Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities May 17, 1973 - Testimony of Robert Odle
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities May 17, 1973 - Testimony of Robert Odle
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities May 17, 1973 - Testimony of Robert Odle. United States Senate Caucus Room, Washington, DC
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities May 17, 1973 - Testimony of Robert Odle
Senator ERVIN. Senator Baker, omitted allot of questions he expected to ask, when the witness returned, but since the examinations got a little wilder than the field, why without objection committee I'm going to give Senator Baker an opportunity at this time to ask questions which he intended to ask at the subsequent hearing. Senator BAKER. Senator Montoya hadn't had his turn yet. If he'd like to go ahead for his part I will wait until after that. Senator ERVIN. Senator Montoya, excuse me.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities May 17, 1973 - Testimony of Robert Odle
[wide shot of Committee table] Senator JOSEPH MONTOYA. (D-NM) [close shot Sen. Montoya] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Odle, by way of preliminary foundation, will you give us your entire job classification and duties which you performed as head of the administration and personnel? Mr. ODLE. Yes, sir. I was basically in charge of office management and that would include procurement of office space, assignment of office space, procurement and assignment of office supplies, installations of office equipment, to desks, furniture, telephones, switchboards, um all of the kinds of things that you would expect one to do in the capacity of office manager. In terms of personnel, I was partially responsible for hiring and firing, particularly at the lower levels, secretarial recruitment was one of my key jobs, finding secretaries. Senator MONTOYA. Would that include the hiring of secretaries for the directors? Mr. ODLE. If they requested a secretary, yes. Senator MONTOYA. Did you hire any secretaries for any of the directors? Mr. ODLE. What, by do you mean? do, do (stutters) Senator MONTOYA. For instance, Mr. Liddy. Mr. ODLE. Yeah, I did not. Somebody in our operation found, I believe, Mrs. Harmony and she was hired as Mr. Liddy's secretary after Mr. Liddy interviewed her. Senator MONTOYA. Did you arrange for the interview? Mr. ODLE. No. Senator MONTOYA. What about Jeb Magruder's secretary? Mr. ODLE. No, they came with him from the White House. Senator MONTOYA. Did you arrange for the allocation of space? Mr. ODLE. Yes. Senator MONTOYA. Now please explain how much space you had at that particular building and was the entire operation under the roof of one building? Mr. ODLE. At what point in time Senator? in the height of the campaign? Senator MONTOYA. Let us say from the time that Mr. Mitchell went onboard as campaign director. Mr. ODLE. We had a suite on the second floor, we had a suite on the fourth floor. The campaign director had a suite on the fourth floor, We later, after Mr. Mitchell came aboard took the entire third floor, we took the suite on the fifth floor, the suite on the eighth, the suite on the ninth and suite on the 11th. Senator MONTOYA. Now, when you speak of suites do you mean the entire floor? Mr. ODLE. No, sir, we only had one entire floor in that building and everything and that was the third. We had suites from as many as five private offices, say to 25. That is what I mean when I say a suite. Senator MONTOYA. Now where did you have the file room? Mr. ODLE. The what? Senator MONTOYA. Where did you have the file room? The file room. Mr. ODLE. I don't believe we had a file room, sir. Senator MONTOYA. Did you have files in different offices? Mr. ODLE. Yes, sir. Senator MONTOYA. Now, when you speak of files which you made available to the FBI, why were you called upon to make these files available? Mr. ODLE. Um, the subpoenas from the FBI, were directed to Clark MacGregor or his authorized representative, and Maurice Stans or his authorized representative. I turned out to be the authorized representative. In addition to that, I was the administrative person at the committee, the administrative officer and it was sort of natural since I knew the building fairly well and knew the people fairly well, that I would be asked to assume that role.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities May 17, 1973 - Testimony of Robert Odle
Senator MONTOYA. Did you have keys to all these files? Mr. ODLE. No. Senator MONTOYA. Did you have keys to the files which you opened for the FBI? Mr. ODLE. No. Senator MONTOYA. How did you get those keys? Mr. ODLE. I didn't necessarily open all the files. What I would do is I, they would ask for certain kinds of information and I would go to the people who had custody of that information and with them try to find it. Senator MONTOYA. Alright, who had custody on that occasion? Mr. ODLE. Well, many of the files they wanted were financial in nature, so the custody was maintained by the finance committee and I went to the people in the finance committee to get those files. Senator MONTOYA. Well, let us go to Mr. Magruders desk, you stated that you opened his desk pursuant to a telephone call. Mr. ODLE. Oh, no sir, I did not. I never had a key to Mr. Magruders desk, I no I did not open his desk. Senator MONTOYA. Well, who's files did you take from who's desk and took them home? Mr. ODLE. Mr. Magruders, but that file drawer, that desk drawer in his desk had been opened by Mr. Reisner I assume. Senator MONTOYA. So, was that desk opened most of the time? Mr. ODLE. No, I don't believe it was. It probably was when he was there. Senator MONTOYA. Well, how do you know that it was opened by Mr. Reisner? Mr. ODLE. I don't, I said I suppose. I know I didn't open it because I don't have a key. Senator MONTOYA. Did you have keys on some of the file cabinets? Mr. ODLE. I had keys to my own file cabinets. Senator MONTOYA. Did the others? Mr. ODLE. Other people would have keys to their file cabinets, yes. Senator MONTOYA. Where were the secret documents filed and in whose office? Mr. ODLE. Sir, I didn't know that there were secret documents. Senator MONTOYA. You did procure a secret document for the FBI didn't you? Mr. ODLE. No, no they wanted things.... Senator MONTOYA. There were certain documents, stated documents and you were told where those documents were. Mr. ODLE. They asked me to produce certain documents as the senate committee has done, and I went around and tried to find them for them. Senator MONTOYA. Well, then you had availability to most of the files if you went... Mr. ODLE. I went to the people who had custody of the files and asked them if I might have, if they did have this. Senator MONTOYA. Alright, alright. Now, what kind of arrangement did you have with Mr. McCord and what was his job classification? Mr. ODLE. Mr. McCord was hired as the security consultant to the committee, beginning in October of 1971, he was part-time. And he was to be a part-time security consultant, he then became... Senator MONTOYA. What did you conceive to be his duty as security consultant? Mr. ODLE. Um, in the broad range from the time that he began until, well he would have of course ya know, stayed on, a number of areas. To go through them, the physical security of the building, we were concerned..... Senator MONTOYA. Was that his prime duty? Mr. ODLE. Oh, it was his only duty. Senator MONTOYA. Alright. Mr. ODLE. The physical security of the building and the people in it.