Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 13, 1973 (1/2)
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 13, 1973 (1/2)
[00.25.10] Senator ERVIN. YOU also knew that Liddy had been charged with complicity the Watergate break-in? Mr. STANS. Well, before that Mr. Liddy had refused to answer questions to the FBI and on advice of counsel I fired him. Senator ERVIN. Did you ask Liddy anything about the matter yourself? Mr. STANS. No. I did not because Mr. Mardian was handling the whole of the legal matters involving the Watergate. Senator ERVIN. Well, Liddy had been serving as general counsel of your committee? Mr. STANS. Yes. Senator ERVIN. Why did not you ask him questions? Mr. STANS. Because Mr. Mardian showed me a memorandum addressed to me stating that Mr. Liddy had failed to cooperate with the FBI, asked my approval to fire him, and said, "Do -not discuss the matter with him" or do not discuss anything with Mr. Liddy, so that was the end of it. I shook hands when Mr. Liddy came to my office, at the close of the day. I shook hands with him, said good-bye and that was it. Senator ERVIN. And you knew that at and, in fact act, Mr. Sloan told you that he had so many misgivings about the money that he had been giving to Liddy at Magruder's request that he was, thinking about resigning. Mr. STANS-. Yes. That happened right around the first of July. Senator ERVIN, And he first gave you that message by telephone, did he not? Mr. STANS. I am not sure. I think he gave it to me in person in the office. Senator ERVIN Well, anyway, you told him to come and talk to you in person about it, did you not? Mr. STANS. That was somewhat later, that was 2 weeks:,, later. Senator ERVIN. Yes. When he came to talk to you about his resigning you told him that you had already informed the FBI that he had resigned? Mr. STANS. No, I did not tell him that, but, it evolved in that manner. I was certain that Mr. Sloan was resigning, There was no question, but that that was his intention. He had not submitted it in writing but when I met with the FBI I said Mr. Sloan burl offered to resign 2 weeks ago and was undoubtedly resigning and that was the record: Senator ERVIN, Well, did not Mr. Sloan tell you at any time that Mr. Magruder had sought to persuade him to commit perjury in respect to the amount of money that had been given to Mr. Liddy. Mr. STANS. Yes, he did. He told me that after he had had the several conversations with Mr. Magruder and after he had told Mr. Magruder that he was going to tell the truth. Senator ERVIN. Mr. Stans, didn't all of this knowledge that you acquired one way or another about these matters that I have enumerated engender in your mind a feeling that you ought to communicate or talk to the President about this matter? Mr. STANS. Mr. Chairman, this did not all happen on one day, as you know. It was a growing thing. Senator ERVIN. Yes, sir. Mr. STANS. As one circumstance after another developed, it was evident that it was entirely possible, that Mr. Liddy was implicated in was no indication that anyone else was outside of this matter, There was those who were arrested. Mr. Mardian had been appointed as counsel to investigate the situation presumably' to report to Mitchell and the President, and it was outside of my domain so I did not go beyond, go any further. Senator ERVIN, You did know about, Magruder since Sloan had told you about Magruder trying to persuade him to commit perjury? Mr. STANS. I had heard that from Sloan but Sloan had-- Senator ERVIN. Yes. Mr. STANS. But, Sloan himself had carried that story to others- Senator ERVIN. And you knew Mr. Mitchell had told you that Mr. Magruder was authorized to direct -Mr. Sloan to make these payments to Liddy? Mr. STANS. Yes, of course, I knew that. Senator ERVIN. -You knew all of this before you talked to the President in August, did you not? Mr. STANS. Oh, yes . Senator ERVIN. Now, you were not only a personal friend but, a political friend of the President, were you not? Mr. STANS. Yes, I believe I was. Senator ERVIN. And wished him well, Mr. STANS. I certainly did. Senator ERVIN. And You knew that under the Constitution one of his principal obligation obligations was to see that the laws be faithfully executed? Mr. STANS. No question about it. Senator ERVIN. Did it not, occur to you that as a friend of the President, as one who wished him well and one who was endeavoring to procure his reelection, that you should have talked to the President and suggested to him that he come, out, and make it, clear that he was going to enforce the law regardless of what happened? Mr. STANS. Mr. Chairman, the President, had far more resources than I did. It was known that the White House was conscious of the problem. I had no knowledge that was not common knowledge at the. time, I had nothing to tell the President that would have been unusual. [00.30.35]