Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 28, 1973 (1/2)
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 28, 1973 (1/2)
[00.45.12-Sen. INOUYE continues to pose questions from the WHITE HOUSE to DEAN. This line of questions tries to point up inconsistencies in DEAN'S statements and suggest that DEAN has embellished his story to get favorable treatment, IMMUNITY from prosecution] There are, however, several very noticeable. differences. One difference is an omission from the testimony you gave here. You told this committee that, when the President discussed the matter of your investigation of Watergate you did not tell him you made no such investigation. The Newsweek article however, reports that, in your meeting with the President of March 21, and I quota "Dean also bore down hard, he said, on the fact that there had never been any study clearing White House staffers. Mr. Nixon replied that he had had verbal reports of Dean's work but, the counsel insisted 'nobody asked me -for reports, Mr. President," he said." "He said. 'I did not go around asking people questions in their offices. There, was no report." [00.46.06] "At, this point sources quoted Dean as saying "The President Came out of his chair into a half crouch of astonishment and shock.' If the -Newsweek account is correct, Mr. Dean. the President's reaction was most, inconsistent with that, to which you have testified before this committee. Did you or did you not, tell the President that you had never conducted an investigation, and have you made the statement previously that "The President, came out of his chair into a half crouch of astonishment and shock"? [00.46.46-HUMOR] Mr. DEAN. Well. I have testified here already that I have never seen the President come out of his chair-[Laughter]-in that manner. I recall the interview that you are talking about and the ground rules for that interview, my wife was present with me, and she will recall that well, Mr. McCandless was With me and the rules were set. that I Would enter into no, what I considered testimonial areas at all of a substantive nature, regarding my direct dealings with the President. I was asked if I had prepared an investigation or done an investigation into that. I merely just said no. As I say. the, interview that was given, and that story do not meet With what I told the reporter because I said anything I Say I want it for attribution. I am not giving you anything on background or the like and I will not enter into testimonial areas and it was very clearly understood that I would not, I would recall to the Senator again that at this time I was coming under increasing character attacks. People said. "John. you just cannot sit down and take that. You have, got to come Out and say at a few words that you are living and' breathing and a real human being," and that is the reason I held I that interview. [00.48.12-The WHITE HOUSE questioning turns to conflicts between DEAN and MAGRUDER'S testimony.] Senator INOUYE. Mr. Dean, if I recall correctly, you testified to this committee that it was not your idea for Magruder's diary to be altered nor were you aware before Mr. Magruder testified before the grand jury last September that Mr. Magruder would testify that the first meeting appearing in his diary had been canceled, and the second meeting had been to discuss election laws. On both of these points, your testimony is in direct conflict with the sworn testimony of Mr. Magruder. Are we to believe that Mr. Magruder lied as to these details concerning you and, if that is your position, what could be Mr. Magruder's motive for lying about the details of the manner in which Mr. Magruder's perjury was conceived? [00.49.11] Mr. DEAN. Well, Senator, I will stand on my testimony and not on the conclusions drawn in the question that has been propounded by you at the request of the White House. Senator INOUYE. Mr. Dean, Mr. Magruder also testified that Mr. Liddy told him that you among others had indicated to him that he would have $1 million for his plans, which he had been working on before he even came to the committee. You testified, on the other hand, that you were surprised when Mr. Liddy briefed his million dollar intelligence plan to Mr. Mitchell in your presence. To what motive do you attribute Mr. Liddy's report to Mr. Magruder that you knew about his extensive plans before you saw them in Mr. Mitchell's office. [00.50.04-DEAN denies the insinuation by the WHITE HOUSE question that DEAN was involved in formulating LIDDY'S plans for intelligence] Mr. DEAN. Well, if the Senator will check the exhibits, there is one, of the exhibits in there where I had an interview or a discussion with Mr. Mitchell, At that, time Mr. Mitchell reported to me that Magruder had made, this statement to him. My response at that time to Mr. Mitchell was that I had no recollection at all of ever making such a statement to Mr. Liddy, and I can't conceive of the, statement being made for this reason: I was quite aware of the fact that a far different plan, Operation Sandwedge, that had a half-million dollar budget suggestion, had been deemed to be far more than necessary for anything to deal with even the security problems that were going to confront the campaign, [00.50.50]