you that's

right don't you think that we're going to have a full seminar about the campaign contributions are playing i think so mr newman no as olivia raising campaign contributions don't you agree with me that the

competitions as mistresses fifteen twenty dollars we should mention we have a low as you review it does this burst of the medic ernest committed to elect the president with the citadel now and it is a woman in a motorbike and the mole requires a notably to me

about something that was not only the committee that raised some money and make reports on an individual organization which is a substantial amount of money to make a question should you forward there for a statement he made from making involuntary exposure to the infection you listen the city use you sweat his own purposes of chairman of the roberts' only witness you're like i just have a few short questions mr atkins with reference to the telephone call he

received a lot of it is a victory for mr stephens had a previous discussions with the assistance of a sense of it all no one was left and as political assistance the performances eighteen months to two years it's a relationship business resistance

you know whether that assistance corporation officials in the whole industry when the suspense to a specific amount rosen says the campaign is at times the amount in a conversation with them

i suspect the conversation that this is going to make any promises to they just say here is that in that might have a donation or a recession you're not under any obligation to resist them you were the messages than specifically us that most of the suspense imagine where the money would come from corporations use data goes no impression

that suspense expect that the contribution of beeping cooperation i can't just as the idea that had some reason to why did this a lot of us was on him anyway well the question coming up to visit why didn't used to say that it was just as declined the invitation on or what was going through your mind at that time low

i think you know again it was a situation of assets to help that it was obligated to make a contribution is that your eye i think that's steps well after the telephone conversation is that you discuss this matter with others who were the others mr webb came in my private conversation and told them about and discusses mr seaton more or less the answer it

was the decision point and you are number one in the city's number two the operation we have employees well he's focused individuals the decision to make a contribution as a result of the discussion they discuss the training

to problems of the action and they might be helped by a couple who knows that is causing the problems that they've had with the government remember those of the only individuals and businesses well after the decision was made to make the contribution than the next decision was how as a contribution going to be made and who were who was in that conversation that i would think the problem of all those discussions between mr sigman my soul you can say no all false matches also says things that i guess we may have answered a society decision that we made it much thinking

about but they did come up with us that discussion at that and include a way to make that delivery know i think that eventually does not all those years he was as a petroleum yemen coal company but it has been something of a type of unintelligible when you go into these foreign countries for radical tax going through a separate company and losers the company which was organized created to operate while actually the company the one

we have acquired for organized union we wanted to start this company and it hopes to concessions and to buy coverage citizens were miles offshore to go to go spend the six million dollars he says a successful operation sessions you mentioned that

you've gotten this senate have no voice in the administration's well that is more difficult we do know make the point we have operations in many states last week that because of our rather obscure name in for the operatives seriously sizeable collaboration we were one of them

i do we speak for the defense industry most of the major oil companies are supplying own operations be prime ministers were sixty percent of our business is sold to independent businessman and we saw product plan and as i'm sure you're aware from energy prices he can land captured speak with one of the independence we're going on and that is one of the problems clemens it was a cruel cruel

isn't ready supply an easy access to that we think the consumer benefit and we don't think that's uncommon once did you melissa think about it last monday that i should do is that these if you're familiar with the eight years that the us and his disappearance washington post it was nineteen seventy three and this particular volatile i would just hope that a particular sense which i think is appropriate

what they really need and the us government sanctioned wouldn't comment on that while we negotiate on this approximately four years week did not advise governments united states government our negotiations they knew nothing about it did not contact embassy in iran today than during the negotiations for years and he did not eat any less i showed him

a copy of a re committee report dated november eight nineteen seventy three which is very recent this committee report is a result of the permanent subcommittee on investigations of the committee on government operations of the united states senate i'd like your attention patient forty six the pink i like to read a very very short prayer robert e yancey president met with officials of the office of the agency preparedness april six nineteen seventy two mr yancey reported quote it's very difficult to close quote obtaining crude oil and he requested important increases of the magnitude

of three hundred thousand barrels per day that comment was made at a meeting between moods that time i'm not sure what his writing was also planning to appear all we thought that the import water system was obsolete provision were taken our opposition were forced to work on the following page of that report at the white house forty seven you know is the

safest way you aware of this particular problem it was actually work tomorrow is a growing problem in the last three or four years i have these problems that are satiric delivering those do when they relate in egypt's land in this as well for a small town because of communication i think it's a fairly clear cut that the coming to me and saying hey we got a problem with a test that pays fifty four and fifty five it

pays fifty list because a passionate following concept has on page fifty four years i assume that you have an objection to a particular concept or something no revenue increases your mouth or it could come into the country as a substantive measure that permitted you to go and permitted you to borrow against lectured know sort of the harold holzer was you is the tomato all day so we felt the sound way to run and he doesn't provide a plan to prevent you from saying what you're going to be doing three years now we were in a position of having to try or tankers to move oil from iran and saudi arabia to the united states these days i'll take planning and is buying possibly planning practically impossible to grant well

this is another problem because i guess the important role no really have a home since the house is that on this issue really well i don't know that really completely sure that they are one of planning organizations having to do with oil imports the problem to actually issue the gurus those years and somewhere and then they did so think tank truck well the appeals court and how does that relate to your position well if you have a problem on imports and you have to have a coalition of voters than business you file an appeal with the all important deal

or three man bought into it with well those areas you had administrative procedures have access to voice are you how bad has no connection with us whatsoever that their relationship none whatsoever is owned by an individual who organized in some years before we called california and we're driving by the name but unfortunately we have been able to travel thousands of

office the same entity is you're welcome and they had a problem do you know any reason why the united states geological survey would be assistance for any relationship to that i'm sure is are people are those protests are potentially national

