Richard Helms (Full) Watergate Hearings Testimony — Transcript
Full transcript
- 0:04[Music]
- 0:12now since you spent so much time as
- 0:15director of CIA the agency what
- 0:21recommendations can you make to this
- 0:23committee concerning new legislation to
- 0:26help prevent the misuse of the Central
- 0:29Intelligence Agency for political or
- 0:31other purposes other than the assigned
- 0:33purposes delineated in the act
- 0:35well senator Montoya I don't know how I
- 0:38legislates these matters I've never
- 0:41understood how morality and the proper
- 0:44conduct and the decency can be
- 0:46legislated about the in Washington over
- 0:52the years there have been many occasions
- 0:55when various people have tried to
- 0:57manipulate some organization or another
- 1:00in an improper way this is not new to us
- 1:04we read about in the papers constantly
- 1:06but how you legislate about this I swear
- 1:08to you sir I don't know in the Senate of
- 1:14the United States a resolution to
- 1:16establish a Select Committee of the
- 1:18Senate to conduct an investigation and
- 1:20study of the extent if any to which
- 1:22illegal improper or unethical activities
- 1:25were engaged in by any persons acting
- 1:28individually or in combination with
- 1:30others in the presidential election of
- 1:321972 or any campaign canvass or other
- 1:35activity related to it from Washington
- 1:38NPAC brings you gavel-to-gavel
- 1:40videotaped coverage of today's hearings
- 1:42by the Senate Select Committee and
- 1:44presidential campaign activities here is
- 1:47impact senior correspondent Robert
- 1:49MacNeil good evening the Watergate
- 1:52committee heard today from two former
- 1:54senior officials of the Central
- 1:56Intelligence Agency about how it helped
- 1:58Watergate burglary Howard hunt at the
- 2:00request of the White House the request a
- 2:03year before the Watergate break-in came
- 2:05from John Ehrlichman when hunt was
- 2:07working for the White House plumbers
- 2:08group former CIA director Richard Helms
- 2:11vehemently denied today
- 2:13that the agency had any part in the
- 2:15Watergate and said he was puzzled why it
- 2:17was so difficult to get that message
- 2:19across to acting FBI director gray just
- 2:22after the Watergate break-in but Helms
- 2:24did disclose today that one of the
- 2:27Watergate burglars Eugenio Martinez was
- 2:29on the CIA payroll at the time of
- 2:32Watergate and was hastily dropped Helms
- 2:34former deputy Robert Cushman
- 2:36now the general commanding the Marine
- 2:38Corps described supplying hunt with
- 2:40equipment and cues including a disguise
- 2:42and false papers in the summer of 1971
- 2:45for a secret White House project after
- 2:48being us by John Ehrlichman for health
- 2:50Cushman also recounted his troubles
- 2:52earlier this winter when Ehrlichman said
- 2:54he couldn't remember ever making such a
- 2:56request Cushman today confirmed that he
- 2:59did outside the hearings convicted
- 3:01Watergate conspirator James McCord today
- 3:04charged that the FBI followed special
- 3:06procedures in the Watergate
- 3:07investigation that slowed down the probe
- 3:10McCord says in a newspaper article that
- 3:12the FBI was required to clear all
- 3:14important leads with the Justice
- 3:16Department before following them up if
- 3:18this hadn't been the case says McCourt
- 3:20and if agents had searched his home and
- 3:21car soon after his arrest they would
- 3:24come they would have come up with
- 3:25$18,000 and hundred dollar bills and
- 3:27enough other clues to have broken the
- 3:29case wide open
- 3:30alright some of the side lights that
- 3:33come out of these hearings are as
- 3:34interesting as revelations of major
- 3:36developments today such a topic was what
- 3:38spies talk about and casual conversation
- 3:41impacts Peter Kerr reports that it is
- 3:43nothing cryptic have you ever wondered
- 3:46what real spies talk about well here's
- 3:48part of a conversation tape recorded
- 3:50July 22nd 1971 when ace White House
- 3:54sleuth a Howard hunt went down to the
- 3:56CIA to meet deputy director Robert H
- 3:58Cushman for the first time hunt I've
- 4:01been charged with quite a highly
- 4:03sensitive mission by the White House to
- 4:04visit and elicit information from an
- 4:06individual whose ideology we aren't
- 4:09entirely sure of they asked me to come
- 4:11over here and see if he could get me two
- 4:12things
- 4:13flash documentation and some degree of
- 4:16physical disguise general Cushman I
- 4:19don't see why not and a little bit later
- 4:21in the Congress
- 4:22Hut if you pardon my saying so you seem
- 4:25to have lost a little weight
- 4:26general Cushman yes I've taken some off
- 4:29I sort of go up and down when I go down
- 4:32it's because I go on the wagon and don't
- 4:33eat very much at all and that is hell to
- 4:35pay when you're being entertained and
- 4:37going to embassies and dinners but it's
- 4:39the only way I can lose weight is to be
- 4:40miserable really miserable then a little
- 4:44later in the conversation between hunt
- 4:46and general Cushman hunt says if I'm
- 4:50going to put on a physical disguise it's
- 4:51going to stick I wouldn't want to be
- 4:53seen walking out of here I'm sure
- 4:55they've got safe facilities downtown
- 4:56Cushman the police I used to meet people
- 4:59with an office building right near the
- 5:01Press Club there used to be a nightclub
- 5:03on the second floor and we used to meet
- 5:04people up there
- 5:05I had a gal who thought it was just lots
- 5:07of fun to be in this business she used
- 5:10to have me meeting people out on the dam
- 5:11park benches and all this stuff and I'd
- 5:14give her hell if necessary
- 5:15end of conversation now the transcript
- 5:18of this which was recorded by general
- 5:20Cushman incidentally also had the
- 5:22embarrassing revelation that the meeting
- 5:24with hunt was set up by John Ehrlichman
- 5:26of the White House staff a fact that
- 5:28Cushman really couldn't seem to recall
- 5:30during a series of flip-flop memos and
- 5:32testimony earlier this year all right
- 5:36tomorrow Peter reports the major witness
- 5:38will be former acting FBI director al
- 5:40Patrick gray who will start things off
- 5:42with a 40 page statement that's very
- 5:44critical of the White House
- 5:46presumably he will also be asked about
- 5:48the new McCord charges at the close of
- 5:51tonight's broadcast we'll have an
- 5:52interview with Dick Cavett who's just
- 5:54completed a program with four committee
- 5:56members to help you watch the
- 5:58intervening hours here is impacts
- 6:00nightly viewing guide in our number one
- 6:03former CIA director Helms says he felt
- 6:06obliged by law to help with a
- 6:07psychological profile on Daniel Ellsberg
- 6:10he suggests that law dealing with
- 6:12government leaks be changed Elm says
- 6:14that when John Dean put out feelers
- 6:16about using CIA funds he issued orders
- 6:19to general Walters that he do absolutely
- 6:21nothing to hurt the CIA's reputation in
- 6:24our number two Helms admits that one
- 6:26Watergate burglar Martinez was getting a
- 6:29CI a monthly retainer to keep an eye on
- 6:31escapees from Cuba
- 6:33Helms also says he bought when Howard
- 6:35hunt issued a request for the use of a
- 6:37CIA secretary located in Paris in the
- 6:40third hour Helms describes his
- 6:42resistance to John Dean's inquiries
- 6:44about using the CIA to pay bail money
- 6:46and salaries for Watergate defendants
- 6:48asked why he didn't probe the
- 6:50involvement of former CIA employees in
- 6:52Watergate Helms says his office turned
- 6:54everything it learned over to the FBI in
- 6:57the fourth hour the former deputy
- 6:59director of the CIA general Robert
- 7:01Cushman details Howard hunts request for
- 7:03false identification papers for gordon
- 7:05Liddy also in that hour he says he
- 7:08complained to John Ehrlichman about
- 7:09Hunt's request in Ehrlichman said he
- 7:11would restrain hunt in the fifth hour
- 7:13Cushman testifies that Howard hunt
- 7:15wanted a camera in a tobacco pouch for
- 7:18use on a new assignment and in that hour
- 7:20Cushman admits that the profile of
- 7:22Daniel Ellsberg was the only one done on
- 7:24an American that he can recall in his
- 7:26three years at the CIA now to Senator
- 7:29Ervin his gavel and today's proceedings
- 7:57committee will come to order
- 7:59I am constrained to make some remarks
- 8:05concerning a member of this committee
- 8:08senator Danny in no way of Hawaii
- 8:14senator Inouye is often an American made
- 8:21it born American of Japanese ancestry I
- 8:25don't know a fine American he showed his
- 8:33devotion to our country by fighting on
- 8:37this flag not only for the livers of our
- 8:41country but for the liberties of the
- 8:42free world
- 8:43in the Second World War he suffered of
- 8:48severe wounds which necessitated the
- 8:54amputation of his right arm he was
- 8:58decorated with the Distinguished Service
- 9:00Cross for extraordinary heroism in
- 9:04action with an armed enemy of the United
- 9:07States and I and he's proved himself in
- 9:13that a lot of days as one of the most
- 9:17dedicated Americans this country has
- 9:19ever known and I feel that the events of
- 9:24yesterday make it appropriate for me to
- 9:27make these remarks concerning a member
- 9:31of this committee who has proved himself
- 9:33was one of the most gallant of all
- 9:36Americans in the history of this
- 9:38Republic mr. chairman senator Baker was
- 9:43chairman may I say that I've known Danny
- 9:45Inouye since I've been in the Senate and
- 9:47there's no man I think is more loyal and
- 9:50dedicated to his country I don't know of
- 9:53anyone on this committee who's made a
- 9:54greater contribution to its efforts than
- 9:58senator no way I have a great affection
- 10:01for him as well as a great admiration
- 10:03for him
- 10:05we are in a tension filled atmosphere
- 10:10and it's unfortunate that things of this
- 10:12sort of curve I think a mark Center
- 10:16knows greatness is that I'm sure it will
- 10:19not affect his other consideration of
- 10:23the matters that are brought to our
- 10:24attention I'm sorry that the events of
- 10:28the last several days have occurred open
- 10:33think that it would not affect the
- 10:35objectivity and the efficiency and the
- 10:38effectiveness of this committee and I
- 10:41commend you mr. chairman for bringing
- 10:44that matter to the attention of the
- 10:47official record and I believe now it's
- 10:50behind us and we can get on with the
- 10:52business at hand thank you sir
- 10:55no further comments the council will
- 10:58call the first witness
- 11:00former director hounds
- 11:07you swear that the evidence you shall
- 11:10give to the Senate Select Committee on
- 11:12presidential campaign activity shall be
- 11:14the truth the whole truth and nothing
- 11:15but the truth so help you God I do you
- 11:20might state your full name and present
- 11:23address for the purposes of the record
- 11:27my name is Richard Helms and I'm
- 11:31presently ambassador to Iran resident in
- 11:35Tehran
- 13:03I should have addressed you as
- 13:06ambassador Helms and mr. chairman the
- 13:10ambassador Helms will be questioned
- 13:13initially by mr. dated dorsen assistant
- 13:15chief counsel pastor Helms how long have
- 13:26you held your present position I've been
- 13:29in Tehran since the middle of March of
- 13:32this year and prior to that were you the
- 13:36director of the Central Intelligence
- 13:37Agency yes I was the director of Central
- 13:40Intelligence was my title how long were
- 13:47you a director approximately six and a
- 13:49half years I believe the I was sworn in
- 13:52on June the 30th 1966 and I left office
- 13:56when mr. Schlesinger became director on
- 14:00the 2nd of February 1973 how long did
- 14:05you how long have you been a were you
- 14:08with the Central Intelligence Agency
- 14:10from the day at stores opened in 1947
- 14:14did you learn ambassador Helms in July
- 14:18of 1971 that E Howard hunt had been made
- 14:23a consultant to the White House I was
- 14:27informed of this and you recall how you
- 14:30were informed not specifically any
- 14:32longer I just I remember being told that
- 14:35he had gone to work for the White House
- 14:37but precisely under what circumstances I
- 14:39was told and on what specific date I do
- 14:41not recall did you have a conversation
- 14:44with general Cushman concerning Howard
- 14:47hunt in the summer of 1971 yes I recall
- 14:51that the general Cushman informed me
- 14:54that he had authorized giving the Howard
- 14:58hunt a tape recorder and a camera and I
- 15:04asked for what purpose and he said he
- 15:06wanted to conduct a one-time interview
- 15:08and that he'd been properly
- 15:10by the White House and that they were
- 15:12that he was working at their behest what
- 15:15how long have you known Howard hunt oh
- 15:20I've known him over the years when he
- 15:21worked for the agency and you recall
- 15:24approximately how long he worked for the
- 15:25agency
- 15:26or he must have worked for almost oh
- 15:28somewhere over 15 years anyway and what
- 15:32was general Cushman's position at that
- 15:34time in July of 71 that's correct
- 15:38he was the Deputy Director of Central
- 15:40Intelligence to your knowledge was the
- 15:45tape recorder and the camera given to
- 15:49mr. hunt I was informed that it was and
- 15:51my preoccupation at the time was to find
- 15:53out whether this was these were normal
- 15:56pieces of equipment and by normal I mean
- 15:59simply available in any store in
- 16:00downtown Washington who carried this
- 16:02kind of equipment or whether there was
- 16:04something tricky about him and I was
- 16:05assured they're perfectly routine and
- 16:07straightforward pieces of equipment I
- 16:09might say parenthetically that were in
- 16:12the last couple of days and talking with
- 16:15some of the gentlemen a special
- 16:17prosecutor Cox's office but some
- 16:19memorandum there about a clandestine
- 16:21camera having been given to our time I
- 16:24frankly sir don't know what a
- 16:25clandestine camera is the camera takes
- 16:27pictures or it doesn't that's all of
- 16:29those well could you describe the camera
- 16:32a little bit more ambassador I've never
- 16:34seen it do you know whether it was a
- 16:36camera that was concealed in some way
- 16:37I've been told it was put in a tobacco
- 16:40pouch carried in a tobacco pouch will
- 16:46you advised of any further requests by
- 16:48mr. hunter for assistance subsequent to
- 16:51this conversation of which I've just
- 16:54been speaking I learned I believe in a
- 16:57memorandum that mr. hunt had asked to
- 17:00have a secretary who was stationed with
- 17:04the CIA in Paris brought back from Paris
- 17:08and assigned to him in the White House
- 17:10he also wanted this to be done secretly
- 17:13and he didn't want anybody
- 17:15know about it that to me was
- 17:17unacceptable I saw no reason for this it
- 17:21seemed to me that the agency was being
- 17:23used it was being asked to have somebody
- 17:25brought back from parents and the signs
- 17:27of a man doing unidentified chores at
- 17:31the White House so I got a hold of
- 17:33general Cushman and told him that I
- 17:35thought this was totally unacceptable I
- 17:37wouldn't stand for it
- 17:40I don't recall whether it was then or a
- 17:42few days later but at some point the
- 17:46various additional requests which Hunt
- 17:48was making of the agency seemed to be
- 17:50totally unacceptable and I asked general
- 17:52Cushman to call mr. Ehrlichman and tell
- 17:55him that we just weren't going to do
- 17:56this anymore
- 18:00mr. ambassador Helms I'm advised there's
- 18:03some trouble hearing you to the rear of
- 18:04the room perhaps if you could bring the
- 18:06microphone a little bit closer to you
- 18:07this would be the story of my life and
- 18:10Senate committees I don't know whether I
- 18:12don't raise my voice high enough for
- 18:13what but or maybe I'm not speaking into
- 18:15the microphone now you've indicated that
- 18:21in your conversation with general
- 18:22Cushman that you indicated to mr.
- 18:26general Cushman that John Ehrlichman
- 18:30should be called why was it that John
- 18:33Ehrlichman was to be called because it
- 18:34was my distinct impression that he was
- 18:36the one who had arranged with general
- 18:37Cushman to have hunt get these pieces of
- 18:40equipment
- 18:47ambassador Helms won for the first time
- 18:50did you learn of the burglary of dr.
- 18:53Lewis Fielding's office that is dr.
