Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 27, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 27, 1973
[00.12.20-Sen. GURNEY continues to interrogate DEAN, implying that DEAN failed to make a report that NIXON asked for, contrary to DEAN'S statement] Senator GURNEY. Let us go to the August press conference,, where the President referred to the Dean report. My understanding is that you indicated great surprise at this so-called Dean report, because, as I understand it, you felt that you had not been conducting an investigation of Watergate; is that right? Mr. DEAN. That is correct. When I say great surprise, any time the President of the United States mentions your name, it is a great surprise. [00.12.52-DEAN is very calm and cool on this one] I will give you another example. When the. President, shortly after the Supreme Court handed down the death penalty decision, I had a call from Mr. Buchanan, who was preparing the President. The President went on television and said, I have just talked to my counsel about this decision and here is his opinion on it. Now, I was obviously quite surprised to hear my name on television when I had given advice to the President interpreting this decision, when, in fact. I had never talked to him about it. That is a great surprise to me when that sort of thing happens. [00.13.27-MacNEILL in studio] MacNEILL states that GURNEY will continue to pick at DEAN'S testimony, including a review of DEAN'S meetings and conversations with NIXON, reminds viewers that coverage is unabridged. [PBS network ID-title screen "SENATE HEARINGS ON CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES"] [00.17.10-MacNEILL] Reintroduces questioning by Sen. GURNEY. [00.17.20-GURNEY questioning DEAN about the alleged report he made to NIXON about WATERGATE, which DEAN denies ever being asked to make] Senator GURNEY. If we can get back to the investigation of Watergate, though, that is what I am trying to find out about here. What were you doing all this time when you had 82 of these form 302's, you were sitting in with witnesses 'from the, White House in their FBI interviews, you had many calls to people about it, you talked to Mr. Gray about it several times, you, as I understand it, were reporting to Haldeman and Ehrlichman? You do not call it an investigation. What do you term it? Mr. DEAN. Well, I call it participation in a coverup. I was getting my orders from my superiors and doing what I thought was expected of me at that time and following those orders out. [00.18.03--GURNEY plays "Devil's Idiot"] Senator GURNEY, Well, do you not think that it might have been interpreted by some, people, as a rather thorough investigation on your part? Mr. DEAN. I doubt if they could consider it thorough. If I were going to conduct an investigation, I would use, anything from a polygraph to a--every investigative means I could conceive of. I was not investigating Mr. Haldeman, certainly. I never pressed Mr. Strachan on his involvement, I certainly was not investigating the White House. The only person I was not---- [00.18.37-GURNEY answers his own question here, inadvertently] Senator GURNEY. There is no reason why you should be investigating Mr. Haldeman or Mr. Ehrlichman, because, they were included in the coverup with you, were they not? Mr. DEAN. That is what I am saying, there, was no investigation. You asked me why I am in surprised about the investigation. There was no investigation.