Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 17, 1973 - Testimony of Robert Odle.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 17, 1973 - Testimony of Robert Odle.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities May 17, 1973 - Testimony of Robert Odle. United States Senate Caucus Room, Washington, DC
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 17, 1973 - Testimony of Robert Odle.
Senator BAKER. I'm about through Mr. Odle, I have a few other questions, but not very many. In a Washington Post story on January 11th, 1973 it's alleged that as personnel director for CRP you spent the weekend, I assume the weekend following the Watergate incident, moving from office to office, inside the headquarters, inventorying files, perhaps removing some according to one source, "Whenever Odle would go into McCord s office he would order everyone else out of the area. No files or records are destroyed reportedly prior to LaRue and Mardians return to the west coast on June 19th." That's the Washington Post on 9/20/72. Do you have any knowledge of that newspaper account, can you confirm it or deny it? Mr. ODLE. I can certainly deny it and I believe that the reporters that wrote it would deny it too today if they were asked. Um, I don't know how that all came to be. I destroyed no piece of paper, not one shred of paper in connection with the Watergate. Now, let me make a couple of things perfectly clear..... (courtroom erupts in laughter, WS committee, Senator Baker seen smiling, Robert Odle has tongue to cheek) I didn't enter the District of Columbia on that Sunday, and I didn't shred any papers that Saturday, and I didn't conduct a file search and shred anything the next week. What I did was to be as helpful to agents of the FBI and the Grand Jury, and since then common cause the Democratic National Committee, the Senate Select Committee, and a lot of other committees, to go through the committee and provide documents. Now last night for example, one of the staff members of this committee said, "Mr. Odle, I know you're going to be busy tomorrow, you have to go to the Senate, but before you do at 10, can you go through the files and get us floor plans of 10 different committee floors and bring them to us because we need them for some function." That is an example of the kind of thing I've been doing, since last June. Senator BAKER. And we're grateful for it, we thank you for it. Mr. ODLE. Well, I'm glad to be cooperative, I've become a professional witness lately and a bit of a professional file provider and that's fine. But, when one, when one goes through offices and finds files, that does not necessarily mean that he takes those files and shreds them, it could mean that he turns them over to the grand jury which is precisely what I was doing. Now in turn of going into Mr. McCord s office, Mr. McCord didn't have a private office, it was a security office and it was an area where there was a lot of guards sitting around drinking coffee and smoking and talking with one another. There came a time with FBI agents where we wanted to go into that office and the FBI wanted to meet with one of the men in there and talk to him. Then the FBI wanted to go through the files, and sure we asked all the people to leave the room. Senator BAKER. I think that's enough. I have one more ..... Mr. ODLE. But, Senator you know it's just incredible the number of times that those kinds of things have been in the newspapers, if I can just mention one example which is kind of typical. And this is not the fault of anybody here or anyone else, and I don't even think it's the fault of reporters, because I don't think that they've been malicious. But there was a story in the Post and it was a column and it said that a diary was found. A diary belonging to Eugene Martinez, and that diary belonging to Eugene Martinez had initials RO, HP, and JM, it said this could be coincidence, but those are probably the initials of Robert Odle, Jim McCord and Herbert Porter. What later turned out to happen was that that diary was captured by FBI agents on June 26th, a week after the burglary. Those were the initials of the FBI agents who had initialed it for their own purposes of evidence. But yet the retractions that appeared in Washington was not one that I saw. And as we go through this thing we find time and time again, where people who have tried to be helpful have found themselves in the newspapers for just totally innocent acts, and acts which we undertook to be of assistance.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 17, 1973 - Testimony of Robert Odle.
Senator BAKER. Mr. Odle I think you've been extremely cooperative, and I might say that the reason I'm asking you about these newspaper accounts is precisely for the reason you speak of. Mr. ODLE. I appreciate that. Senator BAKER. Because so far, the people of the United States have based their judgment, if they have a judgment on newspaper accounts, television and radio reporting, as they properly should. Mr. ODLE. Right, right. Senator BAKER. And the press has done us a billion dollars worth of staff work and investigation, but the legitimate function of this committee it seems to me is to find out what witnesses say about particular allegations made in the press. Mr. ODLE. That's right. Senator BAKER. I have only one other that I'd like to ask in that respect. I refer to an article in the Washington Post on December 23rd, 1972. The synopsis of it is, Robert C. Odle reportedly gave to Jeb Magruder a confidential "eyes only" memorandum, reporting to set up all payments made by CRP to McCord. Memorandum reportedly lists 18 payments to McCord (Mr. Odle smiling) the largest being a thousand ninety one dollars and 56 cents for security services. Mr. ODLE. Sir, that memorandum is a copy of a memorandum that I prepared for the FBI, that I turned over to the U.S. Attorney and that I testified to at the Grand Jury. It's merely a copy for information. The, one of the first requests of the Bureau, was for a complete listing of every check that had gone to McCord or McCord associates. I went down to the finance committee, we went through the files, we found all the checks and we made a list. We put a list together and I sent that to the United States Attorney and I sent a copy of it to Mr. Magruder saying this is a copy of what I've given to the U.S. Attorney. Again, there is an example of where we've tried to be helpful and we find ourselves getting in print as result.... Senator BAKER. Mr. Odle, I think you've been a forthcoming witness, I'm grateful for your help. It's been a long time that you've been now under inquiry and I have no further questions. Mr. ODLE. Thank you. (starts to stand up, and sits back down)
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 17, 1973 - Testimony of Robert Odle.
Mr. SAM DASH. Mr. Odle as Chief Council I do want to state you've been very cooperative with this committee. But since a certain of these questions have come out, which would have come out at another time, we would have asked you to come back before this committee I think, it's appropriate that we complete this line of questioning. Mr. ODLE. Sure. Mr. DASH. And following up on Senator Bakers' questioning concerning the telephone conversation which you had together with Mr. Reisner and Mr. Magruder... Mr. ODLE. Mmm Hmm. Mr. DASH. shortly after the break in. Were you on an extension line with Mr. Reisner and Mr. Magruder and did you hear Mr. Magruders telephone conversation? Mr. ODLE. As I reconstruct it yes, there were two telephones, two telephone instruments in Mr. Magruders office and I believe that I was on one and Mr. Reisner was on the other. Mr. DASH. Now, and I know you're trying to recall back a considerable period of time now, but you used the term the instruction to get the strategic file. Could the conversation been "Get the sensitive file"? Could that have been the term used? Mr. ODLE. I don't, I don't believe that term was used. And I also, sir, sir believe that the strategy file was my term, I think that I was applying it to that. Mr. DASH. And if you were on the line with Mr. Reisner .... Mr. ODLE. Yes. Mr. DASH. listening to Mr. Magruder... Mr. ODLE. yes Mr. DASH. Is it then your testimony that you did not hear Mr. Magruder say to Mr. Reisner with you on the line, "Get the gemstone folder" Mr. ODLE. Oh no sir.