- 18:56Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrists office
- 18:59I forget which weekend in May it was I
- 19:02think the second weekend of May this
- 19:04year 1973 I was in Shiraz and I picked
- 19:09up on Sunday an english-language
- 19:11newspaper and saw on the front page of
- 19:16it that had been a burglary of an office
- 19:18of a psychiatrist in California and the
- 19:22burglary had been done is said in the
- 19:24newspaper story with the assistance of
- 19:26CIA equipment that was the first time
- 19:28I'd ever heard of dr. feeling and a
- 19:30burglary or the fact that dr. Ellsberg
- 19:32had a psychiatrist I do know Bureau
- 19:38knowledge whether any equipment was used
- 19:40in the burglary that was the property of
- 19:42the CIA I've been assured by members of
- 19:47the agency and this assurance was given
- 19:49me when I was back here in May
- 19:51testifying before four other
- 19:52congressional committees that the
- 19:56equipment that was given to hunt was not
- 19:59used in the burglary of dr. Ellsberg's
- 20:01office that actually mr. hunt was
- 20:03physically not at the office he was
- 20:06staked out of dr. ELLs at the dr.
- 20:08Fielding's residence and that since he
- 20:12wasn't given any burglary equipment by
- 20:14the agency I've always wondered how it
- 20:16was that he used that equipment in the
- 20:20break-in so this is one of the things
- 20:23that seems to have been perpetuated is
- 20:25one of the myths around here that he
- 20:26somehow got burglary equipment from the
- 20:28agency which helped him break into
- 20:29places and I'm not aware of any burglary
- 20:32equipment he ever got from the agency
- 20:35ambassador Helms during the summer of
- 20:381971 did you learn of a request by a
- 20:42member of the White House staff for the
- 20:45Central Intelligence Agency to do a
- 20:48psychological or psychiatric profile of
- 20:50dr. Ellsberg yes I was familiar with
- 20:53request some time before this mr. David
- 20:58Young who was one of the assistants at
- 21:02the White House had originally been on
- 21:04dr. Kissinger staff informed me that he
- 21:08was being transferred to mr. Ehrlichman
- 21:09staff in other words he was going to
- 21:11work for mr. Ehrlichman and that he'd
- 21:13been given some duties in connection
- 21:16with general security procedures in the
- 21:18government classification of documents
- 21:21investigation of leaks and such of other
- 21:24such matters subsequent to that he
- 21:28called me and said that he wanted to get
- 21:30into these things he wanted to find out
- 21:32how the agency and the intelligence
- 21:34community handled a classification of
- 21:36documents and other security procedures
- 21:39I said I thought under the circumstances
- 21:41the best thing for me to do would be to
- 21:43put him in touch with the agency's
- 21:45director of security a gentleman named
- 21:47Howard Osborne who would then be able to
- 21:50talk with him and be as responsive to
- 21:53his requests as the agency could be it
- 21:57was apparently to mr. Osborn that mr.
- 22:00Young originally made the request for a
- 22:02profile on dr. Ellsberg mr. Osborne and
- 22:06brought this request to me sued me
- 22:10ambassador could you briefly summarize
- 22:12at the present time what this profile is
- 22:16there had been well I guess I'm sort of
- 22:24searching for a word here but in any
- 22:26event over a period of some years the
- 22:29agency had developed a technique for
- 22:33putting together a lot of information
- 22:35about a foreigner maybe a foreign
- 22:37statesman or a fire
- 22:38dignitary and then attempting to analyze
- 22:42what sort of a human being he was these
- 22:46things were called variously I think
- 22:48psychological profile is as good a title
- 22:51as any psychological study the idea was
- 22:54to give insights and to what motivated
- 22:56some of these individuals why they did
- 22:59things the way they did and so forth
- 23:02David Young knew that the agency before
- 23:06wrote papers such as this because he had
- 23:09seen them when he was on dr. Kissinger
- 23:10staff so he then said that he wanted the
- 23:17agency to do this and I remonstrated
- 23:19with him I said we have nothing we know
- 23:21nothing about dr. Ellsberg I've never
- 23:23laid eyes on him in my life we have no
- 23:25records on him we know nothing about him
- 23:27and I think this is an imposition to ask
- 23:29us to do this he pled with me he said
- 23:33that this was very important that the
- 23:35White House was very much interested in
- 23:38getting this material sorted out but mr.
- 23:41Ehrlichman regardless of highest
- 23:43priority so to dr. Kissinger that we
- 23:47should help that we were the only ones
- 23:49they knew in town who did things of this
- 23:50kind and that practice of doing them and
- 23:53that please would we do so I want to say
- 23:59here that the agency has a charge under
- 24:03the statute of or the National Security
- 24:06Act of 1947 which makes the director
- 24:10responsible for the protection of
- 24:13intelligence sources and methods from
- 24:15unauthorized disclosure that's written
- 24:17into the law and this is a charge has
- 24:20been on the director since 1947 and it's
- 24:23been a very difficult charge because
- 24:25finding out how leaks occur and how the
- 24:27enemy gets privileged information things
- 24:29of that kind is very difficult to do
- 24:31without having an investigative staff
- 24:33and the agency never has had
- 24:35negative staff for this these purposes
- 24:37and therefore this business about leaks
- 24:40and investigations thereof has been a
- 24:43very difficult if not impossible charge
- 24:45to carry out and when I was testifying
- 24:48before the Senate Foreign Relations
- 24:49Committee back in May in response to a
- 24:53question from Senator Hubert Humphrey I
- 24:55suggested that this language in the law
- 24:57either be taken out or amended in such a
- 24:59way that it was a fair charge on the
- 25:01director rather than what I thought was
- 25:03an unfair charge but it was that charge
- 25:05which gave him the leverage to rather
- 25:09oblige me to go along with an effort to
- 25:11make this profile did the staff of the
- 25:15Central Intelligence Agency they're apt
- 25:18to prepare such a profile yes they did
- 25:20and was it forwarded to mr. young I
- 25:24understand that it was forwarded to mr.
- 25:26young that it was found to be
- 25:27unsatisfactory that mr. Young
- 25:30remonstrated with the people who had
- 25:31written it about the fact that it was
- 25:33unsatisfactory I believe it was I've
- 25:35learned since that it was pointed out to
- 25:37them that more material was going to
- 25:40have to be provided otherwise they
- 25:42couldn't do any better than they've done
- 25:43already mr. Young said all right I will
- 25:46try and get you some more material which
- 25:48I believe he did so that the second
- 25:51profile was written and was the second
- 25:54profile or delivered to mr. young also I
- 25:56believe in other words this is the
- 25:58second version I think that's better
- 26:00English and did you have a conversation
- 26:02with mr. Young in connection with the
- 26:05delivery of the second profile to him
- 26:07yes as a matter of fact I did call him
- 26:10and I told him that the psychologists
- 26:13and psychiatrists who worked on this
- 26:15were very disturbed about the whole
- 26:16exercise they didn't feel that the
- 26:19material they've been given was adequate
- 26:20that they were being put in an unfair
- 26:22position that they didn't want their
- 26:24professional reputations put on the line
- 26:27as a result of this kind of an exercise
- 26:29and that if he was insisting on having
- 26:32this then I want his understanding and
- 26:34his undertaking but he would not
- 26:35identify it with the agency and put
- 26:38these fellows in jeopardy
- 26:42put these fellows professional
- 26:44reputation in jeopardy which is a during
- 26:48the period that the two profiles were
- 26:51prepared which I believe was took us
- 26:53into early November of 1971 what was
- 27:00your understanding as to the identity of
- 27:02the persons over at the White House who
- 27:04were involved in requesting and the
- 27:07profile and providing information to the
- 27:10agency for the profile I never heard of
- 27:15anybody being connected with this
- 27:17exercise except mr. David Young and when
- 27:20I returned here in May of this year 1973
- 27:23I was informed at the agency that during
- 27:27this period that this psychologists have
- 27:30been consulting with David Young at the
- 27:32White House that Howard could have been
- 27:33present on one occasion anyway and that
- 27:36he had specifically asked them not to
- 27:38inform me that he had been present they
- 27:40certainly did not inform me so I was
- 27:42totally unaware of his identification
- 27:44with this exercise many for him whatever
- 27:45and the first time you heard about his
- 27:48participation was in May of 1973 that is
- 27:51correct to the best of your knowledge
- 27:54Lasseter Hellmann's was any of the
- 27:56material that was used in the
- 27:59preparation of the psychological profile
- 28:03derived from the office of the
- 28:04psychiatrist of dr. Daniel Ellsberg or
- 28:07from any other illegal or improper
- 28:09source I have never heard that alleged
- 28:15bastard Holmes had liked now to direct
- 28:17our attention to June of 1972 and ask
- 28:21you when for the first time did you hear
- 28:23of the break-in of the Democratic
- 28:27National Committee headquarters at the
- 28:28Watergate it's my impression that I
- 28:31heard about it read about it the
- 28:33newspapers or heard it on the radio but
- 28:36[Music]
- 28:42this is not an elapse of memory this is
- 28:44just one of those things that this far
- 28:47this far back it's hard to know just
- 28:49exactly who might have told me or how I
- 28:51might have heard it certainly it was big
- 28:54news from the moment it happened and
- 28:56during the days immediately following
- 28:58the break-in were there conversations at
- 29:00the CIA concerning the break end as in
- 29:04the first place
- 29:06sometime on that weekend I received a
- 29:08telephone call from mr. Howard Osman the
- 29:11director of security to inform me that
- 29:14of the names of the individuals who had
- 29:17participated in the break-in and also to
- 29:20say that mr. hunt in some fashion was
- 29:23connected with it
- 29:25mr. Osmonds call to me was a perfectly
- 29:27routine matter that there was a a charge
- 29:33on him as director of security to inform
- 29:35me whenever anybody in the agency got in
- 29:37any kind of trouble with their present
- 29:39employees or past employees in other
- 29:41words right now so that I didn't have to
- 29:45catch up with these events like suicides
- 29:47and house break-ins and rapes and the
- 29:49various things that happened to the
- 29:51employees of any organization in the
- 29:52city like Washington so this is a
- 29:54perfectly routine thing and when he
- 29:56heard about these xci people who had
- 29:58abroad involved in this burglary he
- 30:00called me up and notified me about it on
- 30:03Monday when I came to the office that
- 30:07been no mention in the papers of mr.
- 30:09hunt so I got a hold of mr. Hoffman and
- 30:11said how come you told me that mr. hunt
- 30:12was involved with this and he said well
- 30:15there were some papers found in the
- 30:16hotel rule or one of the
- 30:18rumors Hunt's name on it and it looks as
- 30:20though he was somewhere in the area when
- 30:22they break in took place so I said all
- 30:24right and then from then on obviously
- 30:28there were various conversations in the
- 30:30agency as we went to work on various
- 30:32requests from the FBI for information
- 30:34about the people in their background and
- 30:36so forth and it formerly been employed
- 30:38by the agency am I correct that James
- 30:40McCord also was a former employee of the
- 30:42agency was and when did mr. McCord and
- 30:45Mr Hunt leave the employ of the agency
- 30:48they they left it at different times in
- 30:521970 they were both retired as I recall
- 30:56it now directing your attention to June
- 31:0322nd 1972 which was the day before your
- 31:09meeting with mr. Ehrlichman mr. Haldeman
- 31:12and general Walters at the White House
- 31:13did you have a conversation with Patrick
- 31:16gray on that afternoon namely the
- 31:18afternoon of June 22nd I believe that
- 31:21the committee is in possession of a
- 31:22memorandum which says that our
- 31:24memorandum or a note from mr. gray that
- 31:26says I had this conversation I have no
- 31:28reason to question that at all I was
- 31:30talking back and forth mr. gray at
- 31:32various times in connection with this
- 31:35Watergate break-in so I have no reason
- 31:38to doubt that there was one on the 22nd
- 31:40of June in these conversations did you
- 31:42discuss the possibility of CIA
- 31:45involvement in the break-in I assured
- 31:47was degre that the CIA had no
- 31:49involvement in the break-in no
- 31:51involvement whatever and it was my
- 31:54preoccupation consistently from then to
- 31:56this time to make this point and to be
- 31:59sure that everybody understands that it
- 32:01doesn't seem to get across very well for
- 32:03some reason but the agency had nothing
- 32:05to do with a Watergate break-in I hope
- 32:08all the newspaper men in the room hear
- 32:10me clearly
- 32:11now ambassador Helms I'd like to move
- 32:16that into the June 23rd 1972 and ask you
- 32:20if you recall attending the meeting with
- 32:23mr. Ehrlichman mr. Haldeman and general
- 32:27Walters I do recall it
- 32:29where was that meeting held that meeting
- 32:31was held in mr. Ehrlich goons office on
- 32:33the second floor of the East Wing West
- 32:38Wing of the White House do you recall
- 32:40the time of that meeting the meeting was
- 32:42had been originally scheduled for twelve
- 32:43o'clock it was changed to one o'clock
- 32:45and it took place shortly after 1:00
- 32:47o'clock could you please describe to us
- 32:51in substance what happens at that
- 32:53meeting general Walters and I arrived
- 32:57first and waited for a few minutes and
- 33:02mr. Haldeman and mr. Ehrlichman came
- 33:05into the room as best I can recall what
- 33:10was said and mr. Holabird did most of
- 33:13the talking so and whatever mr.
- 33:17Ehrlichman contributed in the course of
- 33:18this was either but not as had heard a
- 33:20smile or to agree with what mr. Haldeman
- 33:22said I just simply want to introduce it
- 33:25this way because then it's a little bit
- 33:26easier for me to describe mr. Haldeman
- 33:30said that the was a lot of flack about
- 33:34the Watergate burglary that the
- 33:37opposition was capitalizing on it that
- 33:42it was going to it was apparently
- 33:45causing some sort of unidentified
- 33:47trouble and he wanted to know whether
- 33:51the agency had anything to do with it I
- 33:53assured him that the agency had nothing
- 33:55to do with it
- 33:57he then said that the five men who had
- 34:01been found in the Democratic National
- 34:02Committee headquarters have been
- 34:04arrested that seemed to be adequate
- 34:07under the circumstances that the FBI was
- 34:10investigating what this was all about
- 34:13and that they unidentified were
- 34:20concerned about some FBI investigations
- 34:23in Mexico he also at that time made some
- 34:28what to me was an incoherent reference
- 34:31to an investigation of Mexico or
- 34:34investigation running into the Bay of
- 34:36Pigs I don't know what the reference was
- 34:39alleged to be but in any event I assured
- 34:42him that I have no interest in the Bay
- 34:44of Pigs that many years later that
- 34:45everything in connection without it been
- 34:47dealt with or liquidated as far as I was
- 34:49aware and I didn't care what they ran
- 34:52into in connection with that at some
- 34:58juncture in this conversation mr. hollom
- 35:01and then said that something the effect
- 35:03has been decided that the general
- 35:05Walters will go and talk to acting
- 35:07director grey of the FBI and indicate to
- 35:12him that these operations or these
- 35:14investigations of the FBI might run into
- 35:16CIA operations in Mexico and that it was
- 35:20desirable that the this not happened and
- 35:24that the investigation therefore should
- 35:26be either tapered off or reduced or
- 35:29something but there was no language
- 35:32saying stopped as far as I recall at
- 35:37this point the references to Mexico were
- 35:42quite unclear to me I had to recognize
- 35:46that if the White House the president
- 35:49mr. Haldeman somebody in high authority
- 35:51and information about something in
- 35:54Mexico which I did not have information
- 35:56about which is quite possible the White
- 35:58House constantly as the information
- 35:59which others don't have but it would be
- 36:01a prudent thing for me to find out if
- 36:03there was any possibility that some CIA
- 36:05operation was being was going to be
- 36:08affected and therefore I wanted the
- 36:11necessary time to do this I say this an
- 36:14explanation of the fact that it seems
- 36:16that since I had consistently pointed
- 36:21out that no CIA operations have been
- 36:24violated by any investigation up to then
- 36:26that
- 36:27had nothing to do with the Watergate
- 36:28burglary the fact of the matter was that
- 36:31if an investigation continued to go on
- 36:34it might run into something we were
- 36:35doing in Mexico I mean this possibility
- 36:37always have to exist nobody knows
- 36:39everything about everything so at this
- 36:44point I think it was repeated a second
- 36:50time that General Walters was to go and
- 36:52see acting director gray with this
- 36:54charge it was then indicated that acting
- 36:58director gray would probably be
- 36:59expecting the call that he was looking
- 37:01for some kind of guidance in this matter
- 37:02and that this should take place as soon
- 37:07as possible
- 37:07I believe mr. Ehrlichman at that point
- 37:09made his sole contribution to the
- 37:11conversation which was that he should
- 37:14get down and see gray is just as fast as
- 37:16he could we left this meeting mr.
