Impeachment Hearings: House Judiciary Committee, July 26, 1974 (2/2)
Impeachment Hearings: House Judiciary Committee, July 26, 1974 (2/2)
[01.03.42] Mr WALDIE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to my good friend and my able colleague, Mr Wiggins, to complete the statement of the President at the press conference. Mr. WIGGINS. Thank you, Mr. Waldie. I will pick up with the President's answer: "Mr. Zeigler and also Mr. Mitchell, speaking for the campaign committee, have responded to questions On this, the Watergate break-in---"and White House involvement on this in great detail. They have stated my position and have also stated the facts accurately." That is what bothers my friend. "This kind of activity as Mr. Ziegler has indicated has no place whatever in our electoral process or in our governmental process, and as Mr. Ziegler has stated, the White House as had no involvement whatever in this particular incident." Well, now, I have completed it but I think I ought to observe that Mr. Liddy and Mr. Hunt-- Mr. WALDIE. how about observing Mr. WIGGINS. [continuing]. Were not in the White House. Mr. WALDIE. How about observing that on your time. The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from California. Mr. WALDIE. I want to, Mr. Chairman, continue with my interrupted narrative and not because I--not because I think the points I ,am Making are necessarily the most important points of this case but I think an understanding of the skeleton outlines of the case is necessary. I have covered June. 17. the date of the burglary, through June 30, the resignation of John Mitchell, and now I want to cover July 1 through September 15 which is the summer and early fall of that year, the next phase of the cover-up. During that period of time these events occurred which bear upon the conclusion as to what did the President know and when did he know it and what did he do. On July 51 4 days, 5 days after the Attorney-former Attorney General the campaign manager of the President, Mr, Mitchell had resigned his chairmanship he was interviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and he denied knowledge of any information on the break-in. He later said, well, he had been told a few things but he really didn't believe they were probably true. We, know that isn't so. He knew a great deal and he misrepresented his information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On July 19 and 20 Mr. Porter and Mr. Magruder falsely told FBI agents--these are gentlemen employed by the Committee to Re-Elect the President--that funds that had been paid Liddy, one of the indicted Watergate burglars, who was employed as general counsel by the Committee for Re-Election of the President and had been formerly employed by the White House involved in the Plumbers group, that the funds paid Mr. Liddy were for legal political intelligence gathering and not for illicit electronic surveillance or surreptitious entry. He lied when he told the FBI agents that. On August 10 Mr.. Porter perjured himself by lying before the grand jury on the same story. On August 18 Mr. Magruder testified falsely to the grand jury. On August 28, Mr. Krogh, who was the head of the Plumbers this group that was so involved in surreptitious entry throughout the Nixon administration, testified falsely as to the activities of Mr. Liddy and Mr. Hunt when they were employees of the White House before Watergate. And on August 29 the President made, another misstatement to the Nation when he said that he had had a Dean report which had been a complete investigation of Watergate and there was no White House personnel involved. In fact, there was no Dean report and there clearly was no investigation. because Dean's obligation and assignment was to contain, not to investigate, but to cover, not to disclose. The President kenw that. He had never met Dean on August 29 when he told the Nation to lull them into complacency that he was attempting to get to the bottom of this problem. He never told them that he had never met this gentleman that had conducted the so-called report and that in fact he had never received the report, because there was no report, never has been, and to this day there is not a Dean report. Then on September 12, Mr. Magruder testified falsely about the purpose of a meeting with Mitchell, Magruder, Dean and Liddy in which the genesis of the group that broke into the Watergate was first described and political intelligence with surreptitious entry and bugging was discussed. then finally on September 15 the first phase was successfully' accomplished of containment. They held the risk and the exposure to the five burglars that were arrested on the premises and to Hunt and Liddy. The risk and the exposure was contained and the President September 15, that very day, met Mr. Dean for the first time and was complimentary to him, complimented him on doing such a good job in containing this risk to just those seven people. It did not get beyond those five burglars and Mr. Hunt and Liddy and that was an enormous accomplishment and the President's language and Mr. Dean's language is instructive. The President said, "Well, you had quite a day today, didn't you? You got Watergate on the way." The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman has expired. I recognize the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. McClory. [01.09.51]