Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 25, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 25, 1973
[00.12.49-DEAN discusses further the attempts, at the urging of EHRLICHMAN, to involve the CIA in the coverup] I would like to skip the paragraph on page regarding the call from Gray, and turn to the last paragraph on 77. On the morning Of June, 28, I arranged again to meet with General Walters I was first embarrassed about requesting the meeting because, he had been most explicit and convincing to me in the first meeting. I told him that, I requested the meeting at Ehrlichman's request to further discuss the problems of the Dahlberg and 'Mexican checks. I told him what I knew about the matters and that, to the best of my knowledge. they were not related to the Watergate incident. I then asked him if he had any Suggestions. He., expressed sympathy over the situation, but said there was nothing his agency could do. He again explained reasons similar to his earlier comments regarding CIA involvement and I expressed my understanding. I then asked him if he had any ideas at and He said that it might, be possible to explain the matter as an anti-Castro activity. We had some general discussion of this, but nothing concrete emerged from the discussion, Before Walters departed I assured him that I agreed that it would be most unwise to involve the CIA, and I thanked him--almost apologetically--for coming by again. At no time did I push him as I had been instructed. At the, conclusion of this meeting I was totally convinced as I had been earlier, that the CIA could not and would not be brought in to solve the problems confronting the, White House and reelection committee as a result of the Watergate incident. [00.14.24] I subsequently informed Ehrlichman and Haldeman that unless the, President directly ordered the CIA to provide support for those involved that the, CIA was not, going to get involved I told them I agreed with Walters that this would be a terrible mistake and they both told me they agreed. TRANSMITTING THE MATERIALS IN- MR. HUNT'S SAFE TO THE FBI. I would now like to explain the transmitting of the materials in Hunt's safe to the FBI. As I noted earlier, shortly after the FBI interview on June 22 of Colson and -my later instructions from Ehrlichman to "Deep Six" the briefcase and shred documents. I had informed the FBI that I would forward the material found in Hunt's Office. After weighing the implications of Ehrlichman's instructions to destroy the items I decided that I would not engage in any such activity myself or be pushed into it. Accordingly, I asked David Young to return the. State Department cable to my office. I had already returned the briefcase from my car trunk to my office. I received several calls from the FBI requesting the material, but I had not yet, figured out how, to tell Ehrlichman I was not going to destroy the material. I knew I had to develop a good argument to give Ehrlichman as to why the materials should not be destroyed. On June 25 or 26 I went to Ehrlichman to explain that I thought the men who drilled the safe. had probably seen the briefcase, that the Secret, Service agent who was present had probably seen some of the Material; that Mr. Kehrli and Fielding had seen it--and what would happen -when all those people were later asked by the FBI about the contents of the safe. [EHRLICHMAN pressures DEAN to withhold the evidence from HUNT'S safe from the FBI, DEAN decides to turn over the evidence] Then, I said I felt we must turn over the material to the FBI. With regard to the, sensitive documents I suggested that they be given directly to Gray. I told Ehrlichman that, if ever asked under oath, I had to be able to testify that to the best of my knowledge everything found in the, safe had been turned over to the FBI. The FBI agents came to my office, I believe on June 26 or 27, I gave them one box, which had been packed and told them as soon as the other material was packed I would get it to them. I got tied up in a, meeting, I phoned Fielding and asked him to pack up the, remainder of the materials, which I believe was, the State Department cables and the briefcase. He, did so and turned over the' remainder of the, materials -With the, exception Of the two envelopes which contained the politically sensitive materials I described earlier. I spoke with Ehrlichman on the 28th and informed him the Materials.' had been sent to the FBI with the exception of the politically sensitive documents. He told me, He was meeting later that day with Gray I should bring them over at that at time. I went to Ehrlichman's office just before _Mr. Gray arrived. I placed the envelopes on the, coffee, table in his office. When Gray arrived, Ehrlichman told him that we, had some material for him that had come from Hunt's safe. Ehrlichman described it as politically sensitive, but not related to the Watergate. I told Gray that Fielding and I had gone through Hunt's documents and had turned over all the materials to the agents except the documents in these two envelopes. I said we did not believe they related to the Watergate in any way, but should they leak out they would be, political dynamite in an election year. I believe at that point Gray placed the two envelopes in his briefcase. [00.17.56] At no time while I was present with Gray and Ehrlichman was he instructed by myself or Ehrlichman to destroy the documents. Rather, he was merely told that they must never be leaked or made public. I departed and returned to -my office. The next time the fact of giving these documents to Gray came up was shortly before the criminal Watergate trial in January of this year. Fielding. Kehrli and I were being interviewed by the" prosecutors regarding the handling of the materials in Hunt's safe to establish the evidentiary chain. At one point, in the interview, I asked Henry Petersen, who was present with 'Mr. Earl Silbert. if I could speak with him privately At that time I felt I had to tell Petersen that not all the materials from Hunts safe had gone directly to the agents. rather that two envelopes of material. the. contents of which I 'Could not itemize any better then than I can now, had been given directly to Gray. [00.18.50]