Watergate Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 27, 1974.
Watergate Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 27, 1974.
Watergate Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 27, 1974.
Watergate Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 27, 1974.
Peter Rodino (D New Jersey). The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alabama, Mr. Flowers. Walter Flowers (D Alabama). Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have an amendment or a motion to offer to subparagraph 8. Peter Rodino (D New Jersey). The clerk will report the motion. The Clerk. Strike subparagraph 8 of the Sarbanes substitute. Walter Flowers (D Alabama). Mr. Chairman. I ask unanimous consent that debate on this amendment be limited to 20 minutes to be divided 10 minutes to the proponents and 10 minutes to the opponents. Peter Rodino (D New Jersey). Without objection, it is so ordered.
Watergate Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 27, 1974.
Walter Flowers (D Alabama). And I have discussed this matter with the gentleman, from Utah, Mr. Owens, and I would like to ask if he has any comments to make on this subparagraph at this time? Peter Rodino (D New Jersey). The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes. Wayne Owens (D Utah). I will say to the gentleman from Alabama that it so, happens that I am prepared to comment on subparagraph 8 and I express my appreciation to him for yielding. Subparagraph 8 deals with the question of whether the President, made false or misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the People of the United States into believing a fair and complete investigation had been conducted with respect to allegations of misconduct on the part of personnel of the executive branch of the United States and personnel of the Committee for the Re-Election of the President. And there has been a great deal said during the course of this debate on this subject.
Watergate Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 27, 1974.
Wayne Owens (D Utah). I will try to find some new materials and make reference to them. During the, course of preparation for this final debate I think the most significant, the most interesting document that I went over was a compilation by the committee of the Presidential statements on the Watergate break-in and its investigation. And I went through with a red pen one night, spent 3 or 4 hours on it, and underlined all of the statements of the President during this period of time which I found to be as I assessed the evidence, either false or misleading, or less than a straightforward candid statement. And as I go through this I find that there are red marks on almost every page, and it was a very telling point for me. Paul S. Sarbanes (D Maryland). Can we have order, Mr. Chairman. Wayne Owens (D Utah). I would like to refer Peter Rodino (D New Jersey). The gentleman will defer until the committee and the gentleman and ladies in the audience are in order. The gentleman will proceed.
Watergate Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 27, 1974.
Wayne Owens (D Utah). Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On October 5, 1973 the President had a press conference. This was, I think, 2 weeks almost to the day of the, time that Mr. Cox was fired, on a Saturday night, the so-called "Saturday Night Massacre and the following Tuesday, as members will remember, there was a total of 94 Members of the House who joined in impeachment resolutions. And following which the President gave up the tapes. But at the time of October 5 the President, at least there were no tapes that were available. The President is asked this question: "Mr. President, to follow up on the tapes question, earlier you have told us that your reasons are based on principles, separation of powers, executive privilege, things of this sort. Can you assure us that the tapes do not reflect unfavorably on your Watergate position. That there is nothing in the tapes that would reflect unfavorably?" And the President in front of the American People says this, "There is nothing whatsoever. As a matter of fact, the only time I've listened to the tapes, to certain tapes, and I didn't listen to all of them of course, was on June 4th. There is nothing whatever in the tapes that is inconsistent with the statement that I made on May 22 or of the statement I made to you ladies and gentlemen in answer to several questions, rather searching questions may I say, and very polite questions, 2 weeks ago for the most part. And finally nothing that differs whatever from the statement that I made on the 15th of August." I will not try to go into what these tapes have revealed, except to say that I think that the committee, most members of the committee, have commented at one time or another that it is the tapes which have presented the case, the real case, hard case of evidence against the President, which tapes were released within about a month of that time.
Watergate Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 27, 1974.
Wayne Owens (D Utah). Now, I would like to refer back to a Presidential news conference of August 22, 1973. Again, this is several months before the tapes were released, at a time that the President indicated he would not release any tapes. In this press conference the President made several assertions which I think were less than candid in his statements to the press, and through them, to the American People. He said that in the summer of 1972 Mr. MacGregor who had replaced Mr. Mitchell as director of his campaign, "Mr. MacGregor conducted a thorough investigation in 1972 about the involvement of White House personnel." Mr. MacGregor has testified before the grand jury, sworn testimony that is before this committee in evidence that he received no instructions from the President and that he did not conduct a thorough investigation about the involvement of White House personnel.
Watergate Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 27, 1974.
Wayne Owens (D Utah). In response to another question in that same press conference the President said that on March 22 he had told Ehrlichman, Haldeman, and Mitchell and Dean that "We must get this story out. We must get the truth out whatever and whoever it is going to hurt. When the tape finally was released and it became public that conversation of March 21st to which the President refers, when that was made public, and we have a recording, and the committee members have heard that recording and they have heard the President instruct Mr. Dean and Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Haldeman and Mr. Ehrlichman this, "I don't give an [expletive deleted] what happens. I want you all to stonewall it. Let them plead the Fifth Amendment, cover up, or anything else if it will save it, save the plan. That's the whole point." And then later on he says I don't know but, that's you know, up to this point the whole theory has been containment, as you know, John." Not only is there no such quote as the President quoted himself as giving, but when one reads the transcript there is an exact direction to those four gentlemen to do the exact opposite thing. Peter Rodino (D New Jersey). The time of the gentleman has expired.