Watergate Hearings - Testimony of John J Caulfield May 22, 1973
Watergate Hearings - Testimony of John J Caulfield May 22, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 22, 1973 - Testimony of John J. Caulfield. He reads his statement to the Committee. Caucus Room, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington DC
Watergate Hearings - Testimony of John J Caulfield May 22, 1973
[cuts to a shot of ERVIN, at a relaxed moment between witnesses as DASH's voice is heard calling CAULFIELD] Mr. DASH. Call Mr. John J. Caulfield Please. [cut to rear of room, many uniformed and evident "undercover" cops are standing around CAULFIELD, wearing a dark suit, starts to walk to front of room, followed by his lawyer--pan to follow CAULFIELD to front of room-- Caulfield sits down very uneasily] Senator ERVIN. Mr. Caulfield, stand up, please. [shot of ERVIN standing at center of committee table, in foreground, photographers snap into action to photograph Caulfield taking oath] Hold up your right hand. Do you swear that the evidence that you give the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Mr. CAULFIELD. I do. Senator ERVIN. Mr. Caulfield, as I understand it, you will be available to the committee later if it wants to get you or to get any information from you other than that which you may give on this occasion? Mr. CAULFIELD. I understand, sir. Senator ERVIN. Thank you. Senator BAKER. Mr. Chairman Senator TALMADGE. Mr. Chairman, there is a vote going on. Senator BAKER. Before we proceed, I note that signal lights indicate that there is a roll call vote in progress in the Senate. Might I suggest, Mr. Chairman, if the members of the committee agree, in the interest of time and expedition, that we might consider part of the committee going to vote now and part of it going at say the 5-minute Warning buzzer and permit this witness to begin, at least, with the reading of his statement? Senator ERVIN. I think that would be very wise. [ERVIN wastes no time in getting out of the room, followed by GURNEY, AND MONTOYA] Mr. DASH. Mr. Caulfield. Would you for the record, please state your full name and address? (cut to close-up of Caulfield with counsel, CAULFIELD appearing very nervous] Mr. CAULFIELD. Yes sir, my name is John J. Caulfield, I reside at 5205 Concordia Street, Fairfax, Virginia. Mr. DASH. Are you accompanied at this hearing by an attorney? Mr. CAULFIELD. Yes, I am. Mr. DASH. Will the attorney please identify himself for the record? Mr. SEARS. My name is John P. Sears. I am an attorney in Washington, D.C. Mr. DASH. Mr. Sears, there is another microphone, if you'd like to have it.
Watergate Hearings - Testimony of John J Caulfield May 22, 1973
Mr. DASH. Mr. Caulfield, you have a statement which you wish to either submit to the committee or read to the committee? Mr. John J. CAULFIELD. I would prefer to read it, Mr. Dash. Mr. DASH. Every member of the committee, I understand, has received a copy of that. Would you now commence to read your statement? Mr. CAULFIELD. Yes, sir; I will. My name is John J. Caulfield, I was born on March 12, 1929 in the Bronx, New York. I was educated at, the local parochial elementary school and Rice High School in Manhattan. Upon completion of my high school education I received a partial scholarship for basketball at Wake Forest University. After 2 years I was forced to leave college owing to the fact that my family could not supply enough additional funds for me to continue my education. For a short time thereafter I worked as a bank teller before joining the New York Telephone Co. in 1949 as a draftsman. In November of 1950 I was drafted into the U.S. Army where I served in the Signal Corps until I was honorably discharged in November of 1952. Prior to being drafted, I had taken the civil service examination for appointment to the New York City Police Department. While still in the Army, I received notification that I had passed the examination and on June 1, 1953 I joined the police department as a patrolman. In August of that year, having graduated from the Police Academy, I was assigned to a Bronx precinct where I walked a beat and was assigned to a sector car, which covered one area of the precinct. Owing to an award which that received for the arrest and conviction of a ring of seven people involved in a series of robberies, I was promoted to the position of Detective on September 25, 1955. Between that time and June of 1966, I was assigned to the bureau of Special Services where my duties consisted of monitoring the activities of terrorist organizations and frequent assignment to VIP protective duties. My activities in regard to militant terrorist groups consisted of monitoring and compiling intelligence on their overt activities, newspaper research, interviewing informants, investigating what relationships existed between these groups, and generally familiarizing myself with the progress of their activities. Examples of the groups that I investigated included the Communist Party, Cuban militant organizations, as well as a variety Of Latin domestic revolutionary organizations which planned or were suspected of planning various kinds of unlawful activity. During this time, I received a number of awards in connection with my work, some of which were: 1. In 1958, I received a Meritorious Police Award owing to the seizure of a store of contraband weapons destined for Ireland. I might add parenthetically that my father has not yet gotten over that. 2. In 1959, I received an Excellent Police Award for the arrest and conviction, in cooperation with the FBI, of the prime Castro agent operating in the United States in 1958. 3. In December 1964, I received a Meritorious Police Award for the arrest of the perpetrators of the bazooka shelling of the United Nations. 4. In 1965, I received an award for participating in the arrest and conviction of a group of French-Canadians and domestic militants who had plotted to destroy the Washington Monument, the Statue of Liberty, and the Liberty Bell. My protective duties in regard to VIP assignments consisted among other things, of coordinating the activities of Secret Service agents with the New York City Police Department in the political campaign of 1960. During the 1960 campaign, I was assigned to both candidates when they visited New York and I got to know Mr. John Sherwood who was in charge at that time of Vice President Nixon's Secret Service detail.
