Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 28, 1973 (1/2)
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 28, 1973 (1/2)
[00.04.28-DEAN describes his Sept. 15, 1972 meeting with NIXON] Mr. DEAN. AS I tried to describe in my statement, the reception was very warm and very cordial. There was some preliminary pleasantries, and then the next thing that I recall the President very clearly saying to me is that he had been told by Mr. Haldeman that he had been kept posted or made aware of my handling of the various aspects of the Watergate case and the fact that the case, you know, the indictments had now been handed down, no one in the White House had been indicted, they had stopped at Liddy. [00.05.17-BAKER wants to examine the President's statement more carefully] Senator BAKER. Stop, stop, Stop for one, second. Let's examine those particular words just for a second. That no one in the White House had been indicted. Is that as near to the exact language--I don't know so I am not having a trap for you, I just jut want to know. Mr. DEAN. Yes, there was a reference to the fact the indictments had been handed down and it was quite obvious that no one In the White House had been indicted on the indictments that had been handed down. Senator BAKER. Did he say that, though? Mr. DEAN. Did he say that no one in the White House had been handed down? I can't recall it. I can recall a reference to the, fact that the indictments Were now handed down and he was aware of that and the status of the indictments and expressed What, to me was a pleasure to the fact that it had stopped at Mr. Liddy. Senator BAKER. Tell me What he said. Mr. DEAN. Well, as I say, he told me, I had done a good job--- [00.06.11] Senator BAKER. NO, let's talk about the pleasure, He expressed pleasure the indictments had stopped at Mr. Liddy. Can you just for the purposes of our information tell me the language that he used? Mr. DEAN. Senator, let me make it very clear the pleasure that it had stopped there Is an inference of mine based on, as I told Senator Gurney, the impression I had as a -result of the, of his, complimenting me. Senator BAKER. Can you give us any information, Can you give us any further insight into what the President said? Mr. DEAN. Yes, I can recall he told me that he appreciated how difficult a job it had been for me. Senator BAKER. Is that at close to the exact language? Mr. DEAN. Yes, that is close to the exact language. That stuck very clearly in my mind because I -recall my response to that was that I didn't feel that I could take credit. I thought that others had done much more difficult things and by that I was referring to the fact that Mr. Magruder had perjured himself. [Laughter.] There was not an extended discussion from there as to any more of my involvement. I had been complimented. I told him I couldn't take the credit, and then we moved into a discussion of the status of the case. [00.07.40]