Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
To the best of my recollection it was on June 20th or 21st, that Colson told me in a casual conversation in the hall outside his office about an incident that he thought was painfully humorous. He told me that a member of his staff, Mr. Douglas Hallett, had an office in the same suite with Hunt and Hallett was talking with a wire service reporter while Hunt was in the other office. Colson said to me something to the effect, can you believe what a story that reporter might have had if Hunt had come walking out of his office while Hallett was being interviewed? Colson gave me the impression that this incident had occurred on June 17th or June 19th, but I do not recall which. However, I do recall Colson telling me that it had occurred and Colson was very concerned about his relationship with Hunt.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
To the best of my recollection the FBI contacted me during the morning of June 22nd and requested an interview with Colson. I so informed Colson and an interview was arranged for that day. Colson said that he wanted me present when he was interviewed and also wanted to meet with me prior to the interview. He was insistent that I be present because he was concerned that the FBI report of the interview might not be accurate and he wanted someone else to attest to his story.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Colson came to my office shortly before the scheduled meeting with the FBI. He said that he did not wish to get into unrelated matters and he said again that he had no information regarding the Watergate. I told him I presumed that the agents would only be interested in his knowledge about the Watergate and his relationship with Hunt. The agents arrived, identified themselves and somewhat to my surprise, gave Colson a warning of his rights which he waived. I believe the committee has access to Mr. Colson's FBI interview which was rather brief in that Colson imparted very little information to them. I did not inject myself into the interview at any time, but did make some rough notes of items covered. In fact, I believe this was the only interview where I made any notes at all. I made these notes because Colson had expressed his concern before the interview regarding someone later being able to attest to his story. I have submitted to the committee, exhibit 14, the rough notes which have also been transcribed from my own handwriting, the rough notes that I hastily jotted down during the interview. And find them very revealing in light of the statement that was made during the nomination hearings of Mr. Patrick Gray for the FBI directorship.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
And would like to digress for a moment, regarding the comment that was made during those hearings that "Dean probably lied" to the FBI as to whether Hunt had an office in the White House. During the interview of Mr. Colson on June 22nd, the agents asked him if Mr. Hunt had an office at the White House. Colson responded that he thought Mr. Hunt had an office in the EOB, but he did not know where it was located. This question came up about midway through the interview and was not, as I recall, pursued further at that point by the agents, other than a question to me as to whether it would be possible to get the room number. I said yes. At the end of the interview and its the agents were departing, they asked me if they could see, not whether Mr. Hunt had, rather whether they could see Mr. Hunt's office right then. I told them would have to check it out and get back to them. Those are the facts as I remember them. And Colson happened to stop by my office on the day that Gray said I probably lied. I asked Colson for this recollection of the matter and he stated that he remembered it as I had remembered it. At that time I had forgotten that I had made the notes during Colson's interview which clearly reflected that Colson had stated during the interview that Hunt had an office in the White House. A few days after Colson's interview I called the agents and told them that I had the materials from Hunt's office and I would get them to them shortly.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
I learned after Mr. Gray made his statement during his nomination hearing that he based his conclusion on a report written by the agents some 7 months after the incident. When I talked with Gray about the atter during his nomination hearings and he informed me that he did not feel he could retract the statement without creating more problems. I told him that I did not think that the agents involved should be brought into the matter because I was sure that they had honestly reported the matter as they had remembered it. I had dealt with the agents involved on several occasions and I felt that they had called it the way they had remembered it so I let the matter drop and decided that I would just have to take the rather unpleasant heat and live with it.