Watergate Hearings - Testimony of John J Caulfield May 22, 1973
Senator Howard BAKER (R-TN). Mr. Witness, would you suspend for just a moment? The signal system indicates there is now 5 minutes before the end of the roll call. Might I ask the committee if there is any objection to the witness continuing to read this statement in the presence of counsel, even though Senator Weicker and I as the only two members of the committee remaining have to go out now to vote. If there is any objection on behalf of the committee or on behalf of the witness or his attorney, of course we'll suspend. But inasmuch as your statement is 26 pages long and each member has a copy of it, if you have no objection, I'd suggest that we proceed with that portion for the record in the presence of the two counsels. Mr. SEARS. We have no objection. [cut to wide shot of committee table as Sen. BAKER and Sen. WEICKER get up to leave, evidently happy to miss this portion of the testimony] Mr. CAULFIELD. May I proceed? Mr. DASH. Yes sir, proceed on behalf of the committee. Mr. CAULFIELD. In May of 1968, I received a letter from Mr. Sherwood indicating that there was a possible position in the upcoming Nixon campaign for the Presidency for a person to serve in the security area. I telephoned Mr. Sherwood & substantiated what he had said in the letter & he told me that Mr. H. R. Haldeman would interview me if I were interested. Mr. Sherwood arranged an appointment for me w/ Mr. Haldeman at 450 Park Avenue in New York, which was the campaign headquarters and I was hired. With the assassination of Robert Kennedy in early June, my duties changed and ultimately, starting with the end of the 1968 convention, I became responsible to Mr. John Ehrlichman for being sure that the staff quarters and working areas of the Nixon campaign traveling staff were secure as we moved from city to city during the campaign. Mr. Ehrlichman was pleased with my work during this time and on election night in 1968 he told me that in view of my work he would be happy to recommend me if I had any interest in obtaining a position with the Federal Government in Washington. A few days after the election I called Mr. Ehrlichman in Key Biscayne, Florida, and told him I wished to be considered for the position of Chief U.S. Marshal. He told me that be would speak to Mr. Haldeman about this and get back to me. Subsequently a meeting was arranged with John Mitchell at the Pierre Hotel in New York at which Mr. Mitchell told me that while my work was highly thought of, there had been a decision made to the "semi militarize" the U.S. Marshal's Office and therefore they were considering a retiring high military official for this post. Between Dec 1968 and April of 1969, I was interviewed for and pursued a variety of possible appointive jobs in Washington. In late March 1969, I received a telephone call from Mr. Ehrlichman who asked me if I would visit him in his office a day or two later. I did so and at that meeting he asked if I would be willing to set up a private security entity in Washington, D.C., for purposes of providing investigative support for the White House. I told him that I would think this over but by the time I had returned home that evening, I had decided that I did not wish to do this. I called him the next day with a counterproposal, namely, that I join the White House staff under Mr. Ehrlichman and besides providing liaison functions with various law enforcement agencies, thereby be available to process any investigative requests from the White House. I mentioned to him that if he agreed with my proposal, I would intend to use the services of one Mr. Anthony Ulasewicz who was a detective with the New York City Police Department nearing retirement. He said he would think about it and get back to me. [cut to a shot of several very casually dressed young men and women lounging against the wall of the room observing, including policeman. There are several LONGHAIRS among them & their expressions evidence disdain for CAULFIELD, who resembles the archetype of the authoritarian policeman] A few days later I received a call from his office asking if I would come to Washington to discuss the matter and that meeting resulted in my appointment to the WH staff April 8, 1969. My duties at that time consisted of being a White House liaison with a variety of law enforcement agencies in the Federal Government, through arrangements worked out with Mr. Ehrlichman, Herbert Kalmbach, and Mr. Anthony Ulasewicz. Mr. Ulasewicz retired from the NYPD and was paid on a monthly basis by the Kalmbach law firm that employment commencing on July 9, 1969. During the next 3 years, first on orders from Mr. Ehrlichman and later in some instances, on orders from John Dean, Mr. Ulasewicz, under my supervision, performed a variety of investigative functions, reporting the results of his findings to the White House through me. I do not fully recall all of the investigations performed in this fashion, but have available a list of those which I do recall if the committee wishes to examine it. In July 1970 John Dean became counsel to the President and Mr. Ehrlichman was named to the position of Presidential Assistant for Domestic Affairs. Thereafter I worked directly for Mr. Dean, but on occasion ...