Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 25, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 25, 1973
[00.12.19-forming the COVERUP strategy for the ERVIN COMMITTEE HEARINGS] The Meeting then turned to a general discussion of the, proposed amendments and Timmons was called from the congressional leadership meeting that, was then in session in the Cabinet room. Timmons reported that the Senate was going to begin debate on Senator Ervin's resolution that afternoon. Timmons was instructed to request Senator Hugh Scott to come to his office. after the leadership meeting and I was instructed to go to Mr. Timmons' office to explain the amendments to the resolution to Senator Scott. I was also told that I should tell the Senator--Senator Scott--to raise the 1968 bugging incident as a reason to expand the scope of the resolution with reference to prior Presidential elections. I left to brief Senator Scott with the feeling that the meeting had accomplished nothing. I went to Timmons office, had a brief meeting with Senator Scott, and. as I was returning to my office I ran into Dick Moore who told me that he felt that the meeting had been useless. I agreed. On February 7, Timmons informed me that the White House amendments had been virtually rejected out, of hand and the resolution adopted 77-0. Timmons told me he had discussed with Haldeman the possibilities of suggesting names for the Republican side of the. Select Committee with Senator Scott, and Scott, seemed receptive. On February 8, the, members of this committee were named and I recall Timmons telling me that Haldeman had "chewed him out,", but Timmons told me Scott had never given him a chance to make any recommendation. On February 9, 1 had planned to go to Florida for a week or 10 days. The President had departed for San Clemente and it appeared that everyone could relax for a while. In midafternoon, however. -my plans were changed when I received a call from Ehrlichman in San Clemente telling me that he. wanted 'Mr. 'Moore and me to come, to California that night, so that, he could discuss in full detail the, problems of how to deal with the, forthcoming Senate, hearings. Ehrlichman indicated that he and Haldeman were going to have some available time over the weekend, so we should come immediately. I contacted Mr. Moore, who was about to take a train trip to southern Virginia with his young son and wife. -Moore said that since he was Packed he would merely fly west instead of training south. My wife and I and the Moores all flew to San Diego on the evening of February 9. [00.14.52] THE LA COSTA MEETINGS Everyone -was staving at the La Costa Resort Hotel. south of San Clemente. The meetings with Haldeman and Ehrlichman, Moore and myself ran for 2 days, and I would estimate they involved between 12 to 14 hours of discussion. The meetings began on Saturday morning, February 10, at San Clemente, but the discussion did not begin to take focus until Saturday afternoon and Sunday, when we met in Haldeman's villa at La Costa. Based on notes I took during the meeting I will attempt to reconstruct what transpired. I should also point out that before I departed San Clemente to return to La Costa I was given several memorandums which I have submitted to the committee, which directly relate to what occurred at La Costa. Mr. DEAN-. I did not, look at these memorandums until several days after the meeting and was rather surprised that Haldeman would state in writing specific instructions to me regarding his thoughts on perpetuating the Watergate tactics or the coverup by a counteroffensive against the forthcoming Senate, hearings. What had happened by this point in time was that the coverup had become a way of life at the White, House, and having, made it to this point, those involved were becoming careless and more open about it. Also. the Senate was different than the courts. grand jury, FBI, and the like that had been dealt with earlier. Before turning to the substance. of the La Costa meetings. I would like to note that Mr. Moore and I had tallied on many occasions about the Watergate affair and the damage it was doing. [00.16.37] Mr. Moore is the only person--other than Mr. O'Brien on a few occasions--to whom I ever expressed my deep concern about the, matter, particularly the coverup. While Moore did not know all the facts he knew a great deal and was becoming increasingly aware of the dimensions of the problems I talked to Moore far differently than anyone else. I talked to him about, how we Could end this matter once and for all. I expressed my concern to him often about how to end the matter before it ruined the second term of the President. I -was concerned that it was not going to simply go away, and I had learned that the press was becoming aware of other illegal activities at the White House. I never discussed these other matters -with Moore, but I told him the coverup was bigger than the. Watergate incident per se. The. more that we talked about it the, less we could find a solution--so the coverup proceeded. As I have indicated, the purpose of what I call the La Costa meeting was how to deal with this committee's investigation of the Watergate. The Watergate trial was over and that problem appeared to be over. The next major problem was the. Senate hearings. It was realized that it was going to take an all-out effort by the White House to deal with the Senate inquiry, because Of the scope of the, resolution. the composition of the committee the investigative powers of the committee, and the general feeling that. the Senate was a hostile world for the White House. [00.18.00]