1973 Watergate Hearings; 1973-06-26; Part 2 of 5

it's b i'm renee montagne libby had preceded it with or without authorization without the couple it was very clear my understanding that they have been given an authorization to see no sir in many ways with them he's constantly we're

concerned about is the first day and only one indication that was on a meeting on march twentieth he's given me any indication that he had any involvement in the senate on that was when i hypothesized to him what happened and he said something to the effect well yes it was something like that that we thought was meticulously timed moved in the committee that's right you know and

one of the meetings in which connecticut and i need really need was planning to read them or had them i at that time he had mentioned nothing about destruction and it was not until after i'd had my meeting in january early january with mr peterson no no there's still a world war ii which discussion about

the june twenty sixteen was so what are two or three wellcome collection there was a meeting at a meeting that occurred in them mitchell's markets and which has driven decisions and made the resounding some sort of support and there was a discussion about the cia would have some of the others it's interesting it was it was a good idea two years i poll at that time i didn't know the people the cia i didn't know i didn't know what he told me well into waters slowly we focus that meeting

was a lead to explore if there's any possibility the cia would be the system's in dealing with with the flubs or was it not help you in the poem as it was with a lot of the witnesses were i think that a major us what about the cia could be the utilities will overflow yesterday and before that meeting to get

underway mr goodman as well as one and i said i have no idea because that similar response he had no idea of the kind of inequality and get out of the country and i'm a pro subsequently i began to think about what made that we raised the wisdom of making such a call we had a big discussion about the call for colson agree that it was a rather unwise call i don't know thirty minute time span republican who is still employed at the reelection committee and told him to retract the real request that they frequently the country i met he told me something to the fact that he didn't know if it was possible the domestic audience and like to this day don't know whether the message was retracted or what happened

so some of the answer is yes you didn't have a second crack at drew the comic about raising money for the cover so you told him that limiting union do something ilya tell us how you came to the earth religions not have a clear and when i did actually receive them i've had some preliminary discussions with mr peterson about a chemistry peterson's deal directly with gray matter i had some discussions with tehran initially as i work policy news there was a summary of the

amount of business development in the moment in his office and read the reports i might've even look at some of the reports of alleged late in his office that was that i received any july twenty four summary of the fbi investigation to date and it showed that the metro and morning and they said that they thought that i think that from the martin an investigative reporter that's right i don't know and

then that mr klein instant hit you that only that he would make it a real abuse of little that's for you if we want to i mean you know i began reporting that i ever you know the attorney general or the president had instructed him to do a good thing or ask you to do something we're attempting to do

you're very welcome the reelection committee and by that time seemed to be looking for a confessional of any sort you could find and then when everything he knew that for example before i think that's one of the reasons i was yeah

and having to face criminal charges some of the misappropriation of funds a year now there's a supply i was going to mr tj bonner trees and there was he prepared to have close contact with the men because it's it may be a purely as people on the white house and he did

true and anyway was that kosovo is the fear that you have a time when that one when you heard about the break in of the dnc what went through your mind and you no fear i believe it suggestive

i think it was on sunday night that's right in nineteen ninety nine that's right

not necessarily you know get out and noble all

conspiracy generally of person and pearson one of his co conspirators certainly permissible were hacked through mm hmm that was mike

we would waves the stakes were too and if they want to for others to begin thinking about the process when you do that

not my mind we were working this is the way i saw oh this is what i've done and i asked him based on that spectrum to come forward and explain his involvement with what to do my resignation was requested

you know on april fifteenth and explain things it is well in new york there was nothing

like that but the situation in yemen well actually i came back from camp david only twenty eight law that would tell him there with me the one time i was getting signals from all of the money for him here that was clear to me that there was a new concern and i've become a concern that was the reason i did not turn over to the report under the camp david the whole atmosphere changed after

really an iconic campaign and how change occurred in the meeting on the twenty ones to that one and i met with the president thank you we were in there was military thank you

yes as i say there was also the second request from there were national security questions we've resolved in fact he did not talk about ronald reagan descendants of them was the evidence in the files they should be examined because it indicated appoint an activist because there's case law that my lawyer you're committing another crime you don't know you've got to reveal is to and he said he was given

them know that they can look at the files and make the determination you know you know i mean you know i would be with the prosecutor's everything i could remember everything i could tell them and the evidence could not be used against me so they could assess what they want to do with that

that's right information he could get one and then after the first time that sometime after that story started appearing foreign sources are you i wish there were an obvious question is whether or not you want to give him what you have in the community having