- 37:21general waters and I and went downstairs
- 37:23to the automobile and I spoke to general
- 37:27Walters along the following lines I said
- 37:30when you go to see Acting Director gray
- 37:31I think you should confine yourself to
- 37:33reminding him that the agency and the
- 37:35FBI have a delimitation agreement it's
- 37:38been an understanding for many years
- 37:40that if the agency runs and any FBI
- 37:43agents or operations and the FBI should
- 37:46be immediately notified and if the FBI
- 37:47runs and 2/8 any agency agents or
- 37:50operation it shall be immediately
- 37:52notified I wasn't too sure whether
- 37:56acting director gray was familiar with
- 37:58this because he had not been acting
- 38:00director of the FBI for very long
- 38:02I wanted general waters to understand
- 38:04about this because he's been with the
- 38:06agency I think only about six weeks at
- 38:08that time and had been having briefings
- 38:09and I wasn't sure whether this had ever
- 38:11come to his attention in other words I
- 38:13was asking him to make a legitimate
- 38:14request of the Acting Director of the
- 38:17FBI that if they ran at any CIA
- 38:19operations in Mexico or anyplace else
- 38:22they were to notify us immediately
- 38:23and I thought general waters should
- 38:25restrict his conversation with acting
- 38:27degre to that point precisely whether he
- 38:31did or not well you will have an
- 38:33opportunity to ask him and to your
- 38:37knowledge did general Walters have a
- 38:38meeting with Patrick right yes he had
- 38:41one very shortly after this meeting in
- 38:44the White House because he reported to
- 38:46me later in the day about his meeting
- 38:48with gray that he'd been to see him that
- 38:51the general purport of what they had
- 38:54discussed and then for the first time I
- 38:57learned that acting director gray had
- 39:00told general Walters at this meeting
- 39:02about some money having been sent to
- 39:03Mexico I was unaware of any morning
- 39:07having been sent there at the time and
- 39:09even that explanation didn't say what
- 39:11the money was for but also floating
- 39:14around in this at the time was the name
- 39:17of a Mexican lawyer that we've been
- 39:19asked to check out by the FBI to find
- 39:21out if it was that if this man was in
- 39:23any way connected with the CIA
- 39:25his name was Oh Gary I believe and we
- 39:28have been running traces which is a word
- 39:31of art of going through the records to
- 39:33find out and checking with our people in
- 39:34Mexico to see if they knew him and so
- 39:36forth and I was some days subsequent
- 39:39that we got the information back that he
- 39:41was indeed a liar in Mexico but we'd
- 39:43never had any connection with him and I
- 39:44so notified the FBI now on Monday June
- 39:5126 did general Walters receive a
- 39:54telephone call from John Dean general
- 39:58Walters told me that he had been called
- 40:00by a man he did not know in the white
- 40:03house named John Dean and that Dean had
- 40:08asked to see him and when Walter said
- 40:12well I what do you want to see me about
- 40:14and so forth I believe Dean referred to
- 40:17the matters on which we had talked with
- 40:19Haldeman and Ehrlichman on the previous
- 40:21Friday
- 40:22in any event Dean said to general
- 40:25Walters if you want to verify my
- 40:28bonafide 'yes and who I am and
- 40:31i authority to talk with you please call
- 40:33John Ehrlichman so by the time Walters
- 40:36talked to me he said he had talked to
- 40:38Dean had verified by Congress telephone
- 40:41conversation with Ehrlichman that it was
- 40:43alright to talk to Dean and that he was
- 40:45going down to see him now when General
- 40:49Walters came back from seeing mr. Dean
- 40:53did he talk to you about the meeting he
- 40:55reported the meeting to me and told me
- 40:57that Dean had raised with him this
- 40:59question of the Watergate burglary that
- 41:03there was a lot there were a lot of
- 41:05problems in connection with problems
- 41:07unidentified was there any way in which
- 41:10the agency could help them so on it was
- 41:17quite clear that some kind of feelers
- 41:19were being put out to see a if there was
- 41:21any agency involvement or B whether the
- 41:24agency was prepared to assist in some
- 41:26way which is not at all identified it
- 41:30was at this meeting with General Walters
- 41:32when he was reporting this to me that I
- 41:35told him that I wanted him to be
- 41:37absolutely certain that he permitted
- 41:42nothing to happen using the agency's
- 41:45name facilities or anything else in
- 41:47connection with this business I said I
- 41:50didn't care whether he wanted to be a
- 41:51scapegoat I didn't care what he was
- 41:53prepared to quit on the issue I didn't
- 41:55care anything about that I simply wanted
- 41:57him to do absolutely nothing because I
- 42:00told him point-blank that even though he
- 42:03was a military officer and even though
- 42:04he was a presidential appointee that if
- 42:07he did something wrong it would was
- 42:08perched the name of the agency no matter
- 42:10whether he took the blame or not and I
- 42:11was simply not going to have it and I
- 42:13wanted him to be abundantly clear on
- 42:15this and any conversation yet with mr.
- 42:17Dean or with anybody else and as he
- 42:19reported to me on the subsequent two
- 42:21conversations with mr. Dean I know he
- 42:24reaffirmed this but I said now you hang
- 42:27in there you're doing fine but don't you
- 42:29yield an inch you've alluded to the two
- 42:33meetings that general Walters had with
- 42:37John Dean on the 27th and 20
- 42:40a did general Walters notify you before
- 42:42each meeting and briefed you as to what
- 42:45occurred after each meeting generals
- 42:47were very good about this is the best I
- 42:49recall it he told me each time that he
- 42:51was going down there and when the
- 42:53meeting was over he came back and
- 42:54reported what had taken place at it and
- 42:56could you briefly summarize first
- 42:58ambassador what general Walters told you
- 43:01with respect to the meeting of the 27th
- 43:04and the meeting of the 28th it is my
- 43:07recollection that it was at the meeting
- 43:09of the 27th which was Tuesday I believe
- 43:12that the issue first came up of whether
- 43:15or not the CIA out of its covert funds
- 43:18was prepared to provide bail money for
- 43:21the defendants in the Watergate burglary
- 43:26not only did this issue come up but I
- 43:29also believe that the additional point
- 43:31was made would it be possible for the
- 43:34CIA to pay the salaries of these
- 43:37individuals while they served their jail
- 43:40sentences general Walters and I have
- 43:47told you about the conversation I had
- 43:49with general warrants today before about
- 43:51how he was to guide himself in this
- 43:52matter
- 43:54pointed out to mr. Deane that the agency
- 43:57couldn't possibly do anything like that
- 43:59but he had no authority to do it on his
- 44:02own that his authorities derived from me
- 44:04and that he knew what my position was
- 44:06and in addition he said he couldn't
- 44:10couldn't conceivably imagine that a
- 44:12thing like that would remain secret
- 44:14forever
- 44:14and last but not least under the ground
- 44:19rules which we operate with the Congress
- 44:21salutes the agency operates with the
- 44:24Congress of the United States and the
- 44:25exceptional expenditure of this kind
- 44:27would have to be identified to the
- 44:28chairman of the Senate Appropriations
- 44:30Committee and the chairman of the House
- 44:32Appropriations Committee during the is
- 44:37obviously cooled mr. Deane's order and
- 44:41it was so reported to you yes during the
- 44:45week of the 26th did you receive a
- 44:47telephone call from Patrick of gray with
- 44:50respect to setting up a meeting
- 44:52between representatives of the two
- 44:54agencies yes I do recall a conversation
- 44:57to set up a meeting because I was
- 44:59anxious to have one with him there were
- 45:00a lot of crises we were running there
- 45:02were in the involvement of these former
- 45:04CIA people that we've been passing to
- 45:06the FBI there was trying to be a lot of
- 45:08leaks out of the FBI for the first time
- 45:11that I could remember on matters of this
- 45:13kind of leaks of ongoing operational
- 45:15material and I wanted to get together
- 45:18with him and some of his people to see
- 45:19if we couldn't get some of these things
- 45:22not straightened out so much it's get to
- 45:25walking along and in harmony so we
- 45:30agreed to have the meeting the next day
- 45:32the next morning which I believe was the
- 45:3528th if I'm I may be mistaken it's all
- 45:38in the record I'm sure he called back
- 45:40and said that he was so busy that he
- 45:42couldn't make the meeting it wasn't
- 45:43possible for him to hold it and he would
- 45:45probably have to put it off until the
- 45:46following week I told him I was sorry
- 45:49about that because I was planning to
- 45:51leave the end of the week in which we're
- 45:53speaking to go to Australia and that I
- 45:55wasn't going to be there the following
- 45:56week and he had a meeting he was going
- 45:58to have to be with General Orders now I
- 46:01asked him about the second two meetings
- 46:07on the 27th and 28th between general
- 46:11Walters and mr. Dean did a summary that
- 46:13you give gave us applied to the two
- 46:15meetings together or was that solely
- 46:18with respect to the meeting of the 27th
- 46:20I am NOT able any longer mr. Council to
- 46:24sort out precisely what out of my own
- 46:27memory what occurred at each of these
- 46:29meetings I have two very clear
- 46:32recollections one was that it was the
- 46:33second meeting that the question of the
- 46:35bail money came up because I don't
- 46:37recall that at all in connection with my
- 46:39longer conversation with general waters
- 46:42and for the first meeting as far as the
- 46:44third meeting was concerned by a
- 46:46distinct impression of that was that
- 46:48this was just more feelers and that it
- 46:50was relatively short because mr. Deane
- 46:52was getting nowhere was general
- 46:55just one or two questions more mr.
- 46:57ambassador you were familiar were you
- 47:01not with the fact that general Walters
- 47:03was preparing memoranda of these
- 47:05meetings yes because after the issue
- 47:09came up with possible bail or paying the
- 47:13salaries of the fellows who had broken
- 47:16in this struck me that we were getting
- 47:19into an area here which was very
- 47:21questionable indeed and that therefore
- 47:24these various meetings ought to be a
- 47:26matter of record in case this ever came
- 47:28up in any future time so it was at that
- 47:30point that in a conversation as I recall
- 47:33it general Walters either general Walsh
- 47:35or I are both of us agreed that this
- 47:37oughta be or these things ought to be
- 47:38reduced to writing in the record ought
- 47:40to be kept am i correct then that you
- 47:45did go to Australia around the 1st of
- 47:47July of 1972 yes I did and that Patrick
- 47:50gray did not schedule the meeting
- 47:52between reschedule the meeting between
- 47:54the two of you before you left I never
- 47:56met with him mr. chairman I have no
- 48:00further questions at this time
- 48:02in a moment Fred Thompson wants to
- 48:05compare today's testimony with some
- 48:07earlier statements made by mr. Helms
- 48:09public televisions coverage of the
- 48:11Senate hearings will continue after a
- 48:13pause for station identification are
- 48:15abridged coverage of these hearings is
- 48:17provided as a public service by the
- 48:19member stations of PBS the Public
- 48:22Broadcasting Service from Washington
- 48:28impact continues its coverage of
- 48:30hearings by the Senate Select Committee
- 48:32on presidential campaign activities here
- 48:35again correspondent Robert MacNeil as we
- 48:38go back to the hearings minority counsel
- 48:39Fred Thompson is about to question
- 48:41Richard Helms
- 49:04this town's as my friends down here
- 49:09maybe we can do this and that at the
- 49:11same time still let me turn this I can
- 49:16face you and be and very good as I
- 49:20understand it you had a conversation
- 49:21with Patrick gray on June the 22nd when
- 49:26you advised him that the CIA was not
- 49:28involved in the break-in was your
- 49:31conversation limited to CIA involvement
- 49:34in the break-in or did you go into
- 49:36whether or not the investigation might
- 49:40undercover other CIA operations possibly
- 49:43I don't recall ever discussing with mr.
- 49:46gray this question of its uncovering
- 49:47other CIA operations strictly the
- 49:49break-in discussion that we had no
- 49:52involvement and I believe that as part
- 49:53of this conversation there was this
- 49:55business about the Mexican lawyer that I
- 49:57don't recall whether he was specifically
- 49:59mentioned the Mexican part was mentioned
- 50:01at that time but mr. gray had on his
- 50:03mind in some way the idea that there was
- 50:06some CIA involvement that they were
- 50:07running into and I was attempting to
- 50:09reassure him that this was not the case
- 50:11as best I knew it
- 50:12CIA involvement in the Watergate
- 50:13break-in itself or in some way connected
- 50:16with it honestly did he state the source
- 50:18of his concern he never did did he
- 50:22indicate whether or not it was due to
- 50:24the bureau's own investigation or
- 50:27whether or not someone else had told him
- 50:28that I'm outside the bureau I was unable
- 50:30to tell I simply was surprised that this
- 50:33kept coming up all right so the next day
- 50:36you had the conversation with mr.
- 50:39Walters and mr. Haldeman mr. Ehrlichman
- 50:42as I understand I'd like to go over
- 50:44briefly what you stated was discussed in
- 50:47that conversation I believe you stated
- 50:49that mr. Haldeman indicated that the
- 50:53Watergate was being capitalized on that
- 50:58filed man had been arrested and that
- 51:01seemed adequate and that sort of thing
- 51:03well obviously the Watergate
- 51:05investigation was was the the reason for
- 51:09the meeting was it not
- 51:10as to what the investigation might
- 51:12disclose that was the basis for the
- 51:14meeting but I can only assume in
- 51:16hindsight that it wasn't to Thompson
- 51:18because at the time nobody had
- 51:20identified to us why we were being
- 51:21called to the White House there was we
- 51:23arrived and waited to hear what the
- 51:24subject of the meeting was when they
- 51:28stated their concern about possible
- 51:33Mexican involvement or Mexican and vomer
- 51:35with the CIA of course they were talking
- 51:37about the Watergate investigation
- 51:38turning up other involvement were they
- 51:41not I assumed this is what they were
- 51:43talking about yes but as I mentioned a
- 51:44moment ago and I do want to underline
- 51:46this I was totally unfamiliar at that
- 51:49time with what the-- what mexico had to
- 51:51do with anything
- 51:54but you had talked to Pat gray the day
- 51:57before I believe you stated that you
- 52:00thought that he might have mentioned a
- 52:02Mexican longer at that time yes sir but
- 52:05and when the Mexican lawyers name was
- 52:08mentioned there was never any
- 52:09implication as to why they were even
- 52:11asking about him so this was not very
- 52:14revealing what I'm concerned about is
- 52:18just the extent to which the Watergate
- 52:21situation was was actually discussed
- 52:24because of course I think it'd be fair
- 52:26to say that some appearances from what
- 52:28has been reported and some of the
- 52:30testimony and this forum and others is
- 52:33that the Watergate investigation was the
- 52:35reason for the concern and that could
- 52:37have been a legitimate concern it could
- 52:38have been a a possible cover-up of the
- 52:41Watergate investigation itself into the
- 52:43Watergate matter and this is the area
- 52:46I'd like to address myself to event and
- 52:48I'd like to refer to your testimony
- 52:51before the Committee on Armed Services
- 52:54Thursday May 17 1973 now I had a little
- 53:00bit of difficult to getting this myself
- 53:01last night and this morning I've just
- 53:03received it and if you like in the
- 53:06course of my discussion of it to
- 53:08forrester recess with the permission of
- 53:10the chairman the committee
- 53:11where you can can have a copy of it or
- 53:14copy of certain pages I feel like we can
- 53:16do that but it's alright with you I'll
- 53:17go ahead and proceed right now and read
- 53:19certain portions of that and ask you a
- 53:21few questions based on them I know the
- 53:28transcript from which mr. Thompson is
- 53:30about to read is nominally classified as
- 53:33secret I take it that there is no
- 53:37objection on the part of the committee
- 53:38or any claim on the part of the
- 53:41committee that it does not have the
- 53:43authority to permit counsel go ahead and
- 53:45read that document as it relates to the
- 53:47mandate for inquiry I understand in the
- 53:53resolution also from the statement made
- 53:57as I understand it to the staff
- 53:59attorneys by the White House attorneys
- 54:02that they left a question of how does
- 54:07this kind of determination of the
- 54:10committee mr. chairman I entirely agree
- 54:12with you I simply wanted to make sure
- 54:13that the record reflected effect that is
- 54:16the committee position that not was
- 54:18Manning the nominal secret
- 54:19classification that by reason of our
- 54:21inherent authority by reason of
- 54:24communications to us from the chairman
- 54:32of the committees which took this of the
- 54:35same committees we took this evidence
- 54:37also said that as far as they handed
- 54:39their power they'd consent to the use of
- 54:41it Thank You mr. towns were mr. Walters
- 54:50and yourself being a question at the
- 54:53same time on this occasion were you in
- 54:55the same room to get that occasion
- 54:57general waters was sitting on my
- 54:59and general Cushman was sitting on my
- 55:01left and we were in the room together
- 55:03the whole time
- 55:06let me read if I might and you prefer me
- 55:10to read other portions that you might
- 55:12remember go back a little further than I
- 55:13will but there's a general preliminary
- 55:19section here and what you stated was not
- 55:21a very long conversation and he'd
- 55:25mentioned the Bay of Pigs
- 55:26as ambassador hams well you could first
- 55:31of all mr. woolsley let's go back to the
- 55:32meeting itself for a moment when mr.
