Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 27, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 27, 1973
[00.45.20-GURNEY continues to interrogate DEAN] Now, then we come to the year 1973 and from what I have been able to gather in the questioning I have Just finished, your testimony is that on February 28 You did discuss this matter of obstruction of justice and then you also testified to what you did here on March 13, and then, of course, we come to the meeting on March 21 when You told him most of what Watergate was all about. [00.45.53-GURNEY wants to get the last word and assert that NIXON did not know of the coverup until March 1973] And the summary that I can see from the testimony, the President of the United States certainly didn't know anything about all this business, to this one Senator, until this thing on February 28, according to your testimony, and on March 13 but especially of course, the meeting on March 21 where you did discuss with him at great length the Watergate and he at a later press conference Said that he learned about it on that date. Thank you for your patience, and, Mr. Chairman, especially I thank you for your patience and the rest of the members of the committee. I am sorry I have taken so long. Mr. DEAN. I thank the Senator for his questions. I think they were very good. Senator ERVIN. I want to thank the Senator for his examination of the witness. We will take a, recess for a vote and come back after the vote. [00.47.14-LEHRER v.o. comments that the senators are spending all their time going to the floor to vote, as Senators stand to leave] [00.47.25-cut to after recess, ERVIN gavels meeting to order] Senator ERVIN. The, committee will come to order. Mr. DASH. Mr. Chairman, Senator Inouye, prior to asking his questions has asked me to have Cleared up by Mr. Dean some more identification of the materials which he has submitted to us which We have just received back from the Xerox machine. This is the second batch. What I would like to do, Mr. Dean, if I could give, you this batch of papers which are in approximately the order you gave them, and if you could go through them to the extent you can, identify the source of each one if you can. Some of them, for instance, are a list of names without any letterhead or any indication. Who drew up the list of names? There is no indication as to whether or not the memorandum was attached. The way they presently appear, the identification of each of these documents is obscure, and I think for our Purposes, if We use them for the committee's work, it would be important if you looked at, them and to the, best of your recollection, tell us what each list is and who drew it up and who received it, to the best of your recollection. Mr. DEAN. Are we working from the same stack, the same order I have? Mr. DASH. If you could identify for the record from what you are reading, not read the entire record. [00.49.04-DEAN commences identifying for record more White House documents concerning the ENEMIES LIST] Mr. DEAN. I have the first document from Gordon Strachan to John Dean, dated September 17. And the, source of this list is Mr. Strachan and sent to me. I do not know where he got the list. The next document I have is a memorandum dated October 26 from Mr. Strachan to me. subject, "Political Enemies." Mr. DASH. Mr. Dean, is the prior list also supposed to be included in political enemies? Mr. DEAN. Yes, sir, it was. Mr. DASH. Could you identify it? If you already have, all right. But when you speak of the list, if it is a contributors' list, identify it as such; and if it is supposed to be an opponents list, an enemies list, would you please characterize it? Mr. DEAN. The list I have--the first list I was referring to has a reference on the cover not that came to me: "The attached should be of interest to you and the political enemies project." Attached to it is a partial list of fat cats attending a Muskie fundraiser. [00.50.23] The next document, the memorandum of October 26 from Mr. Strachan to me, subject "Political Enemies," indicates that, Mr. Nofziger sent the, attached information on Chet Huntley to Mr. Haldeman "Since you have the action on the political enemies project. would you make your determination of what should happen, advise Nofziger and mention your decision to me." Attached to that is a memorandum from Nofziger to Haldeman re Chet Huntley. I think that the notations on there, which are mine, are self-evident. [00.51.14]