failed their investment in our poll more we're going to use a name for this thing that was that was that it's not going well what happened the discussions with the passengers are gone into a van and we were giving them so much information so fast that it was coming so quickly they were interested in that and it became more more difficult to meet their also is increasing and then to a special prosecutor us get to know their own status meanwhile mr dash eg as you said and so it was

and one last question before people there was no room and i'm david greene

and so and he said mm hmm i can simultaneously get the truth both thank

you course to deliver aid on top is against united states it involved in them criminal offenses not what like to thank your credibility is greater than that of the president of the nih said i don't i just didn't i just it would be just fine were not granted a few years now you've used as thoughtful

grand jury has ever pled the fifth amendment then you have been bargaining with them for melody which has not yet been granted a state senator now sir reports preston nothing whatever but couldn't do see an article in washington papers that you take out of allah forgive violation of canon ethics it is you like coming on is i wouldn't it have to explain it is that i learned about that sometime after it had occurred and that was when i left that's right the civil service ran a normal cells or without examination as a result of that they went to a former employer the employer

reasons this is true i ask i disappointed him bousman going to see the former partner with business made the statement was reflected in my civil service record and also i should note that one of the reasons that i was prepared to go to the ethics committee that point in time because i was operating well it's really a question of personality

the letter also that i was operating on a time this incident occurred that i have sought legal advisors to whether this was barbara barber i did not want to engage in it was improper you appreciated that that was a lie and on the men who investigated the matter but recent conversation he recently eventually seen and some the grace surrounding the resignation in early february nineteen sixty six mr johnny as you know that you're going to be in october nineteen sixty five about the possibility of representing an

applicant for construction permits for new television broadcast station in st louis missouri at that time he was in washington as communications commission three at that time district of land at a very much an element i think there's no cooperation of an otter organize specific program plans are unlimited and do you have any of the other necessary investigations mm hmm

that's my understanding he was mad i did you know also discussed that made the possibility of restricting becoming a particular gene was then a research associate at what martin election was contemplating the possibility of a change in position i remember

anyway was that in my opinion it would not be another hopper in any was recognizing that if there were any application was about the commission he should resign i mean i oh man patients

good morning any questions reviewed test that she met with the president vaclav the shia and forming only about two of desperation this vision of others and a cover up of the watergate incident that time as i recall don't president both you separate that was an afternoon leaving half set

a request for you mr ziegler both the president's reaction why not gotten the message and i was trying to convey through and i think the subsequent meeting afternoon and a meeting the next day with michel with the president indicated to me that there was more concerned about this committee and its hearings

and if you did that it would be like the concern and interest in the post activities as opposed to the pre activities in oh oh i want to say about what else are you in the lobby instead reaction when he played it it was some discussion and i was i was just amazed that discussion going on and i just kept shaking my head because the president say to me do you agree with this and the reason i don't agree with that presidents seemed surprised is

information i believe at the same time he discussed with you that you should not talk of lust caution about executive clemency give you know so that was a meeting that means on tuesday so on april fifteenth of this year at the end of the conversation do you have any

i try to do the second the breaking nfl media that the watergate entrance i was lithuanian thank you any ideas do you really believe literally in twenty twelve not to mention

and how much i don't know let's see if i have this sequence on the immediate aftermath of the right can grab a medieval upon your return to washington after the break in in june it's almost living room you know that prevented massive intelligence plans must make is that correct and a lot of it the next morning i had a

conversation it's true thank you you know of course first lady that prevented massive intelligence plans must make a lovely view of that on your source and testify on now and he's leaving

and there's a strong blow to the list of parliament ordered him to go through his department's files and destroy materials which included documents relating to wiretap information from the democratic national committee that are religious then you'd go mr alec luhn about meetings with libyan mitchell by subsequent conversations with just the whole mr olyphant reaction and meeting with lust caution that ended with you to get really having to get out of the country is that correct my meaning i did not mr

burns then shortly that was to go to throw the contents of faith in the rovers that correct now after all those facts are available you wanted and jewish council president mohammed that time and then what was that i do information but the united states and you couldn't get access to

him if he wanted to he said to just one reporting like a maniac to find evidence of a conspiracy of this magnitude it was incumbent upon you as president to make every possible effort to see that he gets that information that another question when you met with attorney general fund days on the twentieth that you don't when you had no idea that would be a break in the democratic national committee headquarters did you tell him about meetings with twenty seven february four nineteen seventy two this lady