- 55:35Holloman said that it had been decided
- 55:36that the general should call on mr. gray
- 55:38did he say are intimated in any way who
- 55:41had decided to own that course of action
- 55:44ambassador Helms well you can make an
- 55:46intimation I'd rather not drawing
- 55:48information if the Chairman will leave
- 55:49me of that it was mr. Harlan mr.
- 55:51elderman two most senior officials with
- 55:53white house next to president self
- 55:55giving this instruction I really feel
- 55:57like now as I did then that it would
- 55:59have been presumptuous to oppress them
- 56:00any harder as how they had come up with
- 56:04this or they'd got an idea who was
- 56:05behind it mr. woolsley you said mr.
- 56:09Holloman winch in the Bay of Pigs did he
- 56:11mention Watergate case itself in the
- 56:14course of the conversation
- 56:15ambassador Helms no mr. woolsley he did
- 56:19not
- 56:21ambassador Helms no Senator Symington
- 56:24general Walters you confirm that do you
- 56:27general Walters yes sir he didn't
- 56:30mention the water key senator Symington
- 56:34I heard you volunteer volunteering and
- 56:37as long as you did I thought it should
- 56:40be on the record mr. woolsley maybe this
- 56:43is something that we should get cleared
- 56:44up but the committee was given a copy of
- 56:47general Walters affidavit general
- 56:50Walters he did in the introduction when
- 56:53he said this case had stirred up a lot
- 56:55of thing and the opposition is
- 56:57attempting to exploit it
- 56:59that was the reference I testified to
- 57:03previously I believe as we came in he
- 57:05said the Watergate has stirred up a lot
- 57:06of things
- 57:07opposition's attempting to exploit its
- 57:09general Walters talking and it has been
- 57:12decided that you will go that was the
- 57:15inevitable lead-in to the whole
- 57:17reference Senator Jackson decided that
- 57:21you would go general office mr. gray and
- 57:23tell him if he pursues the Mexican part
- 57:26of the financing of this business will
- 57:28uncover CIA assets or scheme for moving
- 57:32money mr. woolsley I should perhaps read
- 57:35into the record here a few sentences
- 57:36from general Walters affidavit quote as
- 57:39I recall it mr. Haldeman said the
- 57:41Watergate instance was causing trouble
- 57:43and being exploited by the opposition it
- 57:47had been decided that the White House
- 57:49that I would go to the acting FBI
- 57:51director Dre and tell him now that the
- 57:54five suspects were arrested further
- 57:56inquiries into the Mexican aspect of the
- 57:58matter might jeopardize on the CIA's
- 57:59activities in this area was there any
- 58:03discussion in the meeting at all of
- 58:05Watergate ambassador hams not to the
- 58:08best of my recollection and I frankly
- 58:11was hard put at the time to understand
- 58:13what Mexico was involved with this was
- 58:17only a week after the break-in I didn't
- 58:19know why Mexico was being mentioned
- 58:20never occurred to me that it had
- 58:23anything to do with the Watergate
- 58:25burglary Senator Simon general Walter do
- 58:28you agree with that general longest to
- 58:29me the whole question was connected by
- 58:31virtue of the beginning of the thing
- 58:33when he said Watergate could be opened
- 58:36as a preliminary as a leading as to why
- 58:38he wanted me to go
- 58:39it was obviously a lead end of this but
- 58:42he didn't go into any discussion of the
- 58:43Watergate other than what I said in the
- 58:48beginning and then you go to other
- 58:52matters mr. that let me see if I've
- 58:56summarized this correctly the question
- 58:58was put directly to you first as one
- 59:01hunter was in the Watergate discussion
- 59:02and you said there was not I was the way
- 59:06I recalled it mr. Thompson at the time
- 59:08since then I've seen general waters
- 59:11memorandum for
- 59:11record I've talked with him about this
- 59:13and we went over again what had occurred
- 59:15and I frankly at that point had
- 59:17forgotten this lead into the
- 59:19conversation after all I'd been away for
- 59:22some time I've been involved with other
- 59:23things and if my memory was less than
- 59:26perfect at that time it was less than
- 59:27perfect
- 59:28there was no I had no intention of
- 59:30jiggery-pokery or anything else in
- 1:00:03general yes he didn't mention the water
- 1:00:06view and then mr. Wallace said this is
- 1:00:09something we should clear up and he
- 1:00:11refers to general Walters affidavit at
- 1:00:13that time which he had previously
- 1:00:14submitted in which he mentioned these
- 1:00:16these things mr Thomson what I'm
- 1:00:18referring to and what I saw subsequently
- 1:00:20was a memorandum for the record which I
- 1:00:22believe is in the custody of the
- 1:00:24committee which was written several days
- 1:00:27after this 23 June espresso memorandum
- 1:00:31dated June 28 1970 I think that's
- 1:00:33correct and it was that memorandum which
- 1:00:35I subsequently saw which I had not seen
- 1:00:38at the time that I was testifying
- 1:00:40I talked to general Walters about it I
- 1:00:42had no reason to at that point to
- 1:00:44question general Walters memorandum he
- 1:00:47has an excellent ability to recall as
- 1:00:50you will probably are aware he's an
- 1:00:52excellent linguist and anybody that can
- 1:00:55speak five or six languages with the
- 1:00:57ability that he can and certainly has
- 1:00:59the mental equipment to recall something
- 1:01:02for five days after the event took place
- 1:01:05and I've obviously talked to him about
- 1:01:09this and I had clearly forgotten that
- 1:01:12introductory aspect of the sounds are
- 1:01:14you are you basing your testimony now
- 1:01:16your own memory or upon mr. Walters
- 1:01:20memory I mean you've accounted your
- 1:01:25faith in his memory which I'm sure is
- 1:01:27probably well-placed but I would think
- 1:01:33that this would be a rather significant
- 1:01:35matter if Haldeman and Ehrlichman has
- 1:01:37been widely reported from the basis of
- 1:01:40this memorandum when she just referred
- 1:01:41to I suppose
- 1:01:43came in and says five people have been
- 1:01:45arrested and that ought to be enough and
- 1:01:47that's the lead-in to just as to how the
- 1:01:49CIA or the FBI she conductance
- 1:01:52investigation and the basis of CIA
- 1:01:54contact with FBI would think that this
- 1:01:56was something that that that you would
- 1:02:00remember so I'm really trying to
- 1:02:02determine whether your testimony is
- 1:02:04based upon your own independent
- 1:02:06recollection or just after having read
- 1:02:09this memorandum and your faith in
- 1:02:11general Walters recollections well
- 1:02:13that's the combination of the two mr.
- 1:02:15Thompson because when he jogged my
- 1:02:16memory and we went back over the meeting
- 1:02:18together then I did recall these other
- 1:02:21remarks having been made well I charge a
- 1:02:23memory here and the testimony before the
- 1:02:27committee also after remember the
- 1:02:32committee of naming raised
- 1:02:33of affidavit of the memorandum general
- 1:02:36walters said this that he did in the
- 1:02:39introduction when he said referring to
- 1:02:41the watergate mentioning to the
- 1:02:42watergate he did in the introduction
- 1:02:45when he said this case has stirred up a
- 1:02:47lot of things and the opposition is
- 1:02:50attempting to exploit it
- 1:02:51I believe Europe testimony here today
- 1:02:53was attempting to capitalize on that was
- 1:02:57the reference that testified to
- 1:02:59previously I believe I assume he's
- 1:03:01referring to his affidavit or a
- 1:03:02memorandum I believe as we came in he
- 1:03:06said the Watergate has stirred up a lot
- 1:03:07of things but opposition is attempting
- 1:03:09to exploit it it had been decided that
- 1:03:12you will go that was inevitable lead-in
- 1:03:15mister mr. Walker mr. woolsley I should
- 1:03:20perhaps reading the record a few
- 1:03:21sentences of general Walters affidavit
- 1:03:23and then at that time they read into the
- 1:03:25record a few sentences of General Motors
- 1:03:27affidavit which you just referred to
- 1:03:29which is decided by the White House I
- 1:03:40should go to acting director FBI agree
- 1:03:42and at five suspects were arrested
- 1:03:44further inquires and the Mexican aspect
- 1:03:47of the matter might jeopardize don't see
- 1:03:49any activities and another question is
- 1:03:51goodbye
- 1:03:53was there any discussion in the meeting
- 1:03:55all of Watergate ambassador Helms not to
- 1:03:58the best of my recollection all I didn't
- 1:04:00recall it at that time but when I went
- 1:04:03over this with general Walters and we
- 1:04:04tried to piece this meeting together
- 1:04:06then that I did recall if these matters
- 1:04:10had been alluded to did it occur to you
- 1:04:13or has it affected you that consciously
- 1:04:16or subconsciously the fact that it could
- 1:04:18be very least to some extent
- 1:04:21embarrassing for general Walters if you
- 1:04:25testified contrary to to him did you
- 1:04:27discuss that possibility with him when
- 1:04:29you went over these matters no because I
- 1:04:31saw him just a moment before we actually
- 1:04:33went into the room of course it was
- 1:04:37after you got into the room before you
- 1:04:38realized that you had any it was
- 1:04:41unfinished in your testimony was it not
- 1:04:43that's right and you were in the room
- 1:04:45before you first realized what this
- 1:04:48memorandum said were you not in the
- 1:04:52memorandum in fact as a matter of fact
- 1:04:55that memorandum was not on the table at
- 1:04:57that time as I recall it there was an
- 1:04:59affidavit that I believe that those
- 1:05:01memoranda were submitted subsequently
- 1:05:03the committee I may be wrong the and and
- 1:05:08comparing your testimony today with what
- 1:05:10his memorandum says a couple of things
- 1:05:13do strike me his memorandum dated June
- 1:05:1728 says that June twenty thirty thirteen
- 1:05:23hundred on request I called the director
- 1:05:25Helms on John Eric when Robert Haldeman
- 1:05:29in Devlin's office in the White House
- 1:05:30Haldeman said that the bugging affair at
- 1:05:32the Democratic National Committee
- 1:05:33headquarters of Watergate apartments had
- 1:05:35made a lot of noise and that the
- 1:05:37Democrats are trying to maximize on it
- 1:05:40then down here he says since
- 1:05:46since five suspects have been arrested
- 1:05:48this should be sufficient let me ask you
- 1:05:50a few other things about this memorandum
- 1:05:52while while we're on it mr. towns he
- 1:05:58states in here also that Holloman said
- 1:06:04the whole affair was getting
- 1:06:05embarrassing and it was the president's
- 1:06:06wish that Walters call Andre and
- 1:06:10suggested him that since five suspects
- 1:06:12have been arrested this should be
- 1:06:13sufficient it was not advantageous to
- 1:06:16have the inquiry pushed comma
- 1:06:18especially in Mexico do you call the
- 1:06:21president's name being mentioned no I'd
- 1:06:23still don't agree with the general
- 1:06:25Walters about that I don't recall it
- 1:06:27having been put that way
- 1:06:33director Hamm said again reading from
- 1:06:36the Walters memorandum yet talked agree
- 1:06:39on the previous day may plain to him the
- 1:06:42agency was not behind the matter and it
- 1:06:44was not connected with it none of the
- 1:06:46suspects none of the suspects was
- 1:06:49working for it nor had worked for the
- 1:06:53agency in the last two years yet told
- 1:06:56ray that none of the investigators was
- 1:07:00touching any covert projects of the
- 1:07:03agency current or ongoing did you tell
- 1:07:07mr. gray that it was touching none of
- 1:07:10the covert projects of the agency or did
- 1:07:12you have any basis for saying that at
- 1:07:14that time I was unaware of any covert
- 1:07:16projects of the agency that had been
- 1:07:18touched on up to that time did you did
- 1:07:21you tell ray that if you recall or did
- 1:07:23you just simply tell him the CIA was not
- 1:07:25involved in the Watergate breaking I
- 1:07:27told him what CIA was not involved in
- 1:07:28the Watergate break-in I do not recall
- 1:07:31whether I told him that it did not thus
- 1:07:33far run and then he CIA covert projects
- 1:07:37did you tell him that none of the
- 1:07:39suspects was working for the CIA nor had
- 1:07:42worked for these and last
- 1:07:44yes then at least one of the suspects
- 1:07:50had worked for the FBI previous to
- 1:07:54afford CIA freeze for the last two years
- 1:07:56is that who was that well I'm asking you
- 1:08:00you said none of them had worked with
- 1:08:02the CIA within the last two years I
- 1:08:04assumed that before that one at least
- 1:08:05one of them had well mr. McCord had been
- 1:08:08an employee of the CIA for some 20 years
- 1:08:10before he retired Mr Hunt had worked
- 1:08:13there at least 15 maybe more and a
- 1:08:16couple of the Cubans had at one time had
- 1:08:18the contractual relationship with the
- 1:08:21agency you know which two Cubans
- 1:08:25do you mind giving me the names I'm not
- 1:08:28a computer and I would be Barker perhaps
- 1:08:33mr. Barker Barker I think had a
- 1:08:35relationship back in the early 60s I
- 1:08:37think it Sturgess another individual I
- 1:08:41think he at one time it had some
- 1:08:43connection of Artie Martinez had been on
- 1:08:46a sort of a retainer to report on
- 1:08:50individuals who came in from Cuba as to
- 1:08:54whether they'd be worth interrogating or
- 1:08:56interviewing or not in Florida and he'd
- 1:08:58been on that retainer of about $100 a
- 1:09:01month on the understanding that he would
- 1:09:05report him from time to time when he had
- 1:09:07something to report when I found out
- 1:09:09that he was still on the and I had this
- 1:09:13connection with the agency at the time
- 1:09:15of this break-in he was cut off was it
- 1:09:20cut off right after we had discovered
- 1:09:23that he was involved in the break-in
- 1:09:26you mean Martinez was on retainer by the
- 1:09:29CIA at the time of the break-in that's
- 1:09:33right but in Florida for the purposes
- 1:09:38I've identified
- 1:09:41beg your pardon in Florida I didn't
- 1:09:44understand that last statement mr.
