Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 14, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 14, 1973
[00.31.44] Senator GURNEY. Were there any other occasions when he gave, that indication of faulty memory that you can remember? Mr. MAGRUDER. Nothing--not a specific reference to the same extent that that one meeting had. Senator GURNEY. After that Key Biscayne meeting with Mr. Mitchell and Mr. LaRue, you mentioned that the, Liddy plan was in typewritten form, as I recall. Mr. MAGRUDER. Yes, sir. Senator GURNEY. Are there any copies of that left'? Mr. MAGRUDER. Not that, I know of. Senator I destroyed all of the copies that I had. Senator GURNEY. You mentioned also, of course these, reports that you made from time to time to Mr. Strachan. I suppose, you reported to him on the occasion of the first entry of the Democratic 'National Committee headquarters. Mr. MAGRUDER. Yes, Sir, Senator GURNEY. Do you recall any reaction back from him after he made his report to. I suppose, Mr. Haldeman? Mr. MAGRUDER. No, because I think at that time we were simply waiting for the result of that entry. Senator GURNEY. He was present, as, I recall, when you got your report on the McGovern business? ? Mr. MAGRUDER. Yes, sir. Senator GURNEY. Did he ever come back to you with any reaction from who he reported to on that affair.? Mr. MAGRUDER. I cannot say that he came back with reaction from someone he reported to. He did come back with a reaction that 'Mr. Liddy -was not to be involving himself in these activities. He was supposed to be the planner not the executor of these activities. Senator GURNEY. I think we, have another vote. I am going to close up very quickly here. I had some other questions I wanted to ask you, but let me ask you this closing question or two closing questions. Your testimony indicated that the man who made the coverup payments was somebody called Tony, Do you know Tony ? Mr. MAGRUDER. No, sir. Senator GURNEY. One, final question, you were in the White House how, long? I Mr. MAGRUDER. From October 1969 until May 1971. Senator GURNEY. And, of course, you knew about as well as anybody what the staff setup in the White House was? Mr. MAGRUDER. Yes, sir. Senator GURNEY. Is it fair to say that you were on a staff level about the same level as Mr. Dean? Mr. MAGRUDER. Yes, sir. We were, I was a special assistant to the President and we were what I would call second-level appointees in the White House, under the five or seven assistants to the President. Senator GURNEY. Did you see the President on many occasions during your term in the White House.? Mr. MAGRUDER. Not, on many occasions. I saw him periodically mainly in meetings with other people. Senator GURNEY. Did you ever see, him alone? Mr. MAGRUDER. No, sir. Senator GURNEY. You always saw him -when somebody else was present? Mr. MAGRUDER. Yes, sir. Senator GURNEY. Was that his normal way of carrying on business in the White House? Mr. MAGRUDER. Absolutely. [00.34.43-attempting to discredit the expected testimony of Dean?] Senator GURNEY. Were you rather surprised to hear the report the other day that Mr. Dean had seen him, I think on 30 or 35 occasions very recently? Mr. MAGRUDER. Yes; I was. That, would not have been in the normal pattern of events. Senator GURNEY. Thank you. And thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator BAKER. The committee will recess long enough to make this rollcall and return for the completion of the testimony of this witness. [00.35.09--Senators stand to go vote, LEHRER v.o. says that the members will return immediately after the vote, when Sen. GURNEY will get an answer to his question of MAGRUDER about the sponsorship of a Miami business exposition] [00.35.29--wipe to MAGRUDER after recess] Senator ERVIN. Senator Montoya. Mr. BIERBOWER. Senator, if you will excuse, me for a moment, we have a name for Senator Gurney that he had asked, if you care to hear it. Mr. MAGRUDER. Senator Gurney asked me the name of the convention official--- Mr. THOMPSON. I will take it in his behalf. Mr. MAGRUDER [continuing]. We, had discussed that we, had a phone conversation with him. It was Mr. Richard Murphy. Someone reminded me of the name. He was a convention manager, Senator ERVIN You may proceed, I understand that, Senator Gurney had finished. Senator MONTOYA. He indicated to me he had finished, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Magruder, I believe this morning you stated that the first meeting with Mr. Mitchell occurred at the Department of Justice with respect to Watergate and at that meeting were present yourself, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Dean, and Mr. Liddy, and that it was at this meeting that, the charts, the big charts, were displayed. Is that correct? Mr. MAGRUDER, Yes, sir, Senator MONTOYA. And that the plan evolved before your eyes and before your ears on this particular meeting with a budget request from Mr. Liddy for $1 million. Mr. MAGRUDER. Yes, sir. Senator MONTOYA. And that all three of you expressed shock or wore appalled by either the sum or the approach to intelligence as Mr. Liddy had proposed. Mr. MAGRUDER. Yes; that is correct, Senator. [00.37.10]