EX-PRESIDENTIAL COUNSEL TELLS OF WHITE HOUSE'S CONCERN OVER DEMONSTRATIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00901R000700100004-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 25
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 9, 2005
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: June 29, 1973
• Content Type: NSPR

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residential Counsel Tells 01 W bite
Over
. L, HOMODSLI 1.01-1S
Conversation with Walters
Q. This is another very
lengthy question: 1,.1r. Dean,
you have testified concerning
your conversations on three
. different occasions with Gen.
L.,- Vernon Walters, the deputy
director of the C.I.A., begin-
ning on the 26th of June.
General Walters prepared a
memorandum for the record
of each of these conversations
with you.
In General Walter's memo-
randum record for your meet-
ing with him on 26 June, you
are reported to have asked
General " Walters whether
there was not some way that
the Central Intelligence Agen-
cy could pay bail for the
(11 Watergate defendants and if
the men went to prison, could
. C.I.A. find some way to pay
their salaries while they were
in jail out of covert action.
funds.
In your testimony, you
made no mention of asking
General Walters whether the
C.I.A. could pay the Water-
gate defendants bail or sal-
aries while they were in pris-
on. Was this an intended
omissidn on your part in the
interest of saving them or do
you deny that you made
these snecific requests of
General Walters?
A. I recall I did rnah.e those
requests and as I say, the
omissioin waS not intention-
al. I have nevery really read
in full ,General Walter's de-
positions. So the answer is
that, in fact, I recall that,
that \ AtS discussed.
Q. Mr. Dean, I believe you
testified that on March 26,
while you were at Camp
David, you called Mr. Ma-
roulis, the attorney for Mr.
Liddy, and asked for a state-
ment by Mr. Liddy that you
bad no mit,: kno,,v1ed!le of
the Watergate brealt-in. Is
that correct? A. That is cor-
rect, and I have so testified.
Q. Now, at whose iustances
did you coo: act the C.I.A.,
that is, General Waiters? A.
After diseussing this ,.vith
Ehrlichnem, he ihoenht that
1 should exokii e the nersibki
use of the c.f.A. wift rec,ard
to Je.sisting in supeortnntin
dealine v.dth the
\vim hat leder. ii (aye,: jo the
loin Nc:i.
-;() 1.1w, C.I.A., an e;fort
was icad,' La in eke. the
C.I.A. also the
Gray, destroyed s,,;;;KkketiVed For Release 2005/07/01 : CIA-RDP91-00901R000700100004-9
mcnIs came 117r-r,or..
Hunt's safe, did he noi? A.
Thdt is correct.
Dometie Intelligence
Q. Now, I call your atten-
tion to. what I designate. as
Doctunent Number 3 and ask
if you will read this docu-
ment to the committee.
, A. This. is a memorandum
for Mr. Huston, subject, Do-
mestic Intelligence Review:
I might add here it is from
Mr. Haldeman to Mr. Huston
?"The recommendations you
have proposed as a result of
the review have been ap-
proved by the President. He
does not, however, want to
follow the procedure you
have outlined on Page 4 of
your memorandum regarding
implementation.
"He would prefer that the
thing simply be put into mo-
tion on the basis of this ap-
proval. The formal official
memorandum should, of
course, be prepared than
,should be the device by which
to carry it out.
"I realize this is contrary
to your feeling as to the best
vay to get this done. I feel
very strongly that this pro-
cedure won't work and you
had better let rue know and
we will take another stab at
it. Otherwise let's go ahead."'
Q. Now, that letter can
only he construed as a state-
ment on the part of Mr. H.
R. Haldeman to Mr. Tom
Charles Huston, the aide in
charge of domestic intelli-
gence, to the effect that the
President of the U. S. had
approved his recommenda-
tions about removing the
limitatirtns on surreptitious;
or rather, on electronic sur-
veillance and penetration,
surreptitious entry cr bur-
glary, the use of mail cover-.
age, and of sources of infor-
mation on the campus;es and
Vie military undercover
agents for the purposes of
gathering information upon
the objectives of that.
A. That is correct, Mr.
Chairman.
Q. Nine, do you know that
Ibis plan was put into effect
e?vas, I;ither, approved Air
use hy the President without
the prior knos.eledge of Mr.
A. I do not knov,i tleA for
a. fact, no, sir. When 1 talked
to Mr. Mitchell about it, it
had reached the stage that
they wanted to do something.
Mr. Mitchell and I talked
about it and we decided that
the best thing to do was to
create the
Q. Now, the INC., in ef-
fect, was a proposal to set
up a group representing or
representatives from the
F.B.I., C.I.A., N.S.A., DIA.,
and the counter-intelligence
units of the Army, the Navy,
and the Air Force to furnish
information about the activi-
ties of all of these agencies
to the White House?
A. 1 believe that is correct.
Q. Now, as a lawyer, you
are aware of the fact that
the Section 403(d) of Title
50 of the U.S. Code provides
that the C.I.A. "shall have
no police, subpoena, law en-
forcement powers, or internal
security functions." '
A. Yes, I was entirely
aware of that.
Statute on C.I.A.
Q. Yet, despite the fact
that the statute forbade the
C.I.A. exercising any intecnal
security functions, here was
a coordination of activities
of the C.I.A. in the domestic
intelligence field, was there
not? And notwithstanding the
fact that the statute gave
them no internal security
functions, they were called
upon to eva.luato domestic
intelligence-gathering by
other agencies?
A. That is correct.
Q. Did you ever receive
any instruction ft on) anybody
to the effect that the Presi-
dent . had rescinded, these
plans recommended by fir.
Huston?
A. No: 'Fo the contrary, as
this document indicates, on
Sept. 13, I was asked to see
what. I could do to r,eL thm.
first step started on, the
document.
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Spte.I tir T-r.r.es
WASHING') ON,' _bine 27?
Following is a draft of a
White.I1c,:ist anals,..,13 of the
testimony of ide W. Dean
3d sulunittcd to the Senate
Wotergate comoutlee totta),;
together with a scrics Of
que.itions to hi? rished of Mr.
Dean. A revised vcrr.;ir.an of
the draft aaalysis sees read
cit the commuter's heoring
today by .stc-imior Daniel K.
/nouye, Dcritoctot nt
OLd COntrlCd on tit venous
points by .7%1r, tian-
script of the icings, includ-
ing the IMO versfnn nt the
draft onelysis and Mr. Decm's
comments, woo not available
for pubiitation for this edi-
tion. The quest Lila will be
?sized of Mr. 1)can tomorrow.