- 1:09:48Martinez was resident in Florida as far
- 1:09:53as the agency knew because he lived in
- 1:09:57Florida and because he was a Cuban exile
- 1:09:59he was kept on a loose arrangement
- 1:10:02whereby he would report to the agency
- 1:10:05from time to time Cubans who got out of
- 1:10:08Cuba
- 1:10:09either legally or illegally whom he
- 1:10:11thought might have some information that
- 1:10:13would be useful to the United States
- 1:10:14government and then he would report in
- 1:10:16and give the name of this individual
- 1:10:19when was he taken off retainer by the
- 1:10:23CIA he went on when it was ascertained
- 1:10:26that he was involved in the break-in he
- 1:10:29was taken off right then when was it
- 1:10:31ascertained that he was involved in the
- 1:10:32break-in well I assume and then when his
- 1:10:35name was given to us by the FBI which
- 1:10:40was the Imagine within 24 hours or 48
- 1:10:43hours or 72 hours after the break is how
- 1:10:46was this done did you do the CIA
- 1:10:49communicate when mr. Martinez was there
- 1:10:52any paperwork involved
- 1:10:53I don't recall the precise details of
- 1:10:56the way it was done there are many
- 1:10:57people in the agency you can tell you it
- 1:10:59may even be in your records already the
- 1:11:01agency has been most cooperative in
- 1:11:02turning over lots of written material
- 1:11:05about these various matters and I
- 1:11:07imagine it's in there someplace I just
- 1:11:08don't remember well it seems to me mr.
- 1:11:13Helms that there might well have been
- 1:11:15concerned as to the role of the FBI or
- 1:11:18the CIA by all parties involved at this
- 1:11:23particular time
- 1:11:24right after the break-in in June of 72
- 1:11:26if in fact one of the persons who had
- 1:11:29broken in was at that time on a retainer
- 1:11:31by the CA did you know at the time of
- 1:11:35your conversation with mr. Halden mr.
- 1:11:37Arrington on the 23rd that mr. Martinez
- 1:11:40was in fact on retainer
- 1:11:41I don't recall I imagine I may have but
- 1:11:45that doesn't mean that the CIA was
- 1:11:46involved in the burglary no sir no sir I
- 1:11:49mean I don't think you ought to put
- 1:11:50words in my mouth
- 1:11:51I didn't think I was the issue seems to
- 1:11:55be whether or not there was a legitimate
- 1:11:57concern with regard to either at that
- 1:12:01time whether the CIA was involved in the
- 1:12:03burglary or whether or not other covert
- 1:12:07CIA activities might be exposed or
- 1:12:09whether or not Haldeman and Ehrlichman
- 1:12:11quite frankly were using this as an
- 1:12:13excuse to cover up the Watergate
- 1:12:15investigation which which also quite
- 1:12:18frankly has been widely in plaid to say
- 1:12:22the least now that's what I'm trying to
- 1:12:24get at now you've already mentioned the
- 1:12:27fact that you talked to Patrick gray and
- 1:12:29there was some talk besides the people
- 1:12:32involved in the Watergate break-in
- 1:12:34McCord was a former CIA agent hunt was a
- 1:12:37former CIA agent Martinez was on
- 1:12:41retainer at the time of the break-in
- 1:12:42Sturgess form a contact form employee of
- 1:12:47the CIA you know also in Mexico as I
- 1:12:50understand there was some talk about an
- 1:12:52attorney down there as being a CIA
- 1:12:54contact I suppose would be the correct
- 1:12:57way to put that would it not that was
- 1:13:00what we were asked if we had any
- 1:13:01connection with him you talk to mr. gray
- 1:13:05I believe on June 27 about a mr. Gary
- 1:13:09old and they did you know the FBI had
- 1:13:12asked us if this Mexican lawyer had any
- 1:13:14connection with the agency we conducted
- 1:13:17an investigation to ascertain whether or
- 1:13:20not he had
- 1:13:21and I reported to mr. gray maybe we had
- 1:13:23no connection with the agency we knew
- 1:13:25nothing about it but what I'm trying to
- 1:13:29get at is the 27th
- 1:13:31four days after this meeting there was
- 1:13:34still some discussion mr. four there are
- 1:13:36knives there was a problem with mr. of
- 1:13:39gear Hill as if my notes are correct mr.
- 1:13:43gray called you about this matter at
- 1:13:4411:30 a.m. and you could not or did not
- 1:13:51respond immediately and you returned mr.
- 1:13:53gray is called at 3:40 that afternoon
- 1:13:55and said that to see how he did not in
- 1:13:58fact have any interest in mr. Garre oh
- 1:14:00is that mr. recollection but I want to
- 1:14:03point out mr. Thompson cases any
- 1:14:05question in your mind that from the
- 1:14:07whenever we were initially asked about
- 1:14:10this Mexican lawyer it would have taken
- 1:14:12a few days to ascertain this to be sure
- 1:14:15about it we have two check files and
- 1:14:18records and we'd have to check with
- 1:14:19people in Mexico and this is not
- 1:14:21something that would happen from one
- 1:14:23minute to the next but I don't recall
- 1:14:25when the first inquiry was made to us
- 1:14:27about a man in Doeg area I just simply
- 1:14:30know from the record since I've
- 1:14:31consulted the record on this point that
- 1:14:34I did report this back to mr. gray that
- 1:14:37we had no connection with him the agency
- 1:14:39had no connection with him on the 27th
- 1:14:41of June I believe you have documents
- 1:14:43there in my own handwriting attesting to
- 1:14:45this what mr. towns just showed in order
- 1:14:52that we're as clear as we can be on this
- 1:14:54I would like to ask you one more time
- 1:14:57whether to the best of your independent
- 1:15:02recollection the Talman did say that
- 1:15:06opposition was capitalizing on the
- 1:15:09Watergate and fireman had been arrested
- 1:15:11and that was adequate I can't vouch for
- 1:15:14those exact words but as I reconstructed
- 1:15:17this meeting with general Walters and
- 1:15:19went over with there was some sort of
- 1:15:21our lead in our reference at the
- 1:15:22beginning of the Congress
- 1:15:23to this burglary and it was after you're
- 1:15:27sitting there in the same room with
- 1:15:29general Walters and hearing his
- 1:15:32testimony that it did in fact occur and
- 1:15:35it was after your reading his memorandum
- 1:15:37where he stated that it did in fact
- 1:15:39occur before you first mentioned
- 1:15:42yourself that you recall that it did in
- 1:15:44fact occur that is that correct that's
- 1:15:47relatively yeah I'm sure that's good
- 1:15:49enough anyway sentiment are you just
- 1:16:02have two questions I'm chairman thank
- 1:16:04you did you know James McCord personally
- 1:16:13yes sentiment I how long had you known
- 1:16:16him well it's hard to tell you when I
- 1:16:20might have first met him but I saw him
- 1:16:23from time to time during let's say the
- 1:16:26time that I was director of the agency
- 1:16:27during those six and a half years I
- 1:16:30recall is having a bit of my office on
- 1:16:32two or three occasions on various
- 1:16:34matters what kind of a man was he he had
- 1:16:37a good reputation and what was his
- 1:16:40reputation for veracity I have never had
- 1:16:47any cause to question mr. mccords
- 1:16:49reputation for veracity you say that his
- 1:16:53reputation as a human being as a man as
- 1:16:55an employee was very good yes it was he
- 1:16:58left with a a good record behind him and
- 1:17:01what can you say about Mr Hunt did you
- 1:17:04know him yes I did know it what was his
- 1:17:06reputation
- 1:17:08well mr. hunt was at us well he had a
- 1:17:17a good reputation there were some
- 1:17:19questions at various times during his
- 1:17:22employment about how well he had carried
- 1:17:24out certain assignments but there was
- 1:17:25nothing but Millian about this was just
- 1:17:27a question of his effectiveness mr. hunt
- 1:17:31was a bit of a romantic he used to write
- 1:17:33books in his spare time and I think
- 1:17:38there was a tendency sometimes him to
- 1:17:40get a little bit carried away with some
- 1:17:42of the things he was involved in but
- 1:17:44he'd never done anything illegal or
- 1:17:45nefarious or anybody was aware of and
- 1:17:48when he left the agency he left a record
- 1:17:50a decent record behind him how would you
- 1:17:52say about his reputation for veracity
- 1:18:01well I've said sir that he was romantic
- 1:18:04I think that I just don't have any way
- 1:18:09of being able to answer that I would
- 1:18:11have assumed that in the matters of
- 1:18:13importance he would tell the truth now
- 1:18:16since you spent so much time as director
- 1:18:19of CIA the agency what recommendations
- 1:18:24can you make to this committee
- 1:18:26concerning new legislation to help
- 1:18:29prevent the misuse of the Central
- 1:18:32Intelligence Agency for political or
- 1:18:34other purposes other than the assigned
- 1:18:36purposes delineate it in the act we send
- 1:18:40them on time I don't know how one
- 1:18:41legislates these matters I've never
- 1:18:45understood how morality and the proper
- 1:18:47conduct and decency can be legislated
- 1:18:50about the in Washington over the years
- 1:18:56there have been many occasions when
- 1:18:59various people have tried to manipulate
- 1:19:01some organization or another in an
- 1:19:03improper way this is not new to us we
- 1:19:07read about it in the papers constantly
- 1:19:09but how you legislate about this I swear
- 1:19:11to you sir I don't know well would you
- 1:19:14say that your experience with respect to
- 1:19:17this episode there was an attempt by
- 1:19:21some people to manipulate the agency and
- 1:19:24its facilities there was no question
- 1:19:26that the seemed to be an effort to use
- 1:19:27it in quotes quote use it unquote
- 1:19:31Thank You mr. chairman
- 1:19:49the time from January at the 20th 1969
- 1:19:55at the spring of 72 January the 20th
- 1:19:581969 yes I just went trying to fix this
- 1:20:01right from well basically from 69 for
- 1:20:03the beginning of 16 inauguration day on
- 1:20:06to the spring of 1972 were there
- 1:20:10occasions when you were contacted by
- 1:20:12either the Attorney General John
- 1:20:13Mitchell or the Deputy Attorney General
- 1:20:15Robert mardian well I used to see mr.
- 1:20:19Mitchell quite frequently because mr.
- 1:20:21Mitchell had duties giving him by the
- 1:20:25president that had nothing whatever to
- 1:20:29do with the conduct of the affairs of
- 1:20:31the Department of Justice and so I saw
- 1:20:33him with some regularity in meetings in
- 1:20:36his office on a variety of matters
- 1:20:40having to do with the affairs of the
- 1:20:42agency and with our various operations
- 1:20:46were there any times when in these
- 1:20:51contacts with either mr. Mitchell I
- 1:20:53don't recall your having said whether or
- 1:20:56not you'd ever met mr. Marty and not I
- 1:20:57did meet him I bet he one day mr.
- 1:20:59Mitchell's office as a matter of fact
- 1:21:01were there any contacts that you had
- 1:21:06with either Messrs Marty and or Mitchell
- 1:21:09where you were asked to bring the CIA
- 1:21:12into investigations of a domestic nature
- 1:21:15I don't recall any such meetings I know
- 1:21:22that the time that I mentioned that I
- 1:21:26met mr. Moore
- 1:21:27in mr. Mitchell's office it's my
- 1:21:29recollection that the reason he was
- 1:21:31there was that he'd been put in charge
- 1:21:32of an internal security operation or the
- 1:21:35division of the Justice Department and
- 1:21:37that he was going to get together a
- 1:21:39group of individuals in the various
- 1:21:41intelligence organizations to sit with
- 1:21:43him in an effort to make up some reports
- 1:21:48and analyses and so forth about domestic
- 1:21:52unrest and things of that kind but it
- 1:21:55was always made very clear by me and I
- 1:21:57never was challenged by mr. Mitchell
- 1:21:59that anything that we contributed to
- 1:22:02these meetings had to be as a result of
- 1:22:04our work overseas of material we
- 1:22:07developed there which might have some
- 1:22:09bearing on things in the United States
- 1:22:12as for example the Fetty and the
- 1:22:15terrorists we've been working on them
- 1:22:18we've been working on certain people
- 1:22:20involved in drug smuggling and a variety
- 1:22:26of things but at no time in other words
- 1:22:33or there wasn't any sort of a pattern of
- 1:22:37requests of trying to bring the CIA into
- 1:22:41matters that you would consider properly
- 1:22:42outside the scope of the CIA I'm not
- 1:22:45questioning your reaction at all I don't
- 1:22:48recall them senator wicker
- 1:23:00do you recall discussing with the
- 1:23:04committee staff that you were being
- 1:23:06pushed to enter the domestic
- 1:23:07investigation area this committee staff
- 1:23:11yes well at various times questions have
- 1:23:17come up and well I remember one time
- 1:23:20there was a discussion and with some of
- 1:23:24these the president's foreign
- 1:23:26intelligence advisory board about
- 1:23:28domestic operations and so forth and
- 1:23:30they didn't think they were going
- 1:23:31satisfactorily and could the agency make
- 1:23:33a contribution to this and I pointed out
- 1:23:36to them very quickly it could not there
- 1:23:37was no way but this was a matter that
- 1:23:40kept coming up in the context of feelers
- 1:23:43how can we do a better job isn't there
- 1:23:45somebody else that can take on some of
- 1:23:47these things if the FBI isn't doing them
- 1:23:49as well as they should
- 1:23:50are there no other facilities but it was
- 1:23:52in that context it was not a direct
- 1:23:54pressure on me go do it did you ever
- 1:24:01consider resigning your position as
- 1:24:04director of the CIA because of these
- 1:24:05types of feelers or indications no
- 1:24:10senator Wiker I don't mean to be
- 1:24:12immodest but I felt that I understood
- 1:24:16about these matters and these D
- 1:24:17limitations and I thought I could take
- 1:24:19care of the agency better if I stayed
- 1:24:21where I was I've gathered from your
- 1:24:25statement that you have a great pride in
- 1:24:27the agency I do sir and the only point
- 1:24:32that I'm trying to bring out it let me
- 1:24:34just relate to you to your last answer
- 1:24:36did you have any concern that if you
- 1:24:40left the agency as its director that it
- 1:24:45might get into these other types of
- 1:24:47areas well I don't know that my thinking
- 1:24:50ever went quite that far but because I
- 1:24:53had no
- 1:24:54to suppose that my successor would be a
- 1:24:57a man of inadequate caliber but you felt
- 1:25:01that but I've been around a long time
- 1:25:03and I thought I understood pretty well
- 1:25:05what we were supposed to do and where
- 1:25:06we're not supposed to do and if there
- 1:25:08are any sins the agency is committed
- 1:25:10they're on my shoulders I'm not pawning
- 1:25:12them off on anybody else
- 1:25:14I knew the ground rules I have know the
- 1:25:17laws and all the rest of it and I did
- 1:25:19the best I could to keep the agency free
- 1:25:21and clear and sailing straight and I
- 1:25:25gather you felt you felt that you
- 1:25:27yourself felt that it would do just that
- 1:25:31as long as you were excuse the
- 1:25:34expression at the helm in your in your
- 1:25:43meeting with mr. Holloman was direct and
- 1:25:48general Walters and was general Cushman
- 1:25:53there at that meeting also the 23rd the
- 1:25:55meeting of the toilet yes sir as I
- 1:25:56recall it we were asked to come together
- 1:25:58by Senator Symington and general Cushman
- 1:26:03was sitting on my left in general
- 1:26:04Walters was sitting on my right and we
- 1:26:07were sitting right together at the table
- 1:26:09why wouldn't such a request as mr.
- 1:26:15Haldeman was making and be made to you
- 1:26:17you were the director of the CIA and the
- 1:26:21request that was being made was having
- 1:26:24to do with the Acting Director of the
- 1:26:26FBI so why not talk to you did you were
- 1:26:31you being talked around here I I'd like
- 1:26:33to get just that what I was being talked
- 1:26:35to ran and this I don't know exactly in
- 1:26:40what form this came up but I was assured
- 1:26:43that it has been decided the general
- 1:26:45waters was to do that
- 1:26:46and obviously I wondered at the time as
- 1:26:49to why did you express any you'd make
- 1:26:54any comment at the time saying that he
- 1:26:58shouldn't do it that I should do it no
- 1:27:00that you know turning mr. Hallman was
- 1:27:04tall if you've got anything to say to my
- 1:27:06agency would you please say it to me
- 1:27:07rather than those are my subordinates
- 1:27:10well I did not pronounce right now we
- 1:27:12were sitting right there together the
- 1:27:13four of us and it was being made so
- 1:27:16clear that this was the way it was going
- 1:27:17to be done and had to be done there they
- 1:27:19wanted that then that way
- 1:27:29I have no further questions at this time
- 1:27:30is chairman
- 1:27:35Senta in no way thank you very much mr.
