Impeachment Hearings: House Judiciary Committee, July 27, 1974 (1/2)
Impeachment Hearings: House Judiciary Committee, July 27, 1974 (1/2)
[00.58.44] The gentleman from California, Mr. Waldie. Mr. WALDIE. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may desire to Mr. Seiberling. Mr. SEIBERLING. Thank -you. I would like to respond to some of the points made by the distinguished gentleman from California, Mr. Wiggins. Mr. Wiggins mentioned that on March 13 Mr. Dean had informed the President about certain perjury that had been committed by Mr. Strachan. I do not think I need to read all the transcript I would simply point out that Mr. Dean told the President that Mr. Strachan knew about Watergate and yet he was "tough as nails," and that he is going to go in to the grand jury and say again that he is going to stonewall it. and say I don't know anything about what you are talking about. "He has already done it twice, as you know Mr. Dean told the President. And the President says, "Yeah, I guess he should, shouldnt he, in the interest of--well, I suppose we can't Call that justice, can We. How do you justify it?" And Dean says, it is a personal loyalty with him." The President goes on and says , "Well, I'll be, damned. Well, that is the problem in Bob's case, isn't it"--Bob Haldeman. "It's not Chapin then, but Strachan. Because Strachan worked for him"--Haldeman---and the President says, "Who knew better? Magruder?" And Dean says, "Well, Magruder and Liddy." And the President says, "Ahh---I see. The other weak link for Bob is Magruder, too," --he having hired him. et, cetera. Now. this is on the 13th before, almost a week before the famous March 21 meeting. Did the President rise up in righteous, indignation as he should have and say well. I am going to clean this out right haul them in here and we will get them on the carpet and I have the Attorney General here, too? Mr. St. Clair asked us to consider what we would do if we were in the President's shoes. Isn't that what any law-abiding Chief' Executive ought to do? But he did. nothing. Now, on the 21st Mr.--and I am going to skip over that--later on Mr. Dean told the President about the perjury of Magruder and Porter and the President did nothing about that, But then, we get to the 21st. Now. on the. night of the 21st, after the two meetings with Mr. Dean, the, President dictated his recollection of the events of the day and said that Dean--and on a dictabelt--and he said that Dean felt, he was criminally liable for his action in "taking care of the defendants. That is the President's own words. And that. Magruder would bring Haldeman down if he felt Himself--he himself was to go down, and that if Hunt wasn't paid he would say things that would be very detrimental to Colson and that Mitchell was involved. Now, what. did Mr.--what did the President of the United States do the next day? Did he go to the Attorney General and tell him all this? No. He held a meeting with Mitchell, Dean, Haldeman, and Ehrlichman to dismiss the very crimes that Mr. Dean had already implicated them in and the purpose of the discussion was to discuss how to contain it. In fact. the President's last words were, after he criticized General Eisenhower because all he, cared about was being clean, he said: "But I don't look at it this way. That is the thing I am really concerned with. We are, going to protect our"--"our people if we can." Apparently. the Justice Department was not part of "our people because during the course of that meeting, he called the, Attorney General and did he tell him about these crimes that had been revealed about his close, aides? No. He told the Attorney General to get working with Senator Baker for the, Presidents position in the Ervin committee hearings. Now, it just seems to me that if he really wanted to turn this matter over to the law authorities, the next day he would have taken that dictabelt, called in the Attorney General of the United States, handed it to him and said, Mr. Attorney General, do your duty. But he did not do that. And I would be interested, Mr. Wiggins, in what you would have to say about that. Mr. WIGGINS. You are yielding? Mr. SEIBERLING. I will yield. But. I cannot yield, it is the gentleman from California that has the time. Mr. WALDIE. Mr. Chairman, I move the previous question. The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the motion, the 'amendment of the motion offered by the gentleman from Alabama to strike. All those in favor please say aye. [chorus of "ayes."] The CHAIRMAN. All those opposed? [Chorus of "hoes."] The CHAIRMAN. The noes appear to have it, and the noes, have it and I the amendment is not agreed to. And the Chair will recess until 4 o'clock. [01.03.50--LEHRER in studio for station break] [PBS network ID] [01.04.12--TAPE OUT]