It is a meiter of record
that John Dean knew of and
participated in the planning
that went into the break-in
at liVatereale. though the ex-
tent of his la-towiedge of that
specific operation er of his
approval of the pl:m
haVO not yet
been esdiblisbed, There is no
:reason ta doeht, however,
that Joan Dean was the
principal actor in the Water-
gate cover-tr.), and that while
of,:cr motiv-!: title:: may have
played a patti he bid a great
interest in coveriii,:.; up for
hi it self,
Dean came to the White
House frem Justice front a
baelin.tround of Worldnps on
*problems of demomittations
and inteltleenee. Among those
working itirider him at the
White llett-e were inn Hus-
ton and Cauifield. Dean was
involven disce.-sioas in
1.971 abaut the isiindwecle,ci
Porn Cii;:1;,?:-!-:i puIaced. Ehr-
lit:? toid it: az the
oriein,1 ii-d;hori, of the
woo' 1)23n and
the fact
FHS, it is vier thak.
t'n(
.t !,;;,!ion of
1.)en in-
e.,?';;o tied
I coy, cod
roc;
vf? ihC
CO 30
V.;;IS
il-To -,?;I It ITrd den nOb 1,;(0'Ay ICA11100, olv,nd in the prk-
ply because he was not.' in
Rey Biscayne or because he
wanted to try to keep his
own record clean. He is re-
ported as having said that he
"didn't think it was appro-
priate for him to be in on
those conversations." lie is
also reported to have said, at
a meeting in Mitchell's office,
that "wc shouldn't discuss
this in front of Mitchell or in
the Attorney General's of-
fice."
At some point during the
spring Magruder phoned Dean
and asked him to talk to
Liddy to try and calm hint
down. Also on March 26,
1973, Dean told Haldeman
that in the spring of 1972 he
had told Haldeman that he
had been to two meetings at
which unacceptable and out-
landish ideas and intelligence
gathering had been rejected
by himself and by Mitchell
and that he, Dean, proposed
not to attend any more such
meetings. (Haldeman may he
off on this datc--compare
Haldeman deposition). Ilaldel
man has no personal recol-
lection of Dean telling him
about the meetings at the
One hot is "willing to accept
that as a possibility."
Whatever the facts limy
he oe the matters that are
uncertain in the spring of
1972 about Peen's knowledge
or approval of the bri.ak-in,
it ioust have been clear to
Man, as a lawYer, when he
beard on June 17th of Water-
gate, that he was in personal
difficulty, The Watergate af-
fair was so clearly the out-
iii of the discussions
and plans ho had been in on
that he 'night. he Nvc,11 be re:-
gelded as a conspirator with
regard to them. He must im-
mediately have lied reason
to reali4e that his patron,
Mitchell, would also be in-
volved.
'1 tote k some indication
that Itiriichman celled. Dean
on June 17th to advise hint
of rim problem and tc(
hint to talse charge of it for
(hP FAcn with-
wit :I:, in-truetion, this n,. cull
have been his respon-ibility,
as ti-(untrtel for the Pi citdent.
(rein the time of be ceem
la ice in
tlie; r from the enecicut.
tit het :Leen) to the city day
or after [hr. bit.:1!,:-.111.
.hiae 19th Peim utet
Ellsberg break-in. (that Dean
met with Liddy and .others
is confirmed in Magruder
testimony) There was also a
meeting'' that day by Dean
with Mitchell, Strachan. Mar-
dian, and Magruder to discuss
a cover-up. A series of meet-
ings, also including LaRue,
followed throughout the
summer.
Dean was not merely one
of the architects of the cover-
up plan. Ile was also perhaps
its most active participant.
It was Dean Who suegested
to lialdeman that tile F.B.I.
was concerned that it: might
run into a C.I.A. opera lion.
ing on behalf of Mitchell, who
It was Dean, purportedly act:-
came to Ehrlichman several
weeks after the break-in to
obtain approval for fund-rais-
ing by Kalmbach for the. ar-
rested persons. it was Dean
who reviewed thc papers
found in Llont's safe and de-
clared that they were "politi-
cally sensitive" and should
be given special treatment.
It wits Dean and Mitchell
who prepared Magruder for
his'periurous grand jury
testimony. On Aue. 29th
when Colson prepared a
memorandum stating the
facts cis he knew them, and
stteecsted it be sent. to
Silbert, it was Dean who
said: "For God's sake destroy
the memo, it impeaches
Magreder." It was Dean who
was the agent in some of the
money dealings with the,
arrested persons. It was Dean -
who gave Caulfield in,strue-
lions en how he wa's to
handle 11,1cCord.
Terfeetly Situated'
Throughout all of this
WaS perreCtly sit noted
to inn iter-mind and to terry
tom a cover-up since, Ns
to the President and
the man in charge for the
White Iiouse, he Inui full
balYi".Y7M-
tilt' 10
(NO ill\'CSII"011I'il l).
the 1..B.1. It:: eat.. in
inifovici,cs with, Winte 111tere.
witnesses and received in-
vestieetive reports. Dean and
itt et wit h At tor-
ney nem. ti_I 1.; teinclienst late
in July. The Attorney Gcn-
eit:,1 kle-ignited tht., invt'stiga-
Eon e.id sod tlitit "it dui
ran ,:ppear !hitt any \\Ante
!Italie people or any hieh-
rankMe cominittee pcdple
break-in."
History fails to record that
at that moment Dean cor-
rected the Attorney General's
erroneous impression by
pointing out that. however
innocently Mitchell, Magru-
der, anti Dean had all been
involved in planning of oper-
ations of which Watere.ate
was an obvious derivative,
or that Strachan had knowl-
edge of the fruits of , this
kind of operation, or that all
of them were suborning per-
jury and otherwise seeking
to conceal the facts.
Dean's activity in the
cover-up also made him,
,perhaps unwittingly, the prin-
cipal author of the political
anti constitutional crisis that.
Watergate now epitomizes. It
,would have been embarrass-
Mg to the President if the
true facts had become known
shortly after June 17th, but
it is the kind of embarrass-
ment that an immensely
popular President could have
easily have weathered.
The political problem has
been magnified 1000-fold be-
cause the truth is coming to
light so belatedly, because of
insinuations that the White.
"louse was ?a party to the
coder-tip, and, above all, be-
cause the White House was
led to sav things about
Watergate that have since
been found to have been un-
true. These added conse-
quences were John Dean's
doing.
Dean was responsible with-
in the White House for be-
coming appritied of what had
happened. From June 17th on
Dean had nericidic conversa-
tions with khrlichrnan "about
virtually every aspect of this
czisr," Dean reported also to
Haldeman and to liiagler, to
him he rave repeated assu-
ranced that he made an "in-
tensive investigation" and
had tout d no nonce
croon). Wag 'the
foundation of the proposition
th-tt. the White House was
F1(0 inVO! ',;1." ?
With ite ,iectiOn passed
'an-1 inm-rest in Water-
caw on the Wane. 1?D01 may
ha, e thooeht !1n-11 this cov-
er-on Le; lteeo a success.
eltholigh te tm:i ported to
erintinue lt oricoine investi-
gation. In hebruary. howe\a?r,
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26 JUN 1973
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...__. , .
'
Whit - ' which-the ageney.
since its establishment 25
ha's oPeraiedlEllsberg, who was later indicted.
Says e House Years: for leaking the se.cret Pentagon
D can
; ? ?
? There are also proposals tol
1 papers on American involve-
'
ago.
.-..Put a .'Friend' in C I A ;revise the agency's basic law: mint in Southeast Asia.
