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.
Fred Thompson, attorney. Mr. Dean, let me ask you a few questions about your actions after the Watergate incident and by asking questions about your own personal involvement. I hope I am not considered to be badgering you in any way, but I am sure you understand that your actions and motivations are very relevant? John Dean. In fact, if I were still at the White House, I would probably be feeding you the questions to ask the person who is sitting here. Fred Thompson, attorney. And if I were here, as I am, I would have responded as I have responded that I do not need questions to be fed to me from anybody.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Fred Thompson, attorney. After the break in on the 19th I believe that you had a meeting in Mr. Mitchell's apartment with Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Mardian, Mr. Magruder on the 19th after you returned to Washington. Is that correct? John Dean. As I testified, to the best of my recollection that was either on the 19th or the 20th. I arrived at the meeting, the meeting was already in session. I do not have any recollection of that meeting other than the fact that there was discussion while I was there of the public relations handling of the matter. That was at the end. It was certainly at the end of a day that it occurred, either on the 19th or the 20th and I do not have a clear recollection of which day that was. Fred Thompson, attorney. You didn t discuss the fact as to what had actually happened and who was responsible? John Dean. Not at that time that I recall. Fred Thompson, attorney. Had you previously that day met with Mr. Liddy? John Dean. Yes, I had. Fred Thompson, attorney. And he told you, I believe, that Magruder had pushed him? John Dean. I sat and listened at that meeting more than talking at that meeting and I don t recall that I reported that at that particular time. Fred Thompson, attorney. I did not ask you if you had reported it, I just asked if you had that conversation. John Dean. Yes, I had.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Fred Thompson, attorney. And in your listening to Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Magruder of course, you realized that there were three of the same four individuals that sat in on two meetings at which these matters were discussed, wiretapping and that sort of thing. Was that not a sort of strange feeling that you must have had there on that occasion? Didn t your mind go back to those previous meetings and you wonder in fact whether or not Mr. Liddy had been given the go ahead? John Dean. That had already occurred to me when I met with Mr. Liddy. I realized right away what had happened. Before I met with Liddy I had talked with Magruder. Magruder had told me this was all Liddy's fault. It was very clear to me then that Liddy had proceeded either with or without authorization. It was after I talked to Liddy that I was very clear in my understanding that Liddy had been given authorization to proceed. Fred Thompson, attorney. You never talked to Mitchell about it? John Dean. No, sir.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
Fred Thompson, attorney. What had been your professional relationship with Mr. Mitchell while you were at the Justice Department? John Dean. I had a very I would have I to say it was sort of a father-son relationship in many ways. Mr. Mitchell was very friendly to me. He gave me some of the best assignments, I thought, in the Department of Justice. He counseled me before I went to the White House that I shouldn t go to the White House. He said I ought to stay at the Department of Justice. I liked Mr. Mitchell very much. Fred Thompson, attorney. Were you concerned about his personal involvement after you heard about the break in? John Dean. I indeed was but as I say, Mr. Mitchell to this day there has been only one indication and that was on a meeting on March 28th that he has given me any indication that he had any involvement in this thing at all. And that was when I hypothesized to him what I thought had happened and he said something to the effect well, yes, it was something like that but we thought it was going to be two three times removed from the committee.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 26, 1973 - Testimony of John Dean.
03.31 Fred Thompson, attorney. When you turned over the documents from safe to Mr. Gray, I believe you stated that you did not tell him to destroy them but that they were politically sensitive. John Dean. That is correct. Fred Thompson, attorney. Is that correct? John Dean. I think I described them as political dynamite. Fred Thompson, attorney. Did you ever tell him to destroy those documents? John Dean. No, sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. On any subsequent occasion, did you not in fact call Gray and ask him whether or not he had in fact destroyed those documents? John Dean. No. Mr. Gray and I discussed the documents at one of the meetings in his office in, I think, early July or sometime of that nature, in which he told me that he had taken the documents to Connecticut and he had them there. And he either indicated to me that he was planning to read them or had read them. I am very unclear on that. At that time he had mentioned nothing about destruction of the documents and it was not until after I had my meeting in January, early January, with Mr. Petersen, and subsequently met with Mr. Gray that he told me he had destroyed the documents. Fred Thompson, attorney. Did he say when he had destroyed them? John Dean. No, he did not. Fred Thompson, attorney. Do you know when he destroyed them? John Dean. No. Fred Thompson, attorney. Did you ever call him and ask him if he had read the documents? John Dean. No, I did not.