Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Statement of John Dean.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Statement of John Dean.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Statement of John Dean.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Statement of John Dean.
Meeting with the President on the 16th. I received word on Monday morning, April 16th that the President had requested I come to the oval office. I arrived at his office at 9:45 and rather than going to the reception entrance normally used by other members of the staff and myself. I went into Mr. Steve Bull's office. Mr. Bull is the one who had informed me that the President wanted to see me so I went into his office. Mr. Bull told me I would have to wait a few minutes because the President was in another meeting. A few minutes later Haldeman and Ehrlichman emerged laughing from the President's office and when they saw me in Mr. Bull's office their faces dropped. I said hello, they put on a serious, or they said hello, put on a serious look and departed. I went into the President's office. The President told me that he had been thinking about this entire matter and thought it might be a good if he had in his drawer a letter from me requesting that he accept my resignation or in the alternative, an indefinite leave of absence. He said that he had prepared two letters for my signature and he would not do anything with them at this time but thought it would be good if he had them. He then passed me a manila file folder with two letters in them. The President said that he had prepared the letters himself and that no one would know I had signed them. I read the letters and was amazed at what I was being asked to sign. I have submitted to the committee copies of the letters, exhibit 45, but since they are very brief. I will read them.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Statement of John Dean.
The first letter, dated April 16, 1973, read Dear Mr. President, In view of my increasing involvement in the Watergate matter my impending appearance before the grand jury and the probability of its action, I request an immediate and indefinite leave of absence from my position on your staff. The second letter, which was even more incriminating, read Dear Mr. President, As a result of my involvement in the Watergate matter which we discussed last night and today, I tender you my resignation, effective at once. After reading the letters, I looked the President squarely in the eyes and told him that I could not sign the letters. He was annoyed with me and somewhat at a loss for words. He said that maybe I would like to draft my own letter. I told him that the letters that he had asked me to sign were virtual confessions of anything regarding the Watergate. I also asked him if Ehrlichman and Haldeman had signed letters of resignation. I recall that he was somewhat surprised at my asking this and he said no they had not but they had given him a verbal assurance to the same effect. He then elaborated that Haldeman and Ehrlichman had said that if they were called before the Grand Jury they would seek a leave of absence. They had given him their verbal assurances. I then told the President that he had my verbal assurance to the same effect. It was a very tense conversation, but I was not going to sign a letter under any circumstances. As I sat there, talking with the President. I had very much on my mind the laughter in Ehrlichman's and Haldeman's voices when they walked out of the office before they realized that I was waiting outside to see the President. To break the impasse the President said that he would like me to draft my own letter and report back to him later. He said that he was working on a statement regarding the Watergate and the recent developments that had come to his attention as a result of his meetings with Kleindienst and Petersen and would appreciate my thoughts. He said that he would also like a suggested draft letter for my for Haldeman and Ehrlichman or maybe a form letter that everyone could sign. I told him I would draft a letter and would report back.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Statement of John Dean.
John Dean. The President called me to come to his Executive Office Building office about 4:00 that afternoon. He asked me if I had drafted a letter. I said that I had as well as I had prepared some thoughts for his statement. He asked to see the letter, a copy of which I which I have submitted to the committee, exhibit 46, but again I shall read it because it is very brief. Dear Mr. President, You have informed me that Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman have verbally tendered their requests to be given an immediate and indefinite leave of absence from your staff. By this letter I also wish to confirm my request that I be given such a leave of absence from you your staff. After the President read the letter, he handed it back to me and said it wasn't what he wanted. Senator Sam Ervin (D North Carolina) The audience will please refrain from laughter. John Dean. I then told him that I would not resign unless Haldeman and Ehrlichman resigned. I told him that I was not willing to be the White House scapegoat for the Watergate. He said that he understood my position and he wasn't asking me to be a scapegoat. I then gave him my recommendations of the draft statement. Before he read I the draft statement he said that he had checked his records and it had been on March 21st that I had met with him and given him the report on the problems of the Watergate and its coverup. I have submitted to the committee, exhibit 47, a copy of the draft statement I prepared for the President.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Statement of John Dean.
The gist of the statement was twofold. First, the President had learned of new facts in the case over the weekend and as a result of this information coming to his staff and had directed Henry Petersen to take charge and leave no stone unturned. Secondly, that he had accepted requests from Haldeman, Ehrlichman and Dean to be placed on leave of absence. The President said virtually nothing about the statement and after reading it, told me to talk to Len Garment, who he said was also preparing a draft statement.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Statement of John Dean.
After departing from the President's office, I called Mr. Garment and told him that the President had requested I give him my input on the draft he was developing. Mr. Garment said he would come by my office which he did. I gave him a copy of the draft statement and he told me that he and I were thinking along similar lines. That is, that Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and Dean had to resign. I told him I was ready and willing but only if Haldeman and Ehrlichman resigned as well.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 25, 1973 - Statement of John Dean.
The next time I heard anything about the draft statement was on April 17th, when the President called and informed me that he had decided not to request any resignations until after the Grand Jury took action and that he would issue a statement very shortly. That statement of April 17th is a matter of public record. I would only like to point out one or two items about the statement. The President said that on March 21st as a result of serious charges which came to his attention, some of which were publicly reported, he began an intense new inquiry into this whole matter. I would merely refer the committee's attention back to my earlier testimony as to what the President did after my report to him on March 21st as to the White House's deep involvement in the coverup. In short, the President commenced no investigation at all. Rather, the President, Haldeman and Ehrlichman commenced to protect themselves against the unraveling of the coverup. Secondly, I would also like to raise the paragraph that had been put in the statement that no one in a position of major importance in the administration should be given immunity from prosecution. While a statement went virtually unnoticed in the public, it was very evident to me what the President was saying, Dean will not be a witness against anyone so the Government might as well stop dealing with him.