' ? .. 'either to outlaw domestic Q.Ir. ? Helms and General
.te
operations specifically or to re-' Walters, the deputy director'
quire that any such domestic! of the agency, have told of
. permitted only, Mr. Ehrlichman, two of Presi-
By MARJORIE HUNTER involvement be
...- Sp?xta.1 to Tht, New Yoric Timts upon the personal. request of dstetandteNittoen'sagteonpc:'lidteos,htaoltpearn-
!.,?? WASHINGTON, June 25 ?: have ? been a C.I.A. operation h the President.
i- 1 Domestic Activities Barred I
of
by the .Federal Bureau
of Investigation into Nixon re-
(------John W. Dean 3d te.stified to- e because of the number of for- I ?
:day that he had been told by a; mer agency people involved. il !election campaign funds that
.top Nixon aide that the WhiteI '-? Mr. bean said that he laterII The National Security Act of were channeled through a Mex-
House had put its own "good Iitold John D. Ehrlichma no, the II 1947, under which the intell i- ico City bank to hide their
friend'. into the Central Into;lh. president's domestic at ad-I- gence agency was created,
gence Agency in order to " has el-viser, of Mr. Gray's suggestion! deSigned to prohibit it from
Was! source. - Some of these funds
and hat Mi. E hrlic.amann told. conducting domestic. operations' were found on the persons of
some ilifluenee over the . . . ..
the men caught breaking into
agency." him to call the agency and ex- - by stating that it shall have
no police, subpoena, law-en- w.:--e\ne- the Democratic National Com-
. :That "good friend," Mr. plore the matter.
'Dean told the Senate Watergate; "He then told me that 1 forc"ement or internal security
ecommittee, N Lieut. Gen. Vet'- should deal with General Wal- functions."
ta". lion A. Walters, Deputy Dir-ect tors because he was a good But the act also contains two
-for of the C.I.A. and frequent; friend of the White House and major loopholes: .
'interpreter for President Nixon the White House had put him First, it gives the Director of,
_ Cemral Intelligence the respon-I futher cover-up of the Water-
of
On foreign trips. it--the Deputy Director position ? ? ?
This latest disclosure of ' . . sibility of "protecting intelli-I gate affair by asking the
so
alleged White House efforts to they co has soi in . , pence sources and methods! agecY to pay ball and salariest
uld , ne e
a n
involve the C.I.A. ha domestic Dfluenceean tesovertified tile agency 'Ab
. from unauthorized disclosurel for tithe jailed burglars. .1
i
?activities came amid increas- AssuranceSecond, the f Ei .1.
Ing demands by Congress for ?Ir. Dean said he later in-
agency atrthoriact gives the
"to perform
tighter control over the top formed Mr. Etirlichman that Ge such other functions and duties
secret agency,, eral Walters had assured him relating to intelligence" as the
Within the last few wee'''' that agency involvement in the National Security Council, an
former and present officials of .Watergate was impossible. arm of the Presidency, "may.
,the C.I.A. have trooped to Mr. Dean said that Mr. from time to time direct."
Capitol Hill in unprecedented Ehrlichman responded by say- Furthermore, secret execu-
-numbers to be questioned for ing- "something to the effect tive orders, interpreting the Na-
-hours at a tune upon the that General Walters seems to tional Security Act, have been
agency's role in the Watergate
- have forgotten how he got issued through the years, cre
Affair. where he is today." .ating what some call the
? Out of those harings by both A spokesman for the C.I.A. C?1?A?'s "secret charter," now
:Senate and House committees sand ?that General Walteraathe target of Senator Syming-
'and subcommittees have come
...startling revelations of C.I.A.
?.cooperation with the White
-House on strictly domestic ego-
'-rations--a field that its own ics and supporters alike arel fully blocked by successive Ad-I
;charter would seemingly rule now calling for stern measures ministrations, the recent dis-
',out of bounds.to assert firmer control overt closures in the Watergate affair
And out of these hearings the agency. I.have stunned Congress.
-have come equally stunning ac? Won House Approval i Cushman Agreed
'counts of White Hou.se efforts ,
to enlist C.I.A. aid in covernt Just last week, the:first move- Among the disclosures were
UI) the Watergate scandals.the following:
to curb C.I.A. activities came
with House anproval? of a ban l']In the SU111/11017 of 1971 Gen.
Shoulder the Blame
? on agency assistance to do_ Robert A. Cushman, at that
Mr. Dean's testimony
today mastic law enforcement nun-, time delnItY director of the
supported earlier accounts by cies. The Senate has not acted.' agency and now commandant of
General Walters and other The provision, sponsored bet the Marine Corps, agreed to a
C.I.A. officials of white I?touse Representative Elizabeth Holtz-I White House request to supply
efforts to get the agency tar-man, Democrat of Brooklen,1 E. Hom?ard Hunt Jr. with a wig,
shoulder the blame for the was promoted by disatatafrata false identification pipers and
brezik-in ;at the Demrleratic Nal that a;.;eney employes had been'. other items laicr used in burg-
tional Committee headquarters; training police officers in Nev.,' larizing the California office of
in the Water;ate complex last! York City and other cities in Dr. Daniel Ellsberg's former
1
.. June 17. 'clandestine activities. t psychiatrist.
At the same time, the Deat-d? aliIa., Manstield, Democrat of! (:Scarcely wecks later, Mr.
testimony appeared t o shed Montana, the Senate majorilvi Helms, then dire(M)r of the
light on what had been a pub- banter, plans to renew his uliH agency and now Amb;,ssador to
liely unanswered question: why,, successful drive of many vcal.s! Iran, :'greed to another White
L/hail the White House passed ago to establish a joint scx,late.illouse request for preparation
over Richard H. Helms, at that ;House committee to Oversee:a a psychological prof ilo of Dr.
time Director of Central In- onerations of the C.I.A. ani!
teiligence, to 11(?-_;otiate, ahnoost H-)tly,r Govern:m.1t intelligencel
t-.,1e1:,- with his deputy On tne ,nci.::. I
. Senator Stuart Symim;tonl
Watergate matte)?
Mr. pea, 1.,,?;ice.,,i that. a Democra t of aI issoun, t he act-
few days. after the Wizierttate un: chairman of the Smitel
break-in, L. Putt id: Gray, then 11Tili'd Services Committee, it;!sl
%n.tinr, Director of the Federal scud that he \\ il,l conduct a foil-I
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mittee headquarters.
cGeneral Walters also has
told of efforts by Mr. Dean to
get the C.I.A. involved . in a
would have no comment on thei-ton's planned investigation.
Deantestimony.- While earlier efforts to assert!
Shocked by these and other; greater Congressional control.
disclosures, Congressional 'c-it--I t over the C.I.A. were success-.
STAT
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'RECALLS WARIII G
c?-?""- John 'W. Dean 3d, asserting
that President Nixon had failed
to ? heed a warning that the
4, Watergate ease was "a cancer
Declares He Told the
President Episoce
Was 'a Cancer'
By JAMES M. NAUGHTON
,sp;e,ai Ic, The New York Times
e WASHINGTON, June 25 --
mg today. Members of the corn-
- ? mitte.e will interrogate him to-
of the President, the Dep;ol.?
latent of Justice and, ultimately,
to the, oval office, of the White
House.