- 1:27:39chairman mr. chairman mr. vice chairman
- 1:27:41before proceeding I'd like to thank both
- 1:27:43of you for your very generous remarks
- 1:27:45this morning if I may I'd like to take
- 1:27:48the liberty of thanking you in Hawaiian
- 1:27:50we would say Mahalo and aloha which
- 1:27:52means thank you very much and I love you
- 1:27:55both mr. ambassador
- 1:28:01you've indicated that as director of the
- 1:28:04CIA you have the statutory
- 1:28:07responsibility for quote the protection
- 1:28:10of intelligence sources and methods come
- 1:28:13on from unauthorized disclosure said
- 1:28:15Renu he is the rest of the things yes
- 1:28:17sir
- 1:28:18now during the period from June of 71
- 1:28:20until your new assignment in Iran did
- 1:28:25you have occasion to report on matters
- 1:28:27falling under that category to the
- 1:28:30President of the United States no sir I
- 1:28:33did not report any matters of that kind
- 1:28:35directly because in the United States we
- 1:28:39had a subcommittee of the United States
- 1:28:44intelligence board charged with security
- 1:28:47this involved the system of clearances
- 1:28:51and how the community would work
- 1:28:53together in classifying documents and
- 1:28:55matters of this kind when there were
- 1:28:58leaks which seemed to be unauthorized
- 1:29:00particularly of material that was in
- 1:29:03intelligence channels the matter was
- 1:29:06referred to this use of security
- 1:29:08subcommittee to see if any information
- 1:29:11could be ascertained as to what agency
- 1:29:13of government had leaked the information
- 1:29:15or what individual and what agency of
- 1:29:17government had given this information
- 1:29:19out these investigations usually aborted
- 1:29:23efforts were made through the security
- 1:29:25officers of the other agencies to find
- 1:29:26out who might have done these things but
- 1:29:28I don't remember any of them coming to
- 1:29:30any successful conclusion
- 1:29:31we had no investigative staff for this
- 1:29:34we had no rights to investigate in the
- 1:29:37State Department for example
- 1:29:38the Department of Defense we simply
- 1:29:41counted on their people to contribute to
- 1:29:43this effort but we had very poor results
- 1:29:47and one of the reasons that I've felt
- 1:29:50burdened by this charge and the statute
- 1:29:53over the years is that it gave me a
- 1:29:55responsibility which I had no devices
- 1:29:57for carrying out were these discussions
- 1:30:00ever held in the Oval Office or the
- 1:30:03Cabinet Room or the president's
- 1:30:05executive office building
- 1:30:07we're not the discussions on matters
- 1:30:10having to do with the use of
- 1:30:12subcommittee I'm sure that at various
- 1:30:14times and those in the four years and
- 1:30:17since January in the 20th 1969 there
- 1:30:22were discussions about leaks I remember
- 1:30:24one early in the administration which
- 1:30:26took place in the Oval Office there were
- 1:30:28several cabinet members there and I
- 1:30:30remember I was there myself were you
- 1:30:34aware that these conversations may have
- 1:30:36been taped I was not mr. Butterfield has
- 1:30:40testified that these conversations were
- 1:30:44being taped
- 1:30:45do you think as director of the CIA that
- 1:30:48is just - no responsibility to get all
- 1:30:51of these tapes there would be my
- 1:30:54statutory responsibility directors today
- 1:30:58in order not to compromise the CIA
- 1:31:03frankly sir wouldn't have occurred to me
- 1:31:05and I didn't know that there any tapes
- 1:31:08in existence while I was director and
- 1:31:10since then I really hadn't thought about
- 1:31:11it if you knew that these were being
- 1:31:15taped do you think it would be the
- 1:31:18statutory responsibility under the
- 1:31:20National Security Act for the director
- 1:31:22of the CIA to call upon the White House
- 1:31:26to receive those tapes well sir others
- 1:31:30that otherwise it might compromise the
- 1:31:32sources and methods of the CIA I
- 1:31:37wouldn't have thought so so during NUI
- 1:31:40because it's that we were supposed to
- 1:31:42protect them against unauthorized
- 1:31:43disclosure and
- 1:31:45Russians with the president and is the
- 1:31:47duly you cleared the cabinet ministers
- 1:31:49would not constitute unauthorized
- 1:31:51disclosure a few days ago we have
- 1:31:53testimony indicating that three of these
- 1:31:57tapes were placed into the hands of a
- 1:31:59private citizen kept away from the
- 1:32:02official custodian for 48 hours
- 1:32:06would you consider that proper I would
- 1:32:10not consider that proper I thank you
- 1:32:13very much sir seventh attorney mr.
- 1:32:23ambassador what will Hunts areas of of
- 1:32:26work at the CIA so de gurney he was with
- 1:32:33the agency for many years and had a
- 1:32:36variety of assignments you might pull
- 1:32:38that Michael I'm sorry I didn't move it
- 1:32:40over I had a variety of assignments and
- 1:32:44I honestly think it would be putting my
- 1:32:46memory to too much of a test to remember
- 1:32:48what they all were I remember there was
- 1:32:49one that he had some assignment in
- 1:32:51connection with the operations leading
- 1:32:53up to the so-called Bay of Pigs but this
- 1:32:56is readily available in the agency you
- 1:32:58could get his personnel record and then
- 1:33:00it would be accurate well I'm not
- 1:33:02interested in a detailed account I
- 1:33:04wanted of his areas were in the sort of
- 1:33:07work that he was doing on June 17th it
- 1:33:15would be hard for me to recall I don't
- 1:33:17but I I just don't remember
- 1:33:24how often does the CIA help out former
- 1:33:29employees and the new loan of equipment
- 1:33:32as in the case of mr. hunt well I can
- 1:33:37only say senator journey that this was
- 1:33:39an extraordinary exception and it was
- 1:33:42done because we had been asked to do it
- 1:33:44by the White House has it ever been done
- 1:33:46before do you know it not to my
- 1:33:49knowledge
- 1:33:52well has it do you think it has been
- 1:33:55done before without your knowledge this
- 1:33:58is always possible senator gurney it's a
- 1:34:00large organization I would hope not but
- 1:34:02I can't say that I've never been done no
- 1:34:04of course at least no other CIA person
- 1:34:08has said to you that yes we did this on
- 1:34:11some other occasion was so and so I
- 1:34:13don't recall that having been said to me
- 1:34:16since this was such an unusual request
- 1:34:19why did the CIA go ahead and cooperate
- 1:34:23with Condon
- 1:34:24well general Cushman had already
- 1:34:26authorized this as I understood at the
- 1:34:29time on the basis of mr. Ehrlichman
- 1:34:31having asked that the agency help at
- 1:34:35that time as I recall it he was simple
- 1:34:40Cushman was simply told that this was
- 1:34:41for him to conduct an interview we had
- 1:34:44no way of knowing was an interview in
- 1:34:46the United States or an interview
- 1:34:47overseas had already been done by the
- 1:34:49time I learned about it and the what
- 1:34:55what was your reaction when Cushman told
- 1:34:58you well I was not pleased about it
- 1:35:01because I didn't quite understand why it
- 1:35:03was that he couldn't have acquired these
- 1:35:05things someplace else
- 1:35:06well I must say that same thought occurs
- 1:35:09to me if these were routine items of
- 1:35:15apparatus the White House certainly
- 1:35:17would have resources enough to get those
- 1:35:20themselves I would have thought so
- 1:35:23senator gurney I have learned
- 1:35:25I learned when I came back here in May
- 1:35:28that the rest of other things given to
- 1:35:31him such as a voice change or something
- 1:35:33and I believe a week has become almost
- 1:35:36legendary in this whole matter but I
- 1:35:38don't recall anything about the wig at
- 1:35:39the time but I don't question that it
- 1:35:41was done did general Cushman ever ask
- 1:35:44him now mr. hunt what do you want these
- 1:35:46things for what are you gonna use them
- 1:35:47for what general Cushman told me as I
- 1:35:51recall it was that he was this for a
- 1:35:53one-time interview the general Cushman
- 1:35:55can certainly attest to these things for
- 1:35:56himself but he didn't tell anything to
- 1:35:58you and at that time I think it's only
- 1:36:02fair to remember that nobody had ever
- 1:36:04suggested that anybody was going to do
- 1:36:06anything illegal or improper I
- 1:36:08understand but it's such an unusual
- 1:36:10inquest I'm really surprised that no one
- 1:36:13had a little more curiosity about what
- 1:36:16was going to be done well it was a very
- 1:36:19high-level White House official asking
- 1:36:21for this help and we tried to help when
- 1:36:23it didn't seem to was going to do
- 1:36:26anybody any great harm I guess probably
- 1:36:33your answer would be the same to mr.
- 1:36:36Young's request about the profile as
- 1:36:38I've genuine regrets about being
- 1:36:40pressured into that on Monday morning
- 1:36:43there are a lot of football games they
- 1:36:45played again might have been done played
- 1:36:47differently and I'm you know I'm not
- 1:36:49proud of that one
- 1:36:55there were of course these conversations
- 1:36:58with Haldeman and Ehrlichman which you
- 1:37:03have described and mr. Wallas I guess
- 1:37:05had others that he reported to you Bob
- 1:37:07and then the conversations with mr. gray
- 1:37:11and then of course the conversations
- 1:37:15with mr. Dean when he was pressing for
- 1:37:18things like bail money and and salaries
- 1:37:21while people might be in prison did it
- 1:37:25ever occur to anybody to go to the
- 1:37:27president United States about this time
- 1:37:29and advised him of these very unusual
- 1:37:31things that were going on in the White
- 1:37:33House well sir my preoccupation at that
- 1:37:37time and all through these months was to
- 1:37:41keep the agency at a distance from this
- 1:37:43whole problem and when I saw I've
- 1:37:46realized that these feelers were being
- 1:37:49made there was never a proposal made it
- 1:37:51was never said that will you do this it
- 1:37:53was a suppository but you know it would
- 1:37:56it be possible is this something that
- 1:37:57could happen and so forth and since we
- 1:38:00had stood firm it seemed to me that that
- 1:38:02was adequate under the circumstances
- 1:38:05well I certainly command you for that
- 1:38:08and you you did do the right thing and
- 1:38:11keeping the agency out of it
- 1:38:19in the phone call with with mr. gray
- 1:38:22which you had did you sink in this phone
- 1:38:32conversation that he was trying to
- 1:38:34involve the CIA in anyway I didn't have
- 1:38:39that sensation senator gertie the
- 1:38:41sensation I had was I couldn't quite
- 1:38:42understand why it was that he kept
- 1:38:45thinking that the CIA was somehow
- 1:38:47involved now what what generated this on
- 1:38:50his part I don't know to this day quite
- 1:38:52honestly but it seems strange that he
- 1:38:54should get well we seem to be running
- 1:38:56into some CIA involvement and I couldn't
- 1:38:58understand what he was talking about or
- 1:39:00how he knew this because I couldn't see
- 1:39:02any involvement I couldn't find any
- 1:39:04involvement and what motivated this I
- 1:39:08don't know and I honestly don't know
- 1:39:10even now one one final question mr.
- 1:39:17Thompson went over this with you but I'm
- 1:39:21asking another question that of course
- 1:39:24is this business of whether Haldeman and
- 1:39:27Ehrlichman were making their requests or
- 1:39:29mr. Dean for that matter at the request
- 1:39:34of the president United States and I
- 1:39:36don't want to go over that testimony
- 1:39:38again I've heard it but let me ask you
- 1:39:40this in in all of these transactions
- 1:39:44between you and these people and Walters
- 1:39:46and these people that were lady reported
- 1:39:50to you did you get any idea at all that
- 1:39:53President Nixon was involved and any
- 1:39:55cover-up here and wanting to use the CIA
- 1:39:58in the cover-up President Nixon was not
- 1:40:01put forward by any of these people in
- 1:40:04their discussions they were conducting
- 1:40:05them on their own as far as I was aware
- 1:40:07now what implicit in this was the fact
- 1:40:10that I was talking to the president's
- 1:40:11chief of staff at what conversations
- 1:40:14he'd rather had with the president he
- 1:40:16never said and but he was such a senior
- 1:40:20official that I had to assume that this
- 1:40:23was something that the
- 1:40:25they want it done Thank You mr.
- 1:40:30ambassador that's all senator talmadge
- 1:40:35mr. ambassador you've had long
- 1:40:38distinguished career both as a member of
- 1:40:43the CIA for many years its director for
- 1:40:47more than six years and now as a
- 1:40:50distinguished ambassador representing
- 1:40:52the government of the United States
- 1:40:54would you tell us why you left is
- 1:40:57director the Central Intelligence Agency
- 1:41:01I had a conversation with the president
- 1:41:05after the election I believe it was on
- 1:41:07November the 20th at Camp David and we
- 1:41:13had we talked about the my future and he
- 1:41:21indicated that he wanted to make a
- 1:41:23change
- 1:41:24and this was in the context of making a
- 1:41:28lot of changes in the administration I
- 1:41:31was at that time pushing 60 and about to
- 1:41:34come to what we had in the agency as the
- 1:41:37regular retirement age this is not a
- 1:41:39statutory thing but I had a policy in
- 1:41:41the agency that when officials got to be
- 1:41:4460 that they retired and this therefore
- 1:41:47seemed a good time to do this that is
- 1:41:56why I left did not leave on your own
- 1:41:58initiative then I did not submit my
- 1:42:01resignation in the form of obviously the
- 1:42:05president always has your resignation
- 1:42:06you do serve at the pleasure of the
- 1:42:08president for the time being that's what
- 1:42:10the Commission says
- 1:42:14this was a mutually arrived at
- 1:42:16arrangement you didn't have any
- 1:42:18impression that you have been pushed out
- 1:42:21well it wasn't put to me that way anyway
- 1:42:24when the president makes the suggestion
- 1:42:27you don't have to determine whether
- 1:42:28you've been pushed shove the lid would
- 1:42:34that be would that be an affirmative
- 1:42:36answer thank you sir did the White House
- 1:42:41contact you for reference when they
- 1:42:43implored mr. hunt no sir you think that
- 1:42:47was strange to employ an ex
- 1:42:49representative of the CIA without
- 1:42:52checking on his credentials with the
- 1:42:54director of that agency I did senator in
- 1:42:57fact I went to some trouble at the time
- 1:42:59to see if anybody else in the agency had
- 1:43:01been checked with other than me and I
- 1:43:03always had they gone to the personnel
- 1:43:04officer had they gone to the Security
- 1:43:06office and I established that the no
- 1:43:08contact made with the agency anywhere of
- 1:43:11understand no contact whatever now what
- 1:43:15was your reaction when mr. young came to
- 1:43:18you in the summer of 1971 and informed
- 1:43:24you that the president's assistant mr.
