1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-11-07; Part 6 of 6

were you ever in touch with anybody from with the exception of the house we are in touch with anyone from either a duty for a project we're at that place aside from your contacts with mr kelso did you have any contact relatives of this matter which you've testified to before the committee are now with anyone from a duty europe or fha officials aside from tells me did you have contact with anyone from fha so your entire contact fernandez of the hispanic finance committee are literally hit bottom

yes sir some of your questions your turn mr bridges as your seeley a newspaper clippings not sure how they were given the stands by last summer was wondering why they missed it was like oh now after he received a check you made quote mr fernandez in california yesterday esther and mr mendoza is listed you

for the cash contribution of five thousand dollars no going back going back three hours later part two or three hours later and it seemed that conversation i had the same might be said well we cannot minutes cantina you can make a contribution of five thousand dollars if you like nice and will win and i sit and i would get a five as visible a five person and out easily like to make contributions that feeling we do is it will make it will present but what about the other view is no winner promising like that at all but what you have to say about the fact that the memorandum came from high up in the stands on march fourteenth and indicating that you were under charges

before i mean and then you were under investigation by the department of justice and by houghton and that therefore they should forget about this contribution and then they waited two weeks until they gave you back a stack of splitting he said well i have to say i want to be perfect well they had info on stands sit on about much fourteen fire call that day you were under investigation by haim and by the department of justice you didn't receive a check until two weeks later in that was my chemistry us or whatnot cause they know what that was like those strangers and i think the statement by mr stanton indicated that he had passed on this information to manage to forget about you know fourteen against strains that was tremendous to continue to solicit through the day

that you got the check yes there was a record in the records and this effort hasn't gotten the messages and i don't take that idea so many that was when he was thirty one discusses too much on a fall menu of thing you'd be taking something of a recall letter no sir i don't understand but what the state you know on the day that he was visiting the heart of mark on the phone call and it said that he couldn't do anything i do they get twenty five thousand or check that too why did that he said well we never prohibition and all i said that we would like you to

make the five thousand dollar contribution legitimate what we couldn't believe we just let it be known to make the contribution i don't know why he went point five to five thousand and he denied it why now and then it appears cain's do you have a lot of a clear blue sky fernandez from california would not pictured doing that you've worked on for a one hundred thousand dollar contribution to going before but no it appears it literally was collecting funds for the finance committee and i don't think it's strange to see the legal body and the other goal is that the

name is mentioned as a potential contributor why would he is set in among their cue for competition why would he well you can get one hundred thousand dollars oh i didn't mention that theres so at this point is that they told him that i could afford that mr rao number that what you tell mr belsky when you made inquiry about finance and i had to be done and it then going to make a call and check on it but why did you go to a mr belsky

the check on them and then when you turn it it was from california the association no one indication that you haven't missed those he would be the man dj come from and i i i understand the question but i know that i know most of you know wow that's all masterpieces when mr fernandez chris discuss what we might be able to obtain for you when your testimony african tradition that he put it on the basis that he could help you

obtain a fair trial a fair hearing no sir i had expected to receive a fair trial without paying any money a means nothing to a fair trial unfair and that was intentional no because i like that it clear that was the one i want i said i don't want making contribution i was not interested you we can create the peace mr fernandez expected to attain a government appointed yes they didn't only expected to be appointed secretary of commerce when they get that at the very first meeting he told me that he was so trying to raise funds and he was

on a good a job as possible that you know it would've taken that position of looking for jobs now you were responding to a question put you when you heard that fans they can essentially that was a that was a truthful statement one i think specific than i want to know what a keeper the record and the money that it your testimony that when you witness stand to withstand expected to call and that he told people later yes sir the effect that i can discern any favorite color this or any city and it caught on that was later one say michel i was the the main reason for the back on tradition to get what was not that i want to make a contribution or the main reason was what could be done and others practice he that you never

met or no sir i didn't have any of the stamps no sir or anybody else from the president no sir you're present at one of the true user is there if any benefit but you may receive israel giving his testimony before this committee i have no benefit all of you are with a grudge against the tremendous extent anybody that knows her that nobody is either inevitable that we approached you for this testimony cannot answer questions listen to borrow to make a move in this apparition it to others

ms smith yeah since my previous statements that we acknowledge the stairs now receive the newspaper clippings to or to ask about her medical care ali says

before the service bishop so an intriguing testimony of john j priestess the committee concluded the first day of its inquiry and the campaign financing active yes you can use the priestess the fha in florida senator edward kennedy watergate committee member and others have been the subject of intensive investigative story by the miami herald with me tonight is a member of the hell's washington bureau feel guilty we heard john jay priestess today an interesting testimony but i think with a little bit of a credibility gap what kind of a man is john jay priest is and what are they going to learn well are these a very important witness now and now not only the watergate investigation or investigations involving the fha in florida and the justice department investigation which is touching senator clinton and bob charges summer clothes made

here today gives president has pleaded guilty and he was involved in a bar in the prosecutors in miami and it will begin on november sixteen seven and one here an air force base in florida you know he was a bonus baby on the philadelphia phillies in the detroit tigers one time and i think he came to miami running a small business before he got in trouble within the span of when you're going to separate place for builders record his supply was after he started dealing politician's innovative

fiction and the testimony that we heard today indicated that he may not have been helped too much by the committee to re elect the president which indeed apparently given back of money but somebody help and you played somebody who wasn't somebody in order to do well he has say that he paid a total of more than a hundred and seventy thousand dollars to some fha officials important including mr polsky mentioned today in his testimony and to a political fundraiser for senator clinton's conspicuously absent from the hearing today ms duplessis testified that haygood williams gurney political ad thirty thousand dollars and into a brown paper bag on a houseboat in miami one time shortly after he made these payments of a truth

fha suspension was lifted the authorities have collapsed and when you talk about credibility you know i think it's important to point out that in the case of the allegations involving the very political fundraiser priestess is not the only former contractor who made these allegations i think there are at least two three others who've come fall but that was point made similar allegations that promising story of how larry williams approach the promised political influence when they went public service as a republican senator from florida and a republican administration <unk> gurney would have considerable solace to police fha officials would be in fact that's the point mr bernier

recommended this past week for a job on the gurney appointee our recommendation how much money does in miami herald say was paid into this fun for senator bernie the so called boosters find our sources are have figured out three hundred thousand dollars and i understand there's a conservative summit money allegedly channel through a bacon one apart and some of it bob directly to the senators washington office and according to some of the girls forces senator richard lugar said has denied any a knowledge of williams' fund raising activities in denies any wrongdoing what's the fourth republic uplift kinds of the phones could not be construed as campaign contributions since they came midway through six year term that's right most of these fans were raised in nineteen seventy one and seventy two senator bernie a there's not have another campaign into next year

is the justice department as well as the irs looking at this where these funds have reported that us right where we're looking into this now determine a track or alimony was one individual one individual money thanks very much we'll be back tomorrow and then ferment is the head of the hispanic vote committee to raise funds for presents his campaign billed the wellness as i indicated earlier jim lehrer will journey at that time i'm going to play for amtrak and for our guests today and that has brought you in washington in november seven tonight videotape coverage of today's hearing of the senate select committee on presidential campaign activities washington november

seventh has been a production of and blacked out a vision of a greater washington educational telecommunications association you know i don't need this because the

pope