245-Page Account
His head bowed as he read
calmly from a 245-page pre-.
pared account, Mr. Dean pub-
licly detailed for the first time
the following allegations of Mr.
Nixon's own involvement:
ciThe President complimented
him last. September for haying
helped to assure that the Gov-
ernment's investigation of the
Watergate case "had stopped
with [G. Gordon] Liddy," one
,of the convicted Watergate
I
growing on the Presidency," conspirators.
testified today that the Presi- In February, the President
dent had taken part in the 'asked him to report directly to
for as long :Mr. Nixon on what he learned
of the continuing investiga-
Watergate cover-up
as eight months.
Mr. Dean, the dismissed l'i(nIs because H. R. Haldeman
White House legal counsel, told and John D. 1:hrlichman, the
Iwo senior domestic aides to
Excerpts from slatemeat
the President, "were principals
by .
Dean, Pages 32
in the matter," and also meet-
to ,`.5.
att.rbate defendants. morrow and Wednesday and
CThe President directed that they plan to call Mr. Mitchell
t as the next witness on Thurs-
he Administration try to cur- -
tail the Senate investigation day.
Mr. Dean did not proVide any
and block an attempted in- firsthand information to link
quiry into Watergate. ,by the the President to prior knowl-
House Banking and Currency edge of the Watergate burglary
Committee last September. The and the arrests of five men
President also ordered aides to inside the Democratic National
Committee offices. But he' told,
MAe sure that L. Patrick Gray in a fourth-hand account, of
3d, the former acting director haying been advised in Febru-
of the Federal Bureau of In- ary that Mr. Haldeman had
yestigation, would be ',pulled "cleared" with the President
Liddy's $2e0,000 master plan to
Up short" in his testimony last
spring to the Senate Judiciary p,ather intormation on Me Dem-
ocratic opposition in the 1972
Committee, campaign.
qAt one point, in a meeting. Furthermore, he said he was
: told last Nov. 15 by Mr, Halde-
on March .21, the President in and Mr. Ehrlichman that
disetissed with his aides the mr. Nixon had decided he must
possibility that the cover-up obtain the resignation of Dwight
rolp;lit he kept secret if john N. .1.. Chanin, the former White
Mitchell, the former Attorney House apepirrtments secretary,
General and director of Mr, because of Mr. Chapin's in-
Nixon's re-election campaign, yolvement with Donald H. Se-
could be persuadc.,c1 to assume gretti, the alleged director of a
publicly responsibilitS, for the ['road campaign of sabotage of
burglary and wiretapping of Democratic Presidential candf-?
the Democratic headquarters at di-totes.
Watergate a year ago.
Reports Burglary Order
(7,,fter he (Dean) had re-
lug with Mr. Dean was taking solved to try to "end the mess The former V,Tite House?
too much of their tine.uw
pithout mortally wounding the? counsel said that another aide
Se
'
the nate's investigating corn- President" by giving informa- to '.'-',r. Ninon, Leil Krogh Jr.,
mittee that he still clung to a (1The President discussed- tion to Govermilent pi osecu- had told him on March1-t9 that
..
belief that Mr. Nixon 'did not with him on March 13 the de- tory, the President anpaently thr, authority for a September,
'
realize or appreciate at ny mands by the Watenteue con-. tape recorded an April 15 meet- 1971, lettrelary of the offiee of
a
'p 10,015 for large surns of ine Vii.:01,hilt) .111(i. az.liCd a num- a psyelMitrist treating Dr. Dan
-
time the implications of his in- ' ' leading questions" in iel 1:11si)era had come "right out
money to maintain their silence. L':' (It
volvement." '5 create ni of the c,val office."
and that v.dien Mr De `-itl 1(0(1 111 eVidC'nt ciThrt "
Nonetheless, in a day-long? . ., . ; ' ? ' ' record that would "protect' Mr. Dean's account, was the
imatter_01.4act reciiati,:in or \Ir. nail in could cost more than hir,,,cd,-.,, .' fi rst ortore the senate coin-
..
, rs,l-raillion, Mr, Nixon "told me c.:The President tried to gete mittee to accese Mr. Nixon cat-
IDean's own involvement in tie
that was no prolilem." tim, in a "tense conversation" Geiricallv of involvement in
iW;dergate cover-up and in -I/ eo, o . .. , , . , , , . on Atiril 16, to sien two letters': the co\ e:.r-up. Il,, sat alone at
Idocuments that he sulenitted to _ ro, toe Piesacient mid tow nun :if 1.,,,i1,,n,,ition 116i.. tcimed toetii,., %.,,itnc._;s la;t1i. his 1--,r,iic,
ithe Senate committee, he de- 1--;' discu''''-'1"s'. c:-"Il'i thia y'el'ir fnere,bieie Mr. .Deari, led lie 1.i,'Heell, and k lawyers
,scro?,(1 a ,,,,,ict,..,,pre,id effort t,-) ''''n '"-- '''''1''''''''''',1-"'il and "lo?-,te7e1 the Presi?jent. squarely' :--'-',"f',1 'HI,' 1,'''.',` leelilld l','!"1. 10
mask the extent of the eorti ,. ? - ' ? ' - " ?"--''. ' ' - -''(? '-'''' 1 '''l'u'ulec \vi''''': he Lid send Is'I'l
Ciattl,s W. Colson a lorin-r in the lee? an1 tr' 1 1 i
i -cial counsel to the Presi- would not sign the le,icts" or weeh was the loneliness of Ids
spiracy that he said sin-earl ''''''' , - ' e . - Pies i- , ... ?, ,..-;', . -, ` ' - ?
dent anout a Proull'- to "rani n't_eine a V,aule Louse scape-ilalicg,tlittf the
.11.,r)caskicili'legro.accusL-itions;
from the White House staff, the' ' - 1 - - ''' ' '' --- I
. .1., , ,,i .
Com Mi ttee for the KCAppit1510:0101**400fiT0V91 :CJA?FORVIAPC/1130 0 070 01 00004-9
. , ,
Mr. Dean's recital to the, ? c.0;(1:4-63. fe);.:",-;',':
STAf ,y?Esv YQRK IDLES
pirrov Of 7)5/0. /04 ?oliitiziW1-00901 R.....mmiummemem000700100001-9
ilx.cerpts,Frbrn Statement by Dean to
Committee Investig-ating Watergat
WASHINGTON, June 25--
Following are excerpts from
the prepared statement of
John W. Dean 3d -before. the
? Senate Watergate Commis-
:
sion, today: .
To one who was in the
',White House and became
somewhat familiar with its
interworkings, the Water-
? gate matter' was an inevita-
ble outgrowth of a climate
Of excessive concern over the
political impact of demon-
strators, excessive concern
over leaks, an insatiable ap--
petite for political intelli-
gence; all coupled with a do-
it-yourself White House staff,
regardless of the law. How-
ever, the fact that many of
the elements of this climate
culmina ted with the creation
of a -covert intelligence op-
eration as Part of the Presi-
dent's re-election committee
was not by conscious design,
rather ,an accident of fate.
It was not until I joined
,the White House staff in July
of 1970 that I fully realized
the strong feelings that the
President: and his staff had
toward antiwar demonstra-
tou?and demonstrators in
general. .
