Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Samuel Dash, attorney. Now in your statement, you have described a number of meetings and activities occurring immediately after the arrest of the CRP burglars in the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate on June 17, 1972 and continuing for several months thereafter involving such persons as Mr. Haldeman, Mr. Ehrlichman, Mr. Colson, Mr. Mardian, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. LaRue Mr. Magruder, yourself, and others. Isn't it your testimony that this flurry of activity represented a massive coverup operation to prevent the prosecutors, the FBI and the public from learning of the involvement of high White House or CRP officials either in the Watergate break-in or embarrassing earlier illegal activities of a similar nature, such as the Ellsberg break-in? John Dean. That is correct, Mr. Dash.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Samuel Dash, attorney. And did not this coverup require a number of strategies such as perjury and subordination of perjury of a person like Magruder, Porter, and others, and the false statements to the FBI and the prosecutors, payoffs to indicted defendants to maintain their silence, limiting the FBI inquiry so they would not stumble on other illegal intelligence activities of the White House? John Dean. That is correct. Samuel Dash, attorney. And is it not true that you played a role in all of these coverup activities? John Dean. That is correct. Samuel Dash, attorney. Did you do these things on your own initiative, Mr. Dean, or at the direction of anybody else? John Dean. I would have to say that to describe it, I inherited a situation. The coverup was in operation when I returned to my office on Monday the 19th and it just became the instant way of life at that point in time. And I participated in it and engaged in these activities along with the others. I was taking instructions Samuel Dash, attorney. From whom were you taking instructions? John Dean. I was taking instructions from Mr. Haldeman and Mr. Ehrlichman. I was taking instructions and suggestions from Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Mardian. I was a conveyor of messages back and forth between each group and at times I was making suggestions myself
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Samuel Dash, attorney. Mr. Dean, I don't think the record is clear from the statement. You held an impressive title, Counsel to the President. I understand had quite a big office. But could you tell us just what in fact was your relationship with Mr. Haldeman and Ehrlichman in your position with the White House? John Dean. Well, I learned before I went to the White House that the title was probably the best part of the job. My reporting relationship was directly to Mr. Haldeman, but because Mr. Ehrlichman had formerly been the Counsel he maintained a very active interest in many of the things of the Counsel's office. So that most of the work of the Counsel's office was really related to technical legal problems, making sure that the i's were dotted and the t's were crossed on certain documents, to examine questions on timing, on pocket vetoes, to work with the Department of Justice in making sure that they were preparing given legal positions on Issues that were of importance to the White House. I had a number of dealings with the persons who were working on the Nixon foundation and did some personal work on the President's San Clemente properties and other personal things like that for the President where I was the conduit to the law firm that was handling this for the President. I would not say that it was a policymaking position by any means. Samuel Dash, attorney. And to a large extent, you were, in fact, reporting to either Mr. Ehrlichman or Mr. Haldeman? John Dean. That is correct.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Samuel Dash, attorney. Now given such a massive coverup which you have included in your statement and that was underway with the John Dean. I might add one thing. There was one role that the office also that is what I described as a firefighting role. For example, after the Lithuanian defector situation came up, Ehrlichman and Haldeman and I assume the President, would set the policy and after they had finished with their interest in the matter, I was the man who had the, sort of the cleanup on the details. This happened also, for example, with the Calley case. After the initial flurry, the decisions had all been made, some of the decisions I didn't fully agree with, but I had my, you know I sent memos in, decisions were made and I was the guy who had to answer 100,000 letters that came in. So I would add that footnote.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Samuel Dash, attorney. All right, taking that into the context, as I was beginning to state, such a massive coverup operation that was underway with the approval and with the direction at times of Mr. Haldeman, Mr. Ehrlichman and Mr. Mitchell, do you have an opinion, and I m asking you at this point for just an opinion, as to whether the President would have been informed of this coverup operation from its inception? John Dean. Mr. Dash, I think it is unfair to ask me opinions. I can surmise the way I know the White House operated. I will say this, that in my statement I indicated that I had reached a conclusion in my own mind when I went to the Attorney General, for example, that this thing might well go right to the President. I would say that that evidence is an opinion that I was concerned that it did, knowing how the White House operated, knowing how the reporting information went up to the President. Samuel Dash, attorney. Well, the question was put to you just on the basis of your knowledge, your intimate knowledge, I take it, of how the White House operated and what Mr. Haldeman's relationship to the President was as you have already testified. But actually, according to your own statement, in fact you learned firsthand, did you not, that the President did know about the coverup when you met with him on September 15, 1972, the day the indictments came down cutting off the involvement at Liddy. Is that so? John Dean. That is correct.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Samuel Dash, attorney. When the President told you on September 15, as you say in your statement, that Bob Haldeman had kept him posted on your handling of the Watergate case and complimented you on the good job you had done and expressed his appreciation on the difficulty of your tasks, did you have any doubt in your mind what at the President resident was talking about? John Dean. No, I did not. Samuel Dash, attorney. Indeed, Mr. Haldeman not only knew about how you had handled the Watergate case but in effect had directed the operation, did he not, which included payoffs to defendants perjury, and limiting the FBI investigation? John Dean. I don t believe by September 15 that the $350,000 payment had been involved but the Kalmbach payment had been involved so I would say, yes that he had as well as being aware of the perjury. Samuel Dash, attorney. Actually, the payoffs began fairly early, not the final ones John Dean. That s right. Samuel Dash, attorney. Now if the President had been kept posted by Mr. Haldeman as to how you were handling the Watergate case, he would have known of these illegal acts and according to your statement was in fact congratulating you for your successful performance of these acts. Would that not be true from your point of view? John Dean. I think that s true.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Samuel Dash, attorney. Now, even further, Mr. Dean, you say in your statement that you told the President on that occasion, September 15, with regard to the civil suit filed by the Democratic National Committee that the lawyers for the Committee for the Re-Election of the President had been making ex parte contacts with the Federal judge handling the case and the judge was understanding and trying to be accommodating. Now putting it bluntly, Mr. Dean, were you not telling the President that you understood that the CRP had a "fix" in with the judge? John Dean. I don t think, Mr. Dash, I would use the word "fix. I think I was indicating to the President that the lawyers had some influence on the handling of the case. And if they could slow down the case so that it would not be an embarrassment before the election. When I think of the word "fix" I think that means the outcome of the case is going to be influenced. I don t know that that that was the fact because do not know the specifics and I do not believe that to be the case. Rather it was a process whereby they might get some favorable rulings out of the judge to slow it down before the election. Samuel Dash, attorney. You would soften the-word to "influence" rather than "fix"? John Dean. Yes, I would.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Samuel Dash, attorney. All right. Now, according to your statement, did the President not say to you on being apprised of this special influence with the judge, "Well, that s helpful"? John Dean. He said something to that effect, yes that s correct. Samuel Dash, attorney. Therefore, Mr. Dean, whatever doubts you may have had prior to September 15 about the President's involvement in the coverup, did you have any doubts yourself about this after September 15? John Dean. No, I did not.