Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, July 10, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, July 10, 1973
[00.19.30-MITCHELL discusses government plans for Domestic Intelligence] I know that Mr. Hoover and Mr. Helms had broken off their liaison that they had established in connection with the CIA and the FBI. There was great interest in finding a vehicle to reestablish that In a meaningful way. and so that basically the implementation of an Interagency Evaluation Commission was to take personnel from the different intelligence-gathering areas. Put them into one room where they Could sort out and exchange ideas and, of course intelligence had. One of the problems that I found in Government was that there was very frequently a great deal of collection of intelligence but the evaluation and dissemination lacked a great deal. [00.20.29] Mr. THOMPSON. Then, was this need for- better coordination because Of problems that the agencies themselves were having internally or was it because of external considerations or both? Mr. MITCHELL. Well. I think I can best answer that to point out, that there were many events that happened in this Country. including the bombing of the Capitol and other such events that, if we had had appropriate intelligence in advance, we might have been able to prohibit it. [00.21.07-MITCHELL expresses paranoia about DEMONSTRATORS] I know that In connection with many Of the large demonstrations, that we had in Washington, while 99 percent of those people who came, came for peaceful protest and I to petition their Government, there was always that lunatic fringe that was bound and determined to thrash the place and cause damage, and if we had had better intelligence in some of these areas, and I am not excluding them to those but in other, areas, but perhaps a great deal of that could have been prevented. That was the basis upon -which the Interagency Evaluation Committee was considered in concept and put into place. [00.21.52-THOMPSON asks MITCHELL about meeting LIDDY and hiring him to the CRP] Mr. THOMPSON. Let us leave that for a moment and invite your attention to the November 24, 1971 meeting which I believe you had With Mr. Liddy and Mr. Dean when 'Mr. Dean brought Mr. Liddy to your office. Mr. MITCHELL. Yes. sir. Mr. THOMPSON. And I believe introduced him to you. I believe your response to questioning this morning was to the effect that at that time you were not aware that Mr. Liddy was to be involved in intelligence activities as such but that later on you understood that he would be. Mr. MITCHELL. No; I don't think that is quite true, Mr. Thompson. What I referred to was the Liddy prospectus about his job description at that time, which was one of the Dean exhibits, had a one-line reference to it in connection with gathering of information of intelligence or whatever it might be. Mr. THOMPSON. Just the one line. Do you recall any discussion about that? Mr. MITCHELL. I don't. As a matter of fact, it is one sentence, not one line. Mr. THOMPSON. Do you have that before you? Mr. MITCHELL. This is exhibit 11 of the bean exhibits. I don't know what committee exhibit it might be. Mr. THOMPSON. And you don't remember any discussion about that at the time? Mr. MITCHELL. No, sir; the meeting didn't last long enough. [00.23.08] Mr. THOMPSON. Did there come a time between that time and January 27 when you became aware, or had a greater understanding as to what his role would be in the intelligence field? [00.23.22] Mr. MITCHELL. Well I might say that. sometime during early December before Liddy was hired by the Committee To Re-Elect the President, Mr. Krogh brought Liddy over, and I may have, been--along with other people to discuss the, Drug Abuse Law Enforcement in which he had been working and which was my knowledge of Mr. Liddy's activities in the White House. I do not recall an any meeting and I am sure the meeting didn't, take place, In, which Liddy's intelligence activities were discussed. It, could very well be that Mr. Magruder, Mr. Dean -who I understand did have meetings during that period with Mr. Liddy may have made, reference to the fact that he was gathering intelligence. [00.24.09] Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Krogh brought him to your office, you say, in December, you think, of that year? Mr. MITCHELL. Yes, sir; I can give you the exact date if you wish. Mr. THOMPSON. DO you recall right off hand whether it was before, or after he -went to the Committee To Re-Elect? Mr. MITCHELL. Well I believe it would have to be before he went to the Committee To Re-Elect because he was working on this DALE program, the drug program. Mr. THOMPSON. All right. Mr. MITCHELL. It is December 9, 1971. And there had been of course, a series of meetings all over the Government including the, White House, the Justice, Department, HEW, and other places preliminary to setting up the Drug Abuse Law Enforcement program. [00.24.54]