that children didn't look and say that i did not want to live in that position that investigation that way dan he said he would never say to mr mitchell and i didn't want to put this on mr kohut just to cover up their nineteenth and twentieth well you've chosen to tell this to come by mr mitchell ehrlichman and haldeman morning and raise money to pay for the silence the watergate defendants i became the earlier court rulings i think that for those

reasons one little lonely in this type of information and knew and trusted me there was a particularly after this reporting requirement a requirement going skiing relationship and this made a convenient to avoid some of the strains and it was also at a long standing competition between mr mitchell and for patients in the white house so that this may be convenient they don't want to be alone one another so i'll have a million vehicles in the us i think it was part of an effort to make the plan i didn't really use the military to protect themselves say that

with little money and only twenty nine statement and now clinton and i think why so that was a presidential decision to keep west and move on maybe relate but i think the reasons are very clear your router these discussions came up the strategy we're

developing that the matter could stop mr levy it was wrong i cannot conceive of a reelection committee wanting to manage relations committee you testified last coach far more knowledgeable than he protested what led you to that the fact that the mystery writer told me and members of

the staff contacted him regarding implementing the plan fact that mr khan had a very close relationship with pickles and that the memos that i found in unsafe indicated that one of the actors and mr and security and business you testified to that report to the president room is the real poison to the president on the watergate in in the la

area i've been reporting for his dissent you account for that well i'm told me that this matter was taking up too much attention in which indeed it was very recently written today the problems over we were moving into the senate dais had a plan laid out in our meetings i assume though that the plant's bin laden bin laden had been reportedly in there now mr hall at direct access to continue doing

this because i'm michel i don't really have any dealings with the president to my knowledge other than one or two social events in florida with them from the time he left the campaign and go on a meeting that occurred on june twenty second i know they had a good chat about what everyone had been doing at that time very social agenda in a meeting i was as for the president to make arrangements a mr mitchell reviews his outer office in the executive office building and while i was doing that they were having a chat about what was happening among some of the partners and also that the president's top ten years old law firm at one time the computers directly social relations ms karr right first we

want to take the risk i guess i was walking the conveyor of information to come up forty five and police these requests a company from oregon with the personal side of the business i don't know general sessions what was less than a close relationship to president the same wasn't say more than the period into of the white house i

think i know they have a number of evening meetings and planning for the campaign for the campaign and i thought back to a comment that i was interviewed and your hotel a company or to the recent findings told me that us attorney general nominee as close to the president though senator robert kennedy was president kennedy and throughout your statement you indicated the two met with a lot of the work

for me the most the hall among almost there what was the relationship between you and asia but this is wrong it was a relationship between them as a relationship i think that dimension i mean it's nice

you have a copy of your exhibit number twenty six before you that pleasing and go on and just kind of like hey your comment on but the motives on white house stationery at the second january nineteen seventy three very brave in part two john wayne from golf course now what the hell do i do it so significant that was a surprise

this this came to me while i was to my attention was on a telephone conversation with mickelson after having returned from california i've had a conversation with mr o'brien on the evening of the second anyway and i said in our conversation yesterday mr kahn i

want her situation and mr olyphant who recalls mr bittman and subsequently that may now you look at the three and yesterday the probe of the police baton call your testimony presented yesterday it's a list of all of the people that you talk to have violated loll and that what they maybe that they violated is that correct that is correct as thought were the top of the list

and that's in your own handwriting is this is a copy there is a significance of the letters that talked with an autumn day she met you senator reid and others are human prop the watergate break in for the planned execution of those events are and you list in that category mr mitchell magruder mr strong right now you have this problem with the majors name no stop i know ms sanchez yeah it and that's were source oxman an imminent

stands outside of several names the list i said that my first reaction was the lawyers involved here trees beside each lawyer with mitchell strong that's been and as we were maybe maybe and i was with my lawyer any significance of his daughter

no i don't what is that language on seventy one it has and ten thousand dollars in five years and five thousand dollars to obstruction of justice what this list to mr erlichman metropolitan mr lipkin well our mayor daley's that i don't think that sounds like an

obstruction of justice statute and i said particularly really an occasion says that case law which indicates that obstruction of justice the imagination of man to obstruct justice we are of significance and visit those gentlemen had violated those patents and when you give those particular fences with ted in that five year sentence of ten thousand dollars in five years i mean i have no further question has been at this point in time the two council and senator tom agents set the pattern for questioning john dean they're checking his testimony and they're testing his credibility and that will continue appalachian recess public television's coverage of the senate hearings will continue

after a pause for a station identification i do great coverage of these hearings is provided as a public service of the member stations of pbs of public broadcasting service fbi was fb