Impeachment Hearings: House Judiciary Committee, July 26, 1974 (1/2)
Impeachment Hearings: House Judiciary Committee, July 26, 1974 (1/2)
[00.24.08] Mr. DANIELSON. Mr. Chairman? Mr. LATTA. Mr. Chairman? The CHAIRMAN. I recognize the gentleman. from Massachusetts, Donohue. Mr. DONOHUE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I desire to yield my 5 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland, Mr. Sarbanes. The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Maryland is recognized. Mr. SARBANES. I thank the gentleman for yielding his time, Chairman, and it does give me an opportunity to try and summarize of this initial outline of facts. I think it is important that the facts understood, that a perception of the underpinning that rests The this article be generally appreciated. Let me go back for a ]moment. I was up to August 29. On July 8 the President and John Ehrlichman walked on the ill California and the subject of clemency for those involved in gate was brought up and Ehrlichman -reports that the President. rejected it and said they were going to consider that. But the essential question is why was it brought up at all with respect to men had not yet been indicted, fully 6 months in advance of trial, as it was contended at that point, Who had absolutely no connection the Committee to Re-Elect or with the White House. On August 29, as I was saying earlier, the President made," statement that John Dean had carried out --t comprehensive investigation, and reported that no one in the White House was involved. There was no such investigation. If the gentleman will allow me to continue, I want to try and get out some of these facts. Mr. SANDMAN. Is this a new statement or is this a rehash of what we had? Maybe this is a new statement. Is it? Mr. SARBANES. Subsequent to August 2.9, On September 15. the President met with H.R. Haldeman, his Chief of Staff, and with John Dean. Haldeman at that time said to the President before Dean came into the room that Dean had done a good job and had kept people from falling through the holes. Now, that was a piece of tape we picked up accidentally -when the staff went down to record at the White House and it proved to be highly relevant, even though it had earlier been asserted that it was not pertinent to Our inquiry. Then John Dean came into the room and our transcript, the committee transcript, taken from the tape of that conversation, has the conversation opening with the President saying "Hi, how are you"? Now, this was, the day that the indictments were returned in the Watergate matter. They were limited to seven people and it was assumed that it had been cut off at Hunt and Liddy and would not go higher. So the President says to Dean, "Hi, how are you"? Dean says, "Yes, sir." The President, "Well, you had quite a day today, didn't you ? You got, uh, Watergate, uh, on the way, huh"? And Dean says, "Quite a 3 months." That "quite a 3 months," by Dean is missing ladies and gentlemen from the edited transcripts of the conversation of September 15 which were submitted to this committee by the White House and which were made public to the, American people. Subsequently, in that conversation the President went on and said that a lot of stuff went on, that Dean had handled it skillfully, putting his fingers in the dike when leaks had sprung here and there, and that "You just try to button it up as well as you can and hope for the best and remember that basically the damn thing is just one of those unfortunate things and we're trying to cut our losses." Now they they succeeded in covering up through the November election and then early in the year things began to come apart. They started slowly and accelerated. And we have in January a discussion, the President and Colson, about clemency for Hunt. Again, Colson says that there, were no assurances made but the discussion was held. The subject was brought up. Why were they bringing up this subject to people for whom they denied any connection at an time? earlier And then in late February the President begins to have some conversatins with Dean and those continue in late February and into March and, of course, beginning with March 21 and coming forward things begin to snowball. ' Let me go to the March 21 conversation. It is imperative that you take the transcripts and read through them and that. you read through them not only in term-, of what is being said then as to what is happening but refer back to what happened earlier. There are discussions of how it developed, what the pattern was, what the problems were that came forth, and in that conversation on the morning of March 21, 1973, in which the President, John Dean, and H. R. Haldeman, the President's Chief of Staff, were all three present,, the President said to John Dean: "right. Fine. And, uh, my point Is, that, uh, we can, uh, you may welcome--I think it's good, frankly to consider these various options. And then, once you"---- The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman's time has expired, Mr. SARBANES [reading] : "Once you decide on the plan--John--and YOU had the right plan, let me say, I have no doubt about the right plan before the election." Mr. LOTT. Mr. Chairman? The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman has expired. Mr. SMITH. Mr. Chairman? ? The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Smith. Mr. SMITH. Mr. Chairman I would I like to yield my time to the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Sandman. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Sandman is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. SANDMAN. I would like to start with one simple question. It certainly deserves a simple answer. I have just heard a rehash of all of the excerpts from all of the tapes. ,My question to the gentleman from 'Maryland, who just presented those, is this a new document that you submitted? Or what was your purpose? [00.30.44]