- 1:43:27Ehrlichman had assigned him to lead a
- 1:43:30White House investigation of security
- 1:43:33leaks were you surprised that that was
- 1:43:36being handled outside the FBI
- 1:43:43I suppose that I was senator talmadge
- 1:43:47but there had been so much talk about
- 1:43:49leaks and so much concern about them in
- 1:43:54this particular era that I suppose that
- 1:43:56what would have been normal surprise was
- 1:43:58somewhat dulled by this fact that maybe
- 1:44:02they weren't getting very far and
- 1:44:04establishing how these leaks had
- 1:44:05occurred this was a somewhat of an extra
- 1:44:07effort to get into this I must say I
- 1:44:11want to say to you now that I never
- 1:44:12dreamed that this was going to lead to a
- 1:44:15kind of an activist role I thought this
- 1:44:18was pulling the material together and
- 1:44:20doing those things which for years had
- 1:44:23been done of the government this is not
- 1:44:25the first president who's been concerned
- 1:44:27about leaks that's been a kind of an
- 1:44:29endemic and chronic concern in the White
- 1:44:33House ever since I can remember
- 1:44:34didn't J Edgar Hoover have a reputation
- 1:44:37for running a pretty tight ship he did
- 1:44:40and an efficient organization yes sir
- 1:44:42and anything related into domestic
- 1:44:45activity the FBI normally handled they
- 1:44:48did insist and you insisted on handling
- 1:44:51the foreign activity yes sir
- 1:44:53and you had a perfectly valid agreement
- 1:44:56between the two of you as to who would
- 1:44:58encroach on what activities are not
- 1:45:01encroach on them did you not we did
- 1:45:04senator it worked very well
- 1:45:05yes sir you're thinking a nice new
- 1:45:07language yes sir now when they requested
- 1:45:11a view that you do this psychological
- 1:45:16profile how could such a profile be made
- 1:45:22if such psychiatric records were not
- 1:45:25obtained well sir there's a there's a
- 1:45:29question of terminology senator talmadge
- 1:45:32about this the psychological profiles
- 1:45:37which the agency have been doing on
- 1:45:39foreign individuals
- 1:45:42we're not based on psychiatric records
- 1:45:45they were based on general intelligence
- 1:45:47and from a
- 1:45:47and from this information and from
- 1:45:50interviews and things of that kind all
- 1:45:52this material was put together and an
- 1:45:54effort was made to draw a profile of
- 1:45:57this man as to what kind of a human
- 1:46:00being he was but there was never
- 1:46:01implicit in this ever that you had to
- 1:46:03have psychiatric material in order to do
- 1:46:07it in other words you didn't have put
- 1:46:08him on the couch no sir
- 1:46:10and then of the never were put on the
- 1:46:13couch
- 1:46:14I believe you testified that the only
- 1:46:16involvement the CIA had in this entire
- 1:46:19operation was to provide a tape recorder
- 1:46:24and a camera to mr. young no sir that
- 1:46:28was to mr. hunter mr. hunter and that
- 1:46:31was done at a request from mr.
- 1:46:34Ehrlichman is my recollection of how
- 1:46:36that happened was and general Cushman I
- 1:46:39believe will be here shortly and will
- 1:46:41you know can clarify this specifically
- 1:46:44it was my impression that mr. hunt came
- 1:46:47to see general Cushman and asked him for
- 1:46:50these things having been sponsored by
- 1:46:52mr. Ehrlichman is it your understanding
- 1:46:55over the years that when an assistant to
- 1:46:59the President of the United States or
- 1:47:02the chief of staff of the President of
- 1:47:05the United States or the counsel for the
- 1:47:08President or security adviser for the
- 1:47:11president requests informations or
- 1:47:14materials or equipment from the CIA this
- 1:47:18request is from the president well this
- 1:47:21is implicit in answer and presidents
- 1:47:24have tended in recent years to operate
- 1:47:26through these principal assistants
- 1:47:27because they can't be on the telephone
- 1:47:29all the time themselves and one gets
- 1:47:32used to this course of dealing that's
- 1:47:38right thank you very much mr. ambassador
- 1:47:41I have no further questions mr. chairman
- 1:47:43Thank You senator towns in a moment
- 1:47:45senator Baker will question ambassador
- 1:47:47Helms about James mccords duties at CIA
- 1:47:50public television coverage of the Senate
- 1:47:52Watergate hearings will continue after
- 1:47:54this pause for station identification
- 1:47:56unabridged coverage of these hearings is
- 1:47:59provided as a public service by the
- 1:48:01stations of PBS the Public Broadcasting
- 1:48:04Service impact continues its coverage of
- 1:48:14hearings by the Senate Select Committee
- 1:48:15on presidential campaign activities here
- 1:48:18again correspondent Jim Lehrer as we go
- 1:48:22back to the questioning the former
- 1:48:23director of the Central Intelligence
- 1:48:24Agency Richard Helms is still on the
- 1:48:27stain sounds Baker mr. chairman thank
- 1:48:34you very much miss James when did you
- 1:48:38first come to know mr. McCord mr. McCord
- 1:48:43yes sir
- 1:48:44senator Baker I don't recall exactly
- 1:48:47when I first met mr. McCord
- 1:48:49maybe you indicated that you knew him
- 1:48:51some 20 years if I indicated that and I
- 1:48:57didn't think that I did I simply was
- 1:49:01making a statement to the effect that we
- 1:49:04had worked in this agency the same
- 1:49:06agency over this period of 20 years but
- 1:49:09exactly when he came into my sights when
- 1:49:13our first shook hands with him I
- 1:49:14honestly don't remember it well I
- 1:49:15misunderstood you but I guess your
- 1:49:17testimony then was that you knew of his
- 1:49:20employment by the CIA for about 20 years
- 1:49:23yes sir and I had seen him on various
- 1:49:28occasions during the period that I was
- 1:49:30director there was a project which came
- 1:49:32to my attention from time to time in
- 1:49:34which he was involved and I think he may
- 1:49:35have been in my office three or four
- 1:49:37times during that period did you know
- 1:49:39the nature of his assignment
- 1:49:41responsibilities within the agency
- 1:49:43yes I did could you tell us what they
- 1:49:45were they were in the Security office
- 1:49:47and they had largely to do
- 1:49:50the physical security of our properties
- 1:49:53and plants and things of that kind there
- 1:49:56was one time when he had an assignment
- 1:49:58dealing with a defector and I believe
- 1:50:03that he was the man who was taking care
- 1:50:05of this defector and doing some
- 1:50:06interrogation of it this mr. McCoy
- 1:50:09generally regarded as a good employee
- 1:50:10and effective employee of the agency
- 1:50:13he was we're part of his
- 1:50:15responsibilities to search for and
- 1:50:18monitor the possibility of the
- 1:50:19installation of wiretap equipment in
- 1:50:23u.s. installations by others I can't
- 1:50:26recall whether he was in the counter
- 1:50:28surveillance part of the security
- 1:50:30officer not I'm sorry but this could be
- 1:50:32easily ascertained as it do you know
- 1:50:35whether or not a part of his functions
- 1:50:37were to monitor the current
- 1:50:39state-of-the-art electronic surveillance
- 1:50:42equipment and to make recommendations on
- 1:50:45its usefulness to the agency I don't
- 1:50:47remember if the document to that effect
- 1:50:49I have no reason to question it do you
- 1:50:52know in general whether or not mr.
- 1:50:54McCord was proficient and knowledgeable
- 1:50:57of the general field of electronic
- 1:50:59surveillance I think he must have known
- 1:51:02about it I can only make a comment here
- 1:51:06and I'm not desirous of making anybody
- 1:51:08laugh but it's quite clear that those
- 1:51:10fellows who entered the Democratic
- 1:51:12National Committee didn't know anything
- 1:51:13about the active way of going in the
- 1:51:16buildings and getting out without
- 1:51:17getting caught you sort of adopt the you
- 1:51:20lasso what's there on that I wouldn't
- 1:51:21have gone in there with no arm I'm not
- 1:51:25familiar with that statement but all
- 1:51:29right is it fair to say and I don't mean
- 1:51:31to put words in your mouth that you're
- 1:51:33implying at least or maybe saying that
- 1:51:36the McCord operation was not in keeping
- 1:51:39with modern
- 1:51:40and efficient standards of electronic
- 1:51:43surveillance as you know amateurish in
- 1:51:45the extreme how do you how do you square
- 1:51:50that with the idea that McCord had been
- 1:51:52with the agency for twenty years and
- 1:51:54that he was regarded as an effective
- 1:51:56employee well senator Baker I don't know
- 1:52:00whether these are proper matters for me
- 1:52:03to discuss in this forum but I'd like to
- 1:52:05point something out to you that breaking
- 1:52:10and entering and not getting caught is a
- 1:52:14very difficult activity and for it to be
- 1:52:19done properly one has to have trained
- 1:52:21individuals who do nothing else and who
- 1:52:24are used to doing this frequently and
- 1:52:26are trained right up to the minute and
- 1:52:29how to do it was McCord in that category
- 1:52:31obviously not Wow
- 1:52:33obviously
- 1:52:36obviously obviously the result would not
- 1:52:38bear that out but you see what I'm
- 1:52:40searching for whether or not he was in
- 1:52:43fact proficient notwithstanding that his
- 1:52:45performance was not perfect that was not
- 1:52:47his function in the agency as I ever
- 1:52:49recall it it was to do this kind of
- 1:52:51thing when did mr. McCord leave the
- 1:52:53employee of the CIA in 1970 I forgotten
- 1:52:57what month he retired perfectly
- 1:52:58legitimately it was a normal ordinary
- 1:53:01retirement from the CIA yes sir at his
- 1:53:04request as far as I know what about mr.
- 1:53:08hunt I believe your testimony is that he
- 1:53:10worked for the agency for 15 years
- 1:53:13approximately did you know more I just
- 1:53:14don't remember exactly how many years is
- 1:53:17like any way for a significant length of
- 1:53:19time I did knowing this how well did you
- 1:53:21know I knew him relatively well because
- 1:53:24he and I over many years worked in the
- 1:53:27same general section of the agency what
- 1:53:29was his responsibility of the agency
- 1:53:31well as I replied to Senator gurney he
- 1:53:35had a variety of assignments and I would
- 1:53:37plead with you to simply ask the agency
- 1:53:40to give you the employment record
- 1:53:41because I don't recall it I do this
- 1:53:44already had an assignment in connection
- 1:53:46with the operations leading up to the
- 1:53:47Bay of Pigs I do recall that can you
- 1:53:50describe for us what sort of activity he
- 1:53:52had in the Bay of Pigs operation I think
- 1:53:55you had to do with certain aspects of
- 1:53:57the propaganda in connection with the
- 1:53:59propaganda against the Cuban government
- 1:54:02this was a CIA operation yes and this
- 1:54:05would have been in early 60s obviously
- 1:54:09was Mr Hunt familiar with electronic
- 1:54:12surveillance some surreptitious entry I
- 1:54:15honestly don't know mr. hunt I believe
- 1:54:18was on the payroll in some capacity with
- 1:54:22the CIA was he an employee or a
- 1:54:25contractor he was an employee I believe
- 1:54:29you indicated the staff employee is what
- 1:54:31we call them and that continued through
- 1:54:33shortly after June 17 1972 no he he
- 1:54:38retired and what
- 1:54:40to work in Washington for somebody else
- 1:54:43and he retired sometime in 1970 mr. hunt
- 1:54:47was not 62 or 65 did he retire on
- 1:54:52disability
- 1:54:53no sir he retired because he was anxious
- 1:54:56to make more money that he can make in
- 1:54:58the government he had had some financial
- 1:55:00problems due to the fact that a daughter
- 1:55:02had been in a bad accident and had
- 1:55:04developed some illnesses I believe
- 1:55:07physical as well as psychiatric but he
- 1:55:10went up a lot of doctors bills they had
- 1:55:12a suit in connection with this accident
- 1:55:14and I believe he was looking for an
- 1:55:15opportunity to make more money than he
- 1:55:17could with the government there's mr.
- 1:55:21liddy ever employed with the CIA no sir
- 1:55:24or have any connection with it well
- 1:55:27about having any connection with I found
- 1:55:29is very dangerous I have to watch myself
- 1:55:31about this I was never aware of any
- 1:55:33connection that he had with the agents
- 1:55:34did anyone ever inquire of you whether
- 1:55:36Liddy had any relationship to the CIA
- 1:55:39well I've been asked this at various
- 1:55:42times and I've given the same answer
- 1:55:44that I have to you yes I'm not really
- 1:55:47trying to establish so much that he did
- 1:55:49or did not have a relationship as I am
- 1:55:51trying to establish whether or not an
- 1:55:53inquiry is made particularly on the
- 1:55:58White House staff or someone connected
- 1:56:01with the investigation of the Watergate
- 1:56:03subsequent to June 17 I was never aware
- 1:56:06of any inquiry all right what about mrs.
- 1:56:08Hahn
- 1:56:17somewhere in the dimness of my
- 1:56:19recollection I could we consult the
- 1:56:23actual employment records it seems to me
- 1:56:25that mrs. hunt was at one time employed
- 1:56:29by the agency before she married him or
- 1:56:31something I'm not sure about that
- 1:56:33they've been published speculation with
- 1:56:36the effect that mrs. hunt was very
- 1:56:39closely involved the CIA and possibly
- 1:56:42the superior of her husband mr. hunt
- 1:56:44could you give me any insight into the
- 1:56:45last not true okay wasn't she employed
- 1:56:50in some embassy here in Washington in
- 1:56:52recent years a notion I think that may
- 1:56:54be mutually exclusive miss chalice well
- 1:56:57it is I want to make that clear it is
- 1:57:01perfectly clear perfectly there
- 1:57:06but you have some dim recollection that
- 1:57:09mrs. hunt may at one time have been
- 1:57:11employed with CI but you come into us
- 1:57:13the check of the CIA record I would
- 1:57:14appreciate if you would do that's
- 1:57:16chairman eyes that that be done by state
- 1:57:20what about mr. Barker I believe you
- 1:57:22testified that he had some relationship
- 1:57:24to the CIA but that was a contractual
- 1:57:26relationship and I believe was in the
- 1:57:28early 60s during the time when there was
- 1:57:30a great deal of activity in Florida over
- 1:57:32Cuban operations I believe he was
- 1:57:35terminated in the middle 60s and I don't
- 1:57:38believe there was any relationship with
- 1:57:41him after that time did you know mr.
- 1:57:43Barker no mr. Sturgis no I don't know
- 1:57:46him was he employed at one time with the
- 1:57:49CIA in your files senator Baker there's
- 1:57:55the testimony which is classified that I
- 1:57:59gave on February the 7th before the
- 1:58:01Senate Foreign Relations Committee in
- 1:58:02which I discussed all these gentlemen
- 1:58:04and I was much better up to speed about
- 1:58:06their relationships at that time than I
- 1:58:09am now and if you would mind consulting
- 1:58:11that record I would accept mr. chairman
- 1:58:14in that respect I would propose
- 1:58:16something that the testimony of this
- 1:58:21witness and others before the Committee
- 1:58:24on Foreign Relations taken on May 17
- 1:58:281973 March 6 1973 and the Committee on
- 1:58:33Appropriations on May 16 1973 February
- 1:58:467th 1973 be incorporated in the files
- 1:58:50and records of the committee with leave
- 1:58:53the committee to decide what portions of
- 1:58:55that transcript may be excerpted for
- 1:58:58inclusion in the record as appropriate
- 1:59:00if there's no objection that
- 1:59:02we'll be done mr. Martinez worked for
- 1:59:05the CIA and I believe he's the one who
- 1:59:07was taken off the payroll shortly after
- 1:59:10June 17th 1972 did you know mr. Martinez
- 1:59:13knows is he the only one who was taken
- 1:59:16off the payroll after June 17 there were
- 1:59:18none others on it well I guess the
- 1:59:20answer is yes yes thank you and mr.
