Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 28, 1973 (2/2)
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 28, 1973 (2/2)
[01.13.38-Sen. INOUYE continues to ask DEAN the WHITE HOUSE questions relating to DEAN'S involvement in political intelligence] Senator INOUYE. In interagency meetings to plan for handling demonstrations were you not the White House representative ? Mr. DEAN. From the time I went to the White House, yes, with some exceptions. There were some types of demonstrations that I did not go to the Justice Department on or I went with others, because they were Of a particular nature that I had no expertise in the, problem area. I am thinking particularly of the Wounded Knee situation. I did go over to the meeting on how to deal with Wounded Knee, but I really was not personally aware of the Indians' grievance problems. so Mr. Garment took over and dealt with that. When there was a demonstration to occur in Washington like the May Day demonstrations. I did participate with the Attorney General at, those in finding out what the Government was going to do, because I was asked and expected to report in my summaries that the, President had a great interest in as to what was going to be the Government's response in dealing with such situations. [01.14.48-some humor about EHRLICHMAN] Mr. Ehrlichman frequently maintained a continuing interest in this. In fact, I can recall another member of the staff saying that as far as demonstration goes, Mr. Ehrlichman is like a Dalmatian at the fire; he just can't stay away from them. He liked to know what was happening. Senator INOUYE. In the, St. Louis Post Dispatch of May 14, 1973, there is a report that you attempted to recruit a Department of Interior employee, Mr. Kenneth Tapman, for undercover work at the Democratic Convention. Did you attempt to recruit Mr. Tapman or any others for undercover work and what prior experience did you have in recruiting for undercover work? Mr. DEAN. Well, I can't recall recruiting anybody for undercover work other than I did have a discussion with Mr. Tapman, but I have to put this in context. Mr. Tapman had been with the Department of the Interior for a number of years. He and I had worked very closely with the demonstrators He was with me, during most of the negotiations we had on the major demonstrations. Mr. Tapman wears his hair far longer than I do, he developed an excellent rapport, with many of these people. He also had rapport with the police officials, the, Metropolitan Police and the like, when I was having no relationships at this point in time as we went down toward the planning for the convention with what the reelection committee was going to do, but, I knew that there was going to be, a need for the White House. to be well informed. I suggested that Mr. Tapman might like to do this, because I would be able to have a set of eyes and ears down there of somebody who I thought could assess the circumstances. [00.16.44] Somebody who is unfamiliar with a demonstration, and a lot of people overreacted to demonstrations, would see that, you know, a group was coming down the, street and because one tear gas canister was thrown, they would react that a hydrogen bomb had been thrown. Mr. Tapman was a type who had been probably through more tear gas than anybody other than Chief Wilson himself. I thought Mr. Tapman would serve as ,in excellent source of information for me and I told him that I wanted him, asked him if he, was interested in going down there. I said, you can't be on the White House payroll to do this, quite obviously. Senator INOUYE. Then your answer to this question, did you attempt to recruit Mr. Tapman--- Mr. DEAN. IS yes. Senator INOUYE. [continuing]. Is yes. Mr. DEAN. This was for both conventions, incidentally, I might add. First of all, to go down and get an understanding of what type of demonstrations were occurring at the Democratic Convention, what were the, logistic, problems. I wasn't really familiar with Miami because I hadn't been to the 1968 convention and I didn't know the logistical problems that were confronting us, so I suggested he go, for example, to both and see, how the police handled it and see what the problems were, going to be and the like. [01.18.03-a line of questioning about DEAN'S involvement with the CIA in the COVERUP] Senator INOUYE. This is another very lengthy question: Mr. Dean, you have testified concerning your conversations on three, different occasions with General Vernon Walters, the, Deputy Director of the CIA, beginning on the 26th of June. General Walters prepared a memorandum for the record of each of these conversations 'With you. In General Walters' memorandum record for your meeting with him on June 26, you are reported to have asked General Walters whether there was not some way that the Central Intelligence. Agency could pay bail for the Watergate defendants and if the men went to prison, could CIA find some way to pay their salaries while they were, in jail out of covert action funds. In your testimony, you made no mention of asking General Walters whether the CIA could pay the Watergate defendants defendants' bail or salaries while they were in prison, Was this an intended omission on your part in the interest of saving them or do you deny that, you made these, specific requests of General Walters?