Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 28, 1973 (1/2)
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 28, 1973 (1/2)
[00.45.55-DEAN discussing talking points of Feb 27, 1973 meeting with NIXON] "(5) Getting the A.G. back- on the reservation: "A.G. is merely biding his time until he returns to the private sector. "A.G. is extremely loyal to the President and if asked to take, an active concern in these hearings (and their fallout) would do so--Otherwise, he 'will probably do what is best for his own self-interest. "A.G. should be asked to remain in office at least 1 full year from this date (i.e., until hearings have passed) because hearings may well result in request for additional action by DOJ. A.G. can get Henry Petersen-who has the greatest loyalty for the A.G.--to handle sensitive problems with ease. We can't afford bitterness in the DOJ nor can we risk a new A.G. being able to grapple with some of the potential problems." Senator BAKER. Mr. Dean, this was dictated by you? Mr. DEAN. This was as the result of a meeting I had with Mr. Haldeman discussing the agenda. These were matters that had come up in--some of them had come up in LaCosta. I was asked to boil them down into a paper to go in to discuss with the President. Senator BAKER. All right. When was this -paper prepared? Mr. DEAN. This was prepared the 19th or 20th of February of this year. Senator BAKER. All of these things, or at least some of them, never occurred that are dealt with in here. Mr. DEAN. I got a response from each of the points on here. As I will subsequently tell you, there was a subsequent agenda prepared for the meeting between yourself and the President. Senator BAKER. Which one is this? Mr. DEAN. That would be exhibit No. 34-35. Mr. Stans--I was asked to talk to him to see if he was interested in being sent up for a confirmable post and to explore to see if there was any post that he was interested in. He and I discussed it and he didn't have any particular post in mind and didn't particularly want to do it after he gave it some consideration. There was a Presidential decision that Mr. Magruder could not return to the White House staff. There was also a decision by the President that Mr. Buchanan could not be used as an observer spokesman because the President, I was told, felt that Mr. Buchanan was too close to him, had been with him too long, relating back to even pre-1968. Finally, there was a meeting and there is a subsequent agenda I have in the exhibits for the meeting with the Attorney General. [00.48.30] Now, as I say, these all led up to what later occurred in my discussions on the 27th and 28th with the President. Let me turn to the next exhibit. This was again requested by Mr. Haldeman. He said, "Prepare it, do not send it through normal channels because it was to be a totally off the record meeting, between 30 and 45 minutes. Originally there was to be staff, Mr. Dean, or alternatives. It was decided there would be no staff present, so that was crossed out on the record. [00.49.05-DEAN discusses the White House plan to get Sen. BAKER on their side] General description is: Potential Matters for Discussion with Senator Baker. General: Take Baker's pulse and find out bow much he wants to help--keep this from becoming a political circus. Baker can be assured that no one in the White House had any knowledge that there was going to be a break-in and bugging of the DNC. If Baker appears to be truly desirous of cooperating and the fact he, is seeking guidance may so indicate--he might be told that there are matters unrelated to the, bugging incident per se (e.g., Segretti, Kalmbach) that could be embarrassing and tarnish good people whose motives were the highest. Surely he can appreciate that things which occur at the White House have a degree of sensitivity that occur no where else in Government. [00.49.51] 1968 Bugging: Tell Baker that J. Edgar Hoover personally informed the President shortly after taking office that his campaign had been bugged. Presently seeking to obtain documentation and evidence of the 1968 incidents. Appearances of White House Staff Members Before, Senate Committee Statement coming out shortly on the matter of executive privilege. [Draft attached.] [00.50.22]