committee gets one ninety one into this potential of attention to developments really increase the allocation of canadian crude oil imports we we are large importer very well just like all privacy with a catholic version with healthy wealthy and where the voice have you made any contributions oh you're on as a shiite part of nineteen seventy two presidential convention campaign to the democratic national convention to the democratic national convention

this week and we've all democratic what we do is that when where and how i'm not really sure how to occur and i think when we've all for women thank you rachel mr beatty yes did you read the question that can just one of those questions i believe that came true the subsidiary is contributed to party that's over pertaining to the nineteen seventy two

presidential campaign i don't remember that answer to what is it you know what they have not know you would know it specifically as the audio messages such a lot of situations where you have no further knowledge of the ten thousand dollar contribution the brochure at the request of it that way when we agree with

is it your understanding as well and we decided to you know whether or not the democrats asked for a voluntary contribution in addition to that it's my impression that did not have the protections that list that is let's go back did you receive any advanced notice that he was going to call you and jenny conferences with your associate with and just being that possibility those are we read newspapers that he was an overbearing finances for the commitment the president all over the country i suspect i have no call center now you say that you spend three minutes and doing

those agreements they're slated to to the tune of one hundred thousand dollars now will you tell us just exactly what conversation you're handling of three minutes why can't recall i think it was well let her from him or your art we're glad to hear from most of the conversation about pretty much was the substance i didn't see any percentage of the woman but it wasn't

what we're giving you more neck and neck make you arrive at the answer and so the one hundred thousand dollars a year but to a much as i said before a workout of the excellent job of the president going there are going to be developing the usual sales pitch which i think you know you set out to write out what you say if you talk about it as four hundred thousand dollars per episode by something about it was so that particularly in the gay community was going to happen the subsidiaries two hundred and fifty am and you're not where they contributed to the president

and you said that you knew i was central california i have a new lows of a recent ten year agreement to stretch salute you calibre as character us your response of the usual businessman's response to politicians report i guess i can't speak for all over the land of the jobs lost as the urine

nineteen fifty politically i know as you know i was the only guest is the only request from a cabinet official record as a party they say the usual sales pitch possession possession that have a representative in washington so we have a novel solution in which

we have two lawyers was it really is listener questions so you describe her relationship with the stanzas traveler this is that was just as of any reason to believe that you put personal for those what did the nomination said that the cash contributions coming are not positive and i suspect they were in hundred dollar bills in your

conversation the visual conversations that was hundred thousand dollars being forged an only about the mission i believe so yeah so that you know companies assess a hundred thousand dollars well i don't think that were refused but that was it viruses are so as i indicated i guess my objective was to get off the phone and think about it than it is to listen to and we think about term incarceration before the delivery bar mitzvah where pockets that's right i suspect and i guess it's my recollection as well call one senior burns who

use thousands of world war goes yes sir that was you a lot of the national bank of a vigil company received a little acknowledgement of flatten out the first letter received by the campaign from any worse for the us reconstruction of those lives just wasn't aware was that your understanding of those people on record i wish it was

because it's been the police beat the pittsburgh it's been you

know the place in the polls by city council will begin the questioning it represented by counsel what is your relationship position of damascus assessment in july nineteen sixty eight before the harvesting

of the catalog director government relations since nineteen seventy eight sixty three it has been a peak oh no senator anna way recess the hearing so the senator's available for note and we're also going to take a short break public television coverage of the senate watergate hearings will continue after station identification unabridged coverage of the hearings is being broadcast as a public

service where local public television station this is pbs public broadcasting service it's been it's

been from washington and cracked

continues its coverage of hearings by the senate select committee on presidential campaign activities here again and by correspondent jim lehrer after the senators return or questioning of god or official claude weill began to panic mr weil just before the recess the road you're telling us what your position is with a company what is it now and what are your duties and what were your duties in nineteen seventy one and nineteen seventy two there's no substantial government relations department basically a watch monitor

elections and convert those actions to executives country origin of culture of the company to various committees some idea as he saw it business operations for the company two hundred and fifty million

if you're interested in that mr posner no i have four regional vice presidents were in the service of corporate headquarters but were informed on the other centuries covenant of government elections legislative actions one anything that involves mrs skipping over the place two point two million dollars a

foot replica of the jews at this point it certainly want to order directly to the source of the corporation comments on vista while during the nineteen seventy two presidential campaign when you were solicited for campaign contributions let's go to nineteen seventy one in nineteen seventy one english version

these are committed the republican committee mr plouffe the occasion of this is that job losses were only operation this was an appearance with republican senate campaign committee for a number of years the occasion for his resignation

mitchell because he was going to be acting as though they should mention finances since that surgery did you make any effort to corroborate what mr noland you about his role in the campaign this collection of verses nineteen seventy one republican committees

as fees in egypt no we didn't do that while and he's right mr mitchell no mr mitchell

and this was when he was the attorney general of united states that are rich and in the meeting in the justice department with mr mitchell kurt at that time indicated that there was an operation you know such as the committee to reelect president that list and i was going to because it really helpful to have confidence in that was reading mentioned the campaign solicitation specifically for campaign contributions of government in a campaign contributions explosions

did you make a contribution to the president's reelection effort and so that was the basis and the iranians of bell was this a decision that you write that by herself and did you speak to any other persons in the company before reaching the conclusion that you want to make a contribution of that notion and when you made this the decision whether to do cole

control of a company drilled in nineteen fifty version of what is his name when it wasn't a movie company which he was the comptroller thank you the status quo on security is the company still exists what was the business of the company its recent

activities going on caribbean area the combination of which fish primary purpose we were unsuccessful nominee six years before harvard you know how they recorded that withdrawal of the money on the books and records of the oklahomans exploration company just my mission at its expense they do come a time when the city you'd want to fifty thousand dollars and what form was the fifty thousand dollars that was in cash

you know or recall when he wanted that money