The White House (princi-
pally Ehrlichman) often
made or cleared the final de-
cisions regarding demonstra-.
tion activ.ty.
The While House was
corinually seeking intelli-
gence information about
demonstration leaders and
their supporters that would
either discredit them per-
sonally or indicate that the
demonstration was in fact
sponsored by sonic foreign
enemy. There were also
White House requests for in-
formation regarding ties be-
tween ma or political fig-
ures (specifically members of
the U.S. Senate) who op-
posed the President's war
policies and the demonstra-
tion leaders.
Staff Called 'Disbelieving'
I also recall that the in-
formation regarding cleinon-
stint ors--or rather lack of
information -Rvihn
tions liet\i-ssn deri e?tit-
tion leadm s ?
ormolus or maim poliiisal
figures?v.as often repot thill
Rence reports from tho 1.1:.C. hum, In scliry-'
for gathering such 'litchi- dr .!ntt'llir,clu'e reports re-
gence was worthless. I .-tts garaing demonstrators and
hearing complaints from the radical groups from the
President personally as late F.B.I. and on some ocasions,
as March 12th of this year, from the C.I.A.
Approximately one month. I became directly and per-
after I arrived at the White sonally aware of the Pres-
House I was informed about ident's own interest in my
the project to restructure the reports regierding demonstra-
Government's intelligence dons when he called me dur-
gathering capacities vis-a-vis ing, a demonstration of the
demonstratoz s and domestic Vietnam Veterans Against
radicals. The revised domes- the War on the Mall in front
tic intelligence plan was of the Capitol. This was the
occasion in May, 1971, I be-
lieve that is the date, when
the Government' first sought
to enjoin the demonstration
and later backed dcAvn. The
President called me for a
first hand, report during the
demonstration and expressed
his concern, that .1 keep him
abreast of what was occur-
,
Accordingly, we pre-
jared hourly status reports
. and. sent them to the Pres-
ident.
submitted in a document for
the President.
The committee has in its
possession a copy of that
document. and certain related
memoranda pursuant to the
order of Judge Sirica. After I
was told of the Presidential-
ly-approved plan that called
for bugging, burglarizing,
mailcovcrs and the like,
was instructed by Haldeman.
to see what I could do to
get the plan implemented. 1
thought the plan was totally
uncalled for and unjustified. I was made aware of the
I talked with Mitchell about President's strong feelings
the plan. and he said he knew about even the smallest of
there was a great desire at demonstrations during the
the White Ifouse to see the late winter of 1971, when
plan implemented, but he the President happened to
agreed fully win Fat: di- look out the windows of the
rector Hoover, who opposed residence of the White House
the plan, with one exception: and saw a lone man with a
Mitchell thought that an in- large 10-foot sign stretched
.teragency evaluation commit- out in front of Lafayette
tee might be useful, because Park.
it was not, good to have the I ran into Mr. Dwight
F.B.I. standing alone without Chapin who said that he was
the information of other in- going to get some "thugs"
telligence agencies. After my to remove that man from
conversation with Mitchell, I Lafayette Park. He said it
' wrote a memorandum re- would take him a few hours
questing that the evaluation to get them, but they could
committee be established, do the job. I told him I clidhd.
arid the restraints could be believe that was necessary.
removed later. I then called the Secret Serv-
Set Up In 1971 ice. and within 30 minutes
the man had been convinced
that he should move to the
back-side of Lafayette Park.
There the sign was out of
sight from the White House.
I told Mr. Chapin he could
call off the troops.
1)1t-ron Trip Recalled
-Die Interagency Evalua-
tion Coirimittee \vas created,
as I recall, in early 1171. I
requested that Jack_ Caul-
field, who had been assigned
to my office, serve as the
WThite House liaison to the
and when Mr. Caul-
field left the White House,
Mr. David Wilson of rnv staff
served as liaison. am un-
aware of the 1.E.C. ever hav-
ing enr,37.:.'d in any illegal
assignments, aed certainly no
such assignment was ever
The
(e-
stupinari-s 0:- the rq)c-;rts
Seme for.vdided to Haldeman
and sometimes Flirlichman.
In addition to the int( di-
1 also recall that 'the first
time 1 ever traveled \vith the
President was on his trip in
11)71 to the Football Hall
of Fame.
When the President arrived
at the motel v.-liete he \\his
-n,endimi ol.i:11 .AI,ron,
:!,71'0;?.s
VH.0011:!, - so, leg
demonstrators. The Presi ?
Petit, told the Sect Cl. Service
STAT
'a5 cri.JLi ate
_
of there. The word was pass-
ed, but the demonstrators
couldn't be moved.
? It was after observing that
incident a major part of any
Presidential trip advance op-
eration was insuring that
demonstrators were unseen
and unheard by the President.
In early February of 1972,
I learned that any means?
legal or illegal?were au-
thorized by Mr. Haldeman to
deal with demonstrators
when the President was
traveling or appearing some
place. I would like to add
that. when I learned of the il-
legal means that were being
employed, I advised that
such tactics not be em-
ployed in the future and if
demonstrations occurred? -
they occurred.
There was a continuing
dissatisfaction with the avail-
able intelligence reports.
The President himself dis-
cussed this with Me in early
March of this year, as a
part. of the planned counter-
offensive for dealing with the
Senate Watergate investiga-
tion. The President wanted to ?
show that his opponents had
employed demonstrators
against him during his re-
erection campaign.
We never found a scintilla
of viable evidence indicat-
ing that these demonstrators
were part of a master plan-,
nor that they Were funded
by the Democratic ? political
funds; nor that they had any
direct connection \vith the
McGovern campaign. This
was explained to Mr. Halde-
man, hut the President be-
lieved that the opposite was,
in fact, true.
Phone Tap Destribed
I believe that most any-
one who -worked at, the
White House during the past
four years can attest to the
concern that prevailed re-
garding leaks?any and all
leaks. I would guess that I
ha] been at the White House
almost a year before Caul-
field told no that he had
been' directed by Fhrlichman
to wirelap a newsman's tele-
phone in porsuit of a leak.
He told rile that he had Neon
direen?ci to perform tin wire-
tap when Mr. Hoover 'A'nS
unwilling, hut. Mr. Ehrlich-
man wished to proceed.
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This is an excerpted text of the long,
prepared statement read with minor
changes, by former White House Coun-
sel John W. Dean III to the Senate se-
tact Watergate committee yesterday.
? -It was during my meeting with Gray
pn June 22nd that we also talked about
his theories of the case as it was begin-
ning to unfold. I remember well that
he drew a diagram for me showing his
theories. At that time Mr. Gray had
the fbIlowing theories: it was a set up
job by a double agent; it was a CIA
operation because of the number of
former CIA people involved; or it was
someone in the re-election committee
who Was responsible.
Before the meeting ended, I recall
that Gray and I again had a brief dis-
cussion of the problems of an investi-
gation in the White House. Gray ex-
pressed his awareness of the potential
problems of such an investigation and
also told me that if I needed any in-
formation I should call either Mr.