- 1:59:24Martinez was receiving $100 a month
- 1:59:27that's my recollection but that's in the
- 1:59:29February 2nd test I won't burden the
- 1:59:31record further with inquiry in that
- 1:59:33respect according to my understanding of
- 1:59:36the summary of the staff interviews with
- 1:59:39you mr. Helms these things appear and
- 1:59:42I'll go through them if you don't mind
- 1:59:44and stop as you may request or you may
- 1:59:47comment on them after I finish on July
- 1:59:497th 1971 general Cushman received a call
- 1:59:54from Ehrlichman advising that punch a
- 1:59:57former CIA employee had been added to
- 2:00:01the Security office at the White House
- 2:00:04this information was passed on by
- 2:00:07Cushman to you on the only I interrupt
- 2:00:12only to say that I had never heard that
- 2:00:15he'd been added to the security officer
- 2:00:17the White House I just heard that he'd
- 2:00:18been employed by the White House I don't
- 2:00:20know where they have a security office
- 2:00:21yes but in any event someone thought to
- 2:00:24notify the agency that a former employee
- 2:00:28of the CIA had been added to the White
- 2:00:30House staff yes so it was clear that
- 2:00:32someone at the White House knew that
- 2:00:34this man was a former CIA agent yes I
- 2:00:37can only assume that and on July 22nd
- 2:00:44according to our information and this I
- 2:00:46understand to be based on a summary of
- 2:00:48your interview with the staff on July
- 2:00:5122nd Hunt visited general Cushman and
- 2:00:55requested the agency the CIA to furnish
- 2:00:58him with identification documents and
- 2:01:00alias and physical disguises are you
- 2:01:04aware of that yes I am because I've seen
- 2:01:07a document
- 2:01:08meeting and they were supplied yes yes
- 2:01:12was there any protest the supplying of
- 2:01:15this material to mr. hunter well as I
- 2:01:20testified earlier when I was informed of
- 2:01:23this somewhat later the some of the
- 2:01:26items you mentioned I don't recall
- 2:01:28having been told that he'd been given
- 2:01:30and it was the tape recorder in the
- 2:01:34camera that I recall having been told
- 2:01:35about and that's what sticks in my
- 2:01:37memory have you later learned on good
- 2:01:40authority particularly from agency
- 2:01:43authority that hunt requested and
- 2:01:46received bogus identification documents
- 2:01:49an alias and a physical disguise yes
- 2:01:53that was a voice changer wasn't it the
- 2:01:55the wig I was coming to that then on
- 2:01:58several occasions hunt met with CIA
- 2:02:01people and received further alias
- 2:02:04documentation specifically the name of
- 2:02:07Edward Joseph Warren disguised material
- 2:02:10which I believe may have included away a
- 2:02:12speech alteration device which some of
- 2:02:15us would devoutly wish for a recorder in
- 2:02:20a typewriter case and a camera and a
- 2:02:22tobacco pouch I have learned that that
- 2:02:24was what he was given and all of those
- 2:02:26things were requested upon't op the CIA
- 2:02:29and CIA supplied them and this post date
- 2:02:33at the time when you were notified this
- 2:02:35former CIA agent was going to work for
- 2:02:37the White House did as mr. Liddy present
- 2:02:44do you did you know or have you since
- 2:02:46learned on more than one of these
- 2:02:48meetings and received similar disguises
- 2:02:51and alias documentation especially in
- 2:02:53the name of George F Leonard at mr.
- 2:02:55hunts request senator Baker I've never
- 2:02:58met
- 2:02:58Olivia I don't know miss did you receive
- 2:03:00this information so I was given this
- 2:03:02information in May of this year by CIA
- 2:03:06people is is it not true that at the
- 2:03:10time that this material was given to mr.
- 2:03:14Liddy it was given to him under an alias
- 2:03:16I believe under the name of George F
- 2:03:19Leonard well that may be but I
- 2:03:20understand the name of George S leonard
- 2:03:23together what the alias documentation
- 2:03:25was supplied by CIA August I'm sorry my
- 2:03:31only point was that at the time he was
- 2:03:34not identified I believe to the CIA
- 2:03:36people as mr. Liddy was he I'm not sure
- 2:03:39I didn't think he was he may or may not
- 2:03:41have been but my notes indicate here
- 2:03:43that mr. Liddy at the request of mr.
- 2:03:46hunt was supplied with an alias to wit
- 2:03:49George F Leonard an alias documentation
- 2:03:52to verify that identity by the CIA this
- 2:03:57post date at the time when the White
- 2:03:59House had served notice on CIA and a
- 2:04:02former agent mr. hunt was coming in on
- 2:04:06August 24th mr. hunt delivered to the
- 2:04:09CIA a film which he had taken for
- 2:04:11developing and it was in fact developed
- 2:04:15for the CIA that's what I or have you
- 2:04:17since learned that I've been told that
- 2:04:19that would that occurred and the see I
- 2:04:20delivered prints from those negatives to
- 2:04:23mr. Wright and kept file copies of the
- 2:04:29prints and negatives and the CIA records
- 2:04:31I was I don't know about these events
- 2:04:37from firsthand have you what I may have
- 2:04:40been informed may not be accurate I had
- 2:04:43thought that when the film was developed
- 2:04:45the film the develop film was returned
- 2:04:47plus the films themselves that the only
- 2:04:49thing the agency retained was some sort
- 2:04:51of a Xerox of the of the photographs but
- 2:04:55as the negative is not still in the
- 2:04:58possession
- 2:04:58of the agency I believe rent but prints
- 2:05:00were of Xeroxes all right Xerox prints I
- 2:05:04say this Senator Baker only in the
- 2:05:08interests of precision because
- 2:05:10photographs that have been xeroxed are
- 2:05:12not as clear as the original prints I
- 2:05:15agree with you they certainly are not
- 2:05:17but one of those photographs we learn
- 2:05:20from another part of the record was a
- 2:05:22picture I believe of mr. liddy
- 2:05:24standing in front of the decimated vials
- 2:05:29of dr. Ellsberg psychiatrist which was a
- 2:05:32rather graphic form of identification
- 2:05:34I'm unaware but you are aware that some
- 2:05:39form of photographic record probably a
- 2:05:42Xerox copy of the photographs of the
- 2:05:45Ellsberg break-in were retained in the
- 2:05:47CIA file this and the CIA received the
- 2:05:50film from Hunt and developed that's
- 2:05:53correct but may I say that at that time
- 2:05:55nobody knew what these films represented
- 2:05:57I've been told that since - surely it
- 2:06:00would arouse some modest amount of
- 2:06:03curiosity to see that and I won't pursue
- 2:06:06that any further because that's not the
- 2:06:08point I'm reaching for but on August 26
- 2:06:11you were advised of increasing demands
- 2:06:13made by Mr Hunt he had already made
- 2:06:16several which had been exceeded to the
- 2:06:18ones I've just described increasing
- 2:06:21demands from CIA for technical and other
- 2:06:24assistance including that to be supplied
- 2:06:27with a personal secretary then located
- 2:06:30in Paris did you have personal knowledge
- 2:06:33of that I did and it was at that time
- 2:06:35that I spoke to general Cushman as I
- 2:06:37said attack that was that effect the
- 2:06:40straw that broke the camel's back yes
- 2:06:42sir you put it very well and you
- 2:06:44declined to go any further and my
- 2:06:46information based on the staff interview
- 2:06:48with you mr. ambassador indicates that
- 2:06:51you were apprised of these facts by
- 2:06:53Cushman and that you told Cushman that
- 2:06:56hunt had now gone too far and that
- 2:07:00Cushman should tell Ehrlichman that
- 2:07:02other persist assistance would be
- 2:07:04afforded to hot yes sir
- 2:07:06Fishman did apprise her like when on
- 2:07:09August 27th and on August 30th Cushman
- 2:07:12sent you a memorandum on which you wrote
- 2:07:15the words good are the word good yes
- 2:07:18would you please read what the general
- 2:07:21Cushman wrote to me on which I wrote the
- 2:07:23word good I think that makes yes sir I
- 2:07:26don't have that in the summary staff
- 2:07:28gave me but I have now been handed as
- 2:07:30what appears to be a Xerox copy of a
- 2:07:33memorandum entitled at the top official
- 2:07:36routing slip item six as Howard hunt and
- 2:07:42under remarks with the date 27 August
- 2:07:451971 in the left hand margin quote I
- 2:07:48called John Ehrlichman Friday and
- 2:07:50explained why we could not meet these
- 2:07:52requests I indicated Hunt was becoming a
- 2:07:56pain in the neck John said he would
- 2:07:59restrain on with the in and below that
- 2:08:04is the initial see I take it which was
- 2:08:07this man is the word good with the
- 2:08:10initial mr. chairman this does not
- 2:08:22appear to be in the record if it is not
- 2:08:23might I ask that it be included now as
- 2:08:26an exhibit to the witness to be marked
- 2:08:28appropriate exhibit in committed to the
- 2:08:30record as such mr. Helms isn't it clear
- 2:08:35from all of this that the CIA at
- 2:08:40whatever level and you to some extent
- 2:08:42we're aware of the fact that mr. hunt at
- 2:08:46least was deeply involved in White House
- 2:08:51activity with CIA support and that she
- 2:08:54blew the whistle after a great number of
- 2:08:56things had already occurred Senator
- 2:08:59Baker if we go to July and August of
- 2:09:031971 I certainly was totally unaware of
- 2:09:09any illegal activity
- 2:09:11and the improper activity or anything
- 2:09:14that would have raised a question about
- 2:09:16the type of thing that mr. hunt was
- 2:09:19involved in I assure you there hadn't
- 2:09:23been any intimation whatever that there
- 2:09:26was any question of a burglary there was
- 2:09:27any question of stealing anything there
- 2:09:29was any question if it's having
- 2:09:30committed any illegal or improper acts I
- 2:09:34don't doubt that mr. Chan I take your
- 2:09:37testimony the same way I do the
- 2:09:38testimony of every other witness I start
- 2:09:41with the good-faith assumption that you
- 2:09:44swear the truth I have no reason to
- 2:09:47doubt that unless other in contradictory
- 2:09:50evidence is made to appear but I don't
- 2:09:53suggest that I'm trying to lead you into
- 2:09:55a contradiction I'm rather trying to
- 2:09:57establish a relationship on which the
- 2:10:02White House or the CIA would base its
- 2:10:04perception of the fear that CIA might
- 2:10:08have been involved in these things now
- 2:10:10let's see how that goes we've got hunt
- 2:10:12we've got McCord
- 2:10:14we've got Barker we've got Sturgis we've
- 2:10:18got Martinez we've got two sets of
- 2:10:20forged identity documents we've got a
- 2:10:23voice alternating device we got away
- 2:10:25we've got a camera a tobacco pouch we've
- 2:10:28got the processing service for that
- 2:10:30we've got the certain knowledge that all
- 2:10:32these things were discussed between
- 2:10:34White House staff and CIA staff and I
- 2:10:37wonder if that doesn't lead us to the
- 2:10:39idea that when these people are caught
- 2:10:40that somebody would certainly say well
- 2:10:43what was the CIA involvement well
- 2:10:47Senator Baker I have the greatest
- 2:10:48respect for you and if you would that
- 2:10:50those were the thought processes that
- 2:10:52have gone through your mind I have no
- 2:10:54reason to argue with him I simply a
- 2:10:56moment ago was not trying to make a
- 2:10:58self-serving statement I was simply
- 2:10:59trying to indicate that there's been a
- 2:11:02tendency it seems to me in the recent
- 2:11:04times to have everything run in real
- 2:11:08time as though all of these things were
- 2:11:10known and it happen
- 2:11:11and that therefore one should have had
- 2:11:13the good sense to know this thing or
- 2:11:15that thing at a certain period of time
- 2:11:17and I simply was trying to point out
- 2:11:19that this was not the case
- 2:11:21well I'm accepting that at face value
- 2:11:23and by the same token I hope mr.
- 2:11:25ambassador you don't think that these
- 2:11:27questions are accusatory certainly not
- 2:11:30of you maybe not even of CIA probably
- 2:11:33not even a CA but I'm trying to
- 2:11:35establish a set of facts on which
- 2:11:39perceptions might or might not be based
- 2:11:42particularly whether or not an inquiry
- 2:11:44should be made after the arrest and the
- 2:11:46attendant publicity about whether or not
- 2:11:49the people involved were in fact CIA
- 2:11:51involved I'm not saying they were I'm
- 2:11:53trying to establish the validity of an
- 2:11:55inquiry in that respect and I have not
- 2:11:58made up my mind on that point I'm going
- 2:11:59to weigh that very carefully as I'm
- 2:12:01gonna weigh all the other evidence and
- 2:12:03it's going to be February 28 before I
- 2:12:05state a conclusion but your
- 2:12:07identification of these components is
- 2:12:09very helpfully and I am grateful for it
- 2:12:12mr. chairman I'll conclude I'm sure my
- 2:12:14time is over but I can't include without
- 2:12:17saying that I think mr. helm said at
- 2:12:20great personal sacrifice has agreed to
- 2:12:23appear before this committee and other
- 2:12:24committees that his information has been
- 2:12:28most helpful that his testimony has been
- 2:12:30forthright I believe and forthcoming it
- 2:12:34may be that at a future time will
- 2:12:36require further information from mr.
- 2:12:38Helms but I hope not
- 2:12:39he has a very important post to return
- 2:12:42to Thank You senator Baker he is not the
- 2:12:52director of the CIA appointed by the
- 2:12:56President subject to confirmation the
- 2:12:58Senate yes mr. chairman does the same
- 2:13:01thing apply to the deputy director yes
- 2:13:03mr. chairman now in as much as all these
- 2:13:08materials were furnished to mr. hunt in
- 2:13:12July August the 1971 at the request of
- 2:13:18mr. John Ehrlichman is it not reasonable
- 2:13:22to
- 2:13:23that the White House knew that the mr.
- 2:13:26hunt was engaged in uncover work at is
- 2:13:28mr. Eric menu that mr. hunt was engaged
- 2:13:31in undercover work mr. chairman I can
- 2:13:40only assume that if mr. Ehrlichman asked
- 2:13:43mr. Huntley helped I'd realized that in
- 2:13:47this life assumptions are very dangerous
- 2:13:49one would it assumed that he'd asked for
- 2:13:51this help for some reason and he must
- 2:13:53have known what the reason was or at
- 2:13:54least I would have assumed that he would
- 2:13:56have known what the reason is but I
- 2:13:57can't prove it and I don't know and I
- 2:13:59didn't know myself at the time well then
- 2:14:01you do know that mr. Ehrlichman
- 2:14:03requested that mr. Ehrlichman was so
- 2:14:06very important to aid in the White House
- 2:14:10and he requested this aid for mr. hunt
- 2:14:14and also you know that the CIA put an
- 2:14:18end to the when the CIA put an end to
- 2:14:21given no help to mr. hunt that mr.
- 2:14:24Ehrlichman was notified that mr. hunted
- 2:14:26become home a pain in the neck so didn't
- 2:14:32that strike you when you learned of
- 2:14:34these things didn't strike you as
- 2:14:35strange that the White House of what
- 2:14:38engaged in undercover work on its own
- 2:14:40initiative rather than resort to the use
- 2:14:43of the FBI who you know senator Ervin at
- 2:14:48that time there was no intimation that
- 2:14:51this was even undercover work what I
- 2:14:54understood Mr Hunt had told general
- 2:14:56Cushman was that he wanted to conduct an
- 2:14:58interview and there was no intimation
- 2:15:02that this was undercover work I'm not
- 2:15:04here as a weak that was so you didn't
- 2:15:08think that the wig was the thought to
- 2:15:09improve the the appearance of the theme
- 2:15:12of the false accuser mr.
- 2:15:15I assume in retrospect because I didn't
- 2:15:21remember about the wig at the time mr.
- 2:15:23chairman as I've testified but I have a
- 2:15:25zoomed retrospect that mr. hunt wanted
- 2:15:28to conduct this interview disguising
- 2:15:31himself as someone else yeah but that we
- 2:15:35didn't know that at the time well when
- 2:15:37my man undertakes to disguise himself as
- 2:15:39someone else he's engaged in under the
- 2:15:41cover work isn't it well we get we run
- 2:15:44into a definitional problem
- 2:15:45well not you that you didn't think that
- 2:15:48you got applied for this voice
- 2:15:50alteration device and all of this thing
- 2:15:52are different though a part in the choir
- 2:15:55did you mr. chairman my problem here is
- 2:16:02that at the time that this was going on
- 2:16:06I do not recall having been told that he
- 2:16:10had been given a week in a voice
- 2:16:11operation device I found that out in May
- 2:16:14of this year so that this business of
- 2:16:16the however one interprets undercover
- 2:16:19work or however one defines it no
- 2:16:21intimation was given to me at that time
- 2:16:23that hunt was involved in undercover
- 2:16:24work well we we've had some discussion
- 2:16:27around some observations some discussion
- 2:16:30that a lot of that most of us human
- 2:16:33beings are sort of like lightning bugs
- 2:16:35we carry illumination behind and see
- 2:16:37barely in retrospect and I do in
- 2:16:39prospect but in retrospect don't you
- 2:16:43think it would be reasonable to infer
- 2:16:44that Mr Hunt was engaged in something
- 2:16:47that might be called detective work if
- 2:16:49not undercover work yes in retrospect
- 2:16:51sir
- 2:16:52so our activity certainly now the same
- 2:16:59thing I believe that you that mr. Liddy
- 2:17:01was punished some material under an
- 2:17:07alias they're not on his own name during
- 2:17:11the same period of time I believe that's
- 2:17:14true yes
- 2:17:19now in a bleep but you stated that when
- 2:17:23you you learned of the break-in at the
- 2:17:25Watergate I leave you out of the country
- 2:17:27anyway I was here