Mark Felt or himself. Gray also. in-
formed me that he wits coing to meal
with the CI.1. ciitiss their po.?;sibie.
invol einem and he would let me
knovd outtinne that meeting...
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FIRST DEALINGS WITH THE CIA
It was during the mecqing in Mit-
chell's office on June 2::rd or 2-1th that
Mardian first raised the proposition
that the CIA could take care of this
entire matter if they wished, in that
they had funds and covert procedures
for distributing, funds. I was personally
unaware of the workings of the CIA,
but Mardian and ? .Mitchell appeared
knowledgeable. As a result of this con-
wirsation, which was prompted by my
reporting that Gray thought the CIA
might be involved Mitchell suggested I
? explore with Ehrlichman and Halde-
man having the White House contact
the CIA for assistance. It was also ar-
gued that the individuals involved in
the Watergate incident, as former CIA
operatives, might compromise the CIA
in some manner, and the CIA should
. be interested in ass'.sting.
On Monday morning, June 7.6th, I
spoke with Ehtlichman regarding this
suggestion. lie thought it was a good
idea and worth exploring. He told nie
to call the CIA and explore it with
them. I told him that I had never dealt
with anyone at the CIA and did not
know (CIA) Director (Richard) Helms.
lie told me that I should not call Mr.
Helms, rather General Walters. I told
him I did not know General Walters
either. Ile then told the that he and
Haldeman had had a little chat?as he
called Mr. Helms and General
Walters a few days corbel. about their
dealings with the rm in relationship
to the invcstiimtion. He was not spe-
cific. He then told roe that I should
.cleal with General Waiters because he
was a good friend of the White House
and the W bite Douse had put him in
the deputy director position F.4) they
could have some influence over the
agency. Ile told me that I. should tall
General Waiters that. l. was calling be-
cause he (Ehrlichman) had roqueed
that I follow up on. the earlier moeting
they had and if: there were any !mob-
leins General Walters call him.
(Walters) seemed somewhat surprised
and uncertain about my call. so I told
him that he nib.iit Liya to check with
Mr. Ehrlichroan, lie said Ife would cit
back to 11 i0 Uta 110 1;;1 Cr called me
IM.k to ;-;01._ p a mooing to visit me
about noon that day..
When General Walters came to iny
office I told him zn.ain that i was, meet-
with him 10 hht
made some geitc;'al comino,ts about
tha Watergate case, it w?st from ro.\-
discussion with 'W;ilicrs that I bacame
aware of tfe., fact. 1(1)11 lull 11111(11 and
Ilaldeman had discussed the 1??)aldber!
Watergate but could result in persons,
totally uninvolved, being embarrassed.
I also told him that I understood the
- Fill had developed three possible theo-
. ries of the case, which I explained and
? then asked if, in fact, any o the nien
arrested wore persons that were work-
ing for the ClA.. General Walters as-
sured me that they were not. I then
told him that I had been asked to
explore; every possible means of deal,
ing with zhis rather embarrassing and
troublesome situation, because some of
the ;11:-ht ito.-)Ived were looking for as-,
sislarce.
I asked him if there was any possi-.
[tie way the CIA could he of assistance-
in providing support far the individu-
als involved. General Walters told me-
that Mille it could, of ?harse, be done, ? ?
he told me that he knew the Director'
feelings about such a matter and the
Director would only do it. on a direct
order from ?the President. I-Te then .
? went on to say that to do anything to
compound :the situation' would be most
unwise and that to involve- the CIA
would only compound the problem be-
cause it would require that the Presi-
dent become directly involved . . .
? Subseqtlent to my meeting with Gen-
eral Walters, I reported back to Ehrl-
ichman that Walters had informed me
that any involvement by the CIA in
this matter was impossible. I recall
that when I reported this to Ehrlich-
man, he very cynically said, "Very in-
teresting."
He told me t hat I should talk with
General Walters further and push him
a little border to see if the CIA
couldn't help out, particularly with re-
gard to the unnecessary pursuit of in-
vest hrhitive leads, I also recall Ehrlich- ,
rAn saying something, to the effect ?
that General Walters seems to have
fo:totten how lie got lie is W-
I c.1\i'l'YIZ..4 1 BACH AND SILENCE
?
MONEY-
I would now like to turn back aeain
to the 'cad of June, 972. After ray
meetings with General Walters and
sulisequent meeting with I Tahleman -
and Ehrlichman, informed -Mitchell ?
that tiv.sie could be no ClA. assistance--
To do host of my recollection, this 00-
curred On the afternoon of June 22,th,
in a meeting in Air, Mitchell's office
and I believe that Mr. Dante and -
'Mardian were also present. Thole -
was a drteussion of the need fol. 7,1:11- ?
monoy excliau.te ior the .ilunco .
for the men in jail and if the Cl",
coniii not do it they would have to find
trlom.y Ntunewitere else. Mr. Lana,
that Mr. Stalls had only a
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'sin ii) or bit more would ih-J
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uncleil,,.;tudiml, tutre;atej to the ile-clet ?
1110.7.:: LY..1
25 JUN 1973
Approved For Release 2005/07/01 : CIA-RDP91-00901
r '71 C;;'---;:\
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LI - Li \:?\-.--L4)
(7 r7--7)
Pollo,.vin.e.t are emcerints from the. first
L.; half of the testimony of John W. Dona Ill,
former White House counsel, before the
Sbnate ti'atergate committee today.
To one who was in the White House and
? became somewhat familiar with its inter-
? workings, the Watergate matter was an
? inevitable outgrowth of a climate of exces-
sive concern over the political impact of
demonstrators, excessive concerti over
leaks,. an insatiable appetite for political
intelligence, all coupled with a do-it-your-
sell White House staff, regardless of the
However, the fact that many of the ele-
ments of this climate culminated with the
? creation of a covert intelligence operation
as a part of the President's re-election
_committee was not .by conscious designs,
rather an accident of fate.
These, of course, are my conclusions,
but I believe they are well founded in fact.
This committee, however, is not interested
in my coachtsions, rather it is interested in
the facts as I know them. Rather than my
characterizing the climate and attitudes, I
shall ? as requested -- present the facts
which themselves evidence9the precusors
of the Watergate incident.
IT WAS NOT until T joined the White
House staff in July of 1970 that I fully real-
ized the strong feelings that the President
and his staff had toward anti-war demon-
strators and demonstrators in general.
But even before my joining the White
House staff i was partially aware Of this
presidential concern, a concern that, in
turn, permeated much of the White House.
IT WAS approximately one mOnth after
arrived at the White House that I was in-
formed about the project that had been
going on before I arrived to restructure the
govermnent's intelligence-gathering ca-
pacities vis-a-vis demonstrators and do-
mestic radicals. ... The revised domestic
intellir,ence plan was submitted in a docu-
ment for the President.
The committee has in its possession a
copy of that document and certain related
memoranda pursuant to the order of Judge
Sirica.. After I was told of the presidential-
ly approved plan, that called for bugging,
burplarr/inti, mail covers and the like, I
was instructed by lialdeman to see what I
could do to .get the plan implemented. I
thought the plan was totally uncalled for
and unjustified.. . that Wil11111 some six hours of the accident
The intern aency
(EC.) ENiPitweptbiatkilre,, goomtlov ?Ibm-tonipw-ilotygoim000lobememokiAick on it lilt a9,
1971. 1 requested that Jack Caulfield, %vim
=71
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II
LU Li
STAT
R000700100004-9
). 1
ret.,j
1\t,d2/ \ettat, LI Li
had been assigned to my office, serve as me, in a social conversation, that he had
the White House liaison to the IEC.... I aM gone to see the President to get instruc-
unaware of the IEC ever having enaged. tions regarding the disposition of wiretap
in any illegal assignments, and certainly logs that related to newsmen and White
no such assignment was ever requested by House staffers who were suspected 9 f leak--
my officc.... ing. These logs had been in possession of
The committee has asked me about 6n- Mr. William Sullivan, an assistant director
cern over leaks. I believe that most anyone of the FBI, and were,. per Mr. Mardian's
who worked at the White Ilouse during the instructions from the President, given to
past four years can attest to the concern Ehrlichman.
that prevailed regarding leaks?any and Iliad occasion to raise a question about
all?leaks. . . I have submitted to the these logs with Ehrlichman during, the fall
committee (Exhibit No. 2) documents evid- of 1972, and he flatly denied to me that he
encing the types of investigations made, had the logs. I did not tell him at that time
I had been told he had them. .
About Feb. 22 or 23 -of this year, Time
magazine notified the White House it was
going to print a story that the White House
had undertaken wiretaps of newsmen and
White House staff and requested a re-
sponse.
The White House press office notified me
of this inquiry. I called Mr. Mark Felt a;
the FBI to ask hint first, whit the facts
were, and secondly, how such a story could
leak. Mr. Felt told me that it was true, that
Mr. Sullivan knew all the facts and that he
had no idea how it leaked. . . . I then
called Mr. Ehrlichman and told him about
the fourth-coming story in Time magazine.
. . I also told him I knew he had the logs
because Mr. Mardian had told me. This
time he admitted they were in his safe.
asked him hos,' Mr.. Ziegler should handle
it. Ile said Mr..Ziegler should flatly deny
-- period. I thanked him, called Mr. Zit:-
gler and so advised hint.
TITItNiNG now to the 'so-called "plum-
bers" unit that was created to deal with
leaks. The first I heard of the plumbers
unit was in late July of 1971. I do not recall
ever being actually adviscd iii advance
that such a unit was being created in the
V,rhite House, but I stumbled into it unk-
nowinaly when Mr. Egli Krogh happened
to mention it to me. I was not involved in
its establishment; I only know that Mr.
Kroeli and Mr. David Young were running
it under Ehrliehman's
WHILE THERE was an always-present
concern about leaks, that concern took a
quantum jump when The New York Times
began publishing the Pentagon Papers in
June of 1971.. . .
To the best of my recollection ? I have
been unable to get confirmation throutth
the White House records ? it was late
June or early July that Jack Caulfield
came to me to' tell me that Colson had
called hint in, at Ehrlichman's direction
and instructed' him to burglarize the
Brookinas Institute in an effort to deter-
mine if they had certain leaked documents.
What prompted Mr. Caulfield to come to
me was that he thought the matter was
most unwise and that his instructions front
Colson were insane. He informed me that
Mr. Ulasewiez had "cased" the Brookings
Institute . but the security system at
the Brookings building was extremely
tight and it would be very difficult to break
in. Caulfield told me that he had so in-
formed Colson, but Cc:kcal had instructed
hint to pursue the matter riA if necessary
nt a fire homb in the building
and retrieve the documents during the
commotion that would ensue. ?
Caulfield convinced me that Colson was
intent on proceeding, by one means or an-
other, so I advised Caulfield that lie should
do nothing further, that I would immedi-
ately fly to California and tell Ehrlichman
that this entire thing was insane.. . . I sat
with Mr. Robert :\lardian on- the fliaht,
who told me he was going to see the Presi-
dent about a highly important matter that
he COUld not discuss with me ? a matter
which I will refer to later.
When I arrived in California I arranged
to see Ehrliehman and told him that the
buralary 1 lirookinas was insane.. Ile
said ON and he called Mr. Colson to call it
off, and I called Mr. Caulfield to tell hint it
was called off.
THE PrtE re-election White Ifouse
thrived on political gossip and political
It was not until I joined the White Ilouse
staff and Could'iold was placed on my staff
that 1 learned hat Caulfield was assigned
, to develop political inteliitteree on Sen.
Edward Rennedy, Mr. Cannield told me
see the President. Mr. Mardian later told
NATIONAL REVIEll
Approved For Release 200g/97M: fM-RDP9140901R000700100004-9
SiAi
Deeper and Deeper
C.----"Enter Lieutenant General Vernon A. Walters, bringing
? with him some fairly hard evidence on the Watergate
cover-up: his recollections, written down immediately
afterward, of conversations with John Ehrlichman, H. R.
Haldeman, John Dean, and L. Patrick Gray in the weeks
after the burglary. Unless the Walters memoranda are
out-and-out forgeries (which seems unlikely), it is rea-
c---- sonable to believe 1) that CIA director Richard Helms
assured Haldeman and Ehrlichman that an investigation
Of Watergate would not threaten covert CIA operations;
2) that Haldeman asked Walters, Deputy Director of
CIA, to ask Gray to soft-pedal the investigations; 3) that
Gray seemed willing enough, but needed an excuse; 4)
that Dean strove mightily to involve the CIA in a cover-
up; even suggesting the Agency go bait for the five ar-
rested burglars;. 5) that Gray had concluded by early
July that the case couldn't be covered up, and had so ad-
vised President Nixon.
The Walters memoranda, of course, cast doubt on
Nixon's claim of May 22 that the Watergate investigation
was curbed ill the interest of national security?unless,
that is, Haldeman and Ehrlichman lied to their boss
about Helms' assurances, or simply failed to tell him.
Still, Walters' contribution to the meager file of hard evi-
dence moves the cover-up no closer to Nixon than Nixon
himself has already admitted. For the "Nixon connec-
tion," we have little more than the word of John Dean,
who, we are now told, discussed the cover-up with Nixon
"35 or forty" times between January and April of this
year; that Nixon knew all about what was going on, etc.
All this, understand, is from "reliable sources," "sources
close to Mr. Dean," and company. As the New York
Times remarks, toward the end of a long story solemnly
quoting Sources, "Mr. Dean has been openly using the
press in his effort to gain complete immunity for him-
self." Sources can say anything in the world and indulge
in the most flagrant sensationalism; will surely do so,
if that will gain Dean the immunity he so greatly desires.
Once on the witness stand, Dean himself can tell stories
prosaic by comparison: It may turn out that at those
dozens of meetings, Nixon did nothing more sinister than
nag Dean to get cracking on that Watergate report he
was supposed to be writing. There will sit Dean, immune;
the Sources will be nowhere to be found. But until Dean
gets immunity and/or testifies, the circus will continue.
The White House hardly helped itself when it first re-
fused, then unrefused to deliver logs of the Dean-Nixon
meetings--no more than written notations that they oc-
curred?to the Ervin Committee and to the special prose-
cutor, Professor Cox. The doctrine of executive privilege,
as understood in the White House, now seems not to ex-
Approved For Release 2005/07/01 : CIA-RDP91-00901R000700100004-9
tend beyond the person of the President: Nixon has
made it perfectly clear he will not appear before the Er-
vin Committee, or the grand jury. Nobody seriously ex-
pected him to?though a number of liberals now say he
should submit to "cross-examination" by the press.
Meanwhile, the various investigations drag on. The
conflict between Senator Ervin ("Let the truth be
known") and Professor Cox ("Let the guilty be pun-
ished") remains unfesolved. About all that's certain is:
1) The Ervin hearings will drag on and on, even unto the
1974 congressional elections, if some Democrats have
their way (and if impeachment moves by the likes of
maverick Pete McCloskey are successfully squelched);
and 2) nobody, will be punished by the courts: Given our
enlightened views on the effect of pretrial publicity, the
coverers-up .of Watergate couldn't get a fair trial on the
moon.
?
Approved For Rele
WHITE HOUSE DATA
AND HAI'S DIFFER
ABOUT 'NATE GATE
Ex-Aide Said to Have Denied
? Nixon Information About
Cover-Up Until March 21
'PANEL GETS 2 VERSIONS
.il LAI AVU
1 JUN 1973
00100004-9
fhe Senate inves igators, each 'able today had there been any Tee summary presented a
recognizing the importance of indication of the White House vivid picture of widespread at:
Mr. Dean's testimony in public v.ersion of the substance of thE tempts within the upper,
discussions, reaches of the White House
Papers Made Available and the Committee for the Re-
election of the President . to
The White House accouie.
STAT
next week, were trying to
shape the public's attitude
toward his eventual. appear-
Mice.
Much of what was contained
in both the White House docu-
ment and the abbreviated ac--
count of Mr. Dean's testimony
had come to light previously.
But there were some new or
more detailed allegations by
Mr. Dean, a central figure in
the Watergate case. They in-
cluded the following:
cl'hat the President, in a
:conversation with Mr. Dean
last September, directed an cf.
Dean Insists Before Senate !fort to block a Watergate
?investigation by a House corn-
IncRiiry President Knew imittee and urged Mr. Dean to
About the Plot Earlier' ;prepare to "take care of" re-
porters unfriendly to the White
'House.
By DAVID E. ROSENBAUM ?I'JThat Charles W. Colson, a
Special to "no New York Tinieg former White House special
WASHINGTON, June 20?A counsel, and John D. Ehrlich-
White House account of Presje man, the former domestic ad-
dent Nixon's conversations viser to the President, had
this year with John W. Dean 3d sought.from Mr. Nixon pertnis-
charges that Mr. Dean, despite Sirni to promise executive
constant pressure from the clemency to E. Howard Hunt
President, .withiield from Mr. Jr., one of the Watergate con-
Nixon all information about spirators. Mr. Dean said that
White House involvement in he had "heard this" from Mr.
the Watergate burglary and Colson and later this spring
had a. "discussion with the
President" about the clemency
oft'er.
c'That Mr. Dean had been in:
Excerpts from Doan summery structed by Mr. Ehrlichman
and Nixon log, Page 28. and H. R. Haldeman, the for
mer White Mese chief of
staff, to onlis* the aid of Lieut.
Gen. Vernon A. Walters, the
deputy director of the Central
Intelligence Agency, in cover-
Nixon knew earlier about the tipthe Watergate. con-
, t spiracy. Mr. Dean's account
cover-up until March 21.
On the other hand, a sum-
mary prepared by lawyers on
the Senate Watergate commit-
tee of their interrogation of Mr.
Dean last Saturday contains
Mr. Dean's assertion that Mr.
was submitted to the Senate; cover up the magnitude of the
committee this week. It and the Watergate case. .
summary of the investigatorse Mr. Dean accused H. R. Hal-
intervietaw with Mr. Dean, the deman, the former While House
former White House counsel, . chief of staff, of having or .
were made availabue to The itiered the destruction of infor-?
New York Times by persons
with access to committee
documents.
The White House account
was five pages long and, ac-
cording to Senate sources, was of the Senate investigating
prepared by J. Fred Buzhardt ;committee and of attempting'
Jr., special counsel to the Presi- to persuade John N. Mitchell,'
dent. It contains the White the former campaign director
House's version of the sub- and Attorney General, to "take!
stance of 18 meetings this year the heat" off other officials by
between the President and Mr.. assuming the blame for the
Dean. ? Watergate break-in.
Mr. Dean and White House!' .Mr. Dean, according to the
spokesman have agreed that,: summary, alleged that John D. ?
there were more than 35 dis- Ehrlichman, the former Presi-
cussions 'between Presidents ential adviser on domestic. mat- '
Nixon and his former counsel! ters, had put pressure on Mr:
between late January and Aprili Dean to "lean on" Lieut. Gen.
of this year, some face-tosface,; Vernon A. Walters, the deputy
and others by telephone. ! director of the Central Intel:
Met Almost Daily
ligence Agency, to persuadel
General Walters. to involve the
From March until March 23, agency in a cover-up.
according to the account, the
President and Mr. .Dean met kecordng to the summary,
?
.General Walters "said it would, .
about the Watergate affair al- be a bad idea," but Mr. Ehrlich-
most daily. i man was "dissatisfied" when,
In answer to questions from Dean reported the intele
the President, Mr. Dean said iligence official's reluctance to
time and again at the early 'help.
meetings that there was no
White House involvement in the
purglary or the cover-up, the Futhermore, Mr. Dean said?
account states. But it says that that Mr. Ehrlichman had in-
Mr. Nixon was told by Mr. strucied him to throw wire-,
Doan on March 13 that Gordon tapping equipment "in [the]
C. Strachan, then the top as- river" after the material had .
sistant to II. R. Haldeman, been discovered in the White
White House chief of staff, House safe of E. hoard Hunt;
"could be involved." Jr., one of the Watergate con-
It seas not until March 71, spirators.
the account states. that Mr. Mr. Dean was said to have;
Dean "gaNIT President his linked Mr. 1.:.irlichrttan to
theory of what hennened."
meeting on Feb. 10 this year at
She told the President ''that which the plans to try to under-,
Maunder probably knew, that mine the Senate investigations.
! ?
Much of the evidence against.
was that the White House aides . Mitchell posihly knew, that were discusecl.
marton obtained from the
Watergate wiretap, of having
joined in planning efforts to
obtain White !souse influence
over the Republican members
Linked to Meeting
that
the President that Mr. Dean i,`-ticr Ctulc" Walters
awed his allegiance to the
gave the committee staff is
hearsa),, according to. the sum.. ;White House.," but that the
I ' If' d-d. ' declined to
i ?
esrachan prehablv knew, Hod. str, Dean, accoiding to thei
l`aldeman had rissibl.v. seen summary, is prepared to testify
the fruits of the witct.an to the full Senate committee
through Strachan, that ehrhele when he appears before it next
. man was vulnerable because of ,,vecik that Mr. Mitchell admit.
mary. But he told of some di-1
help, his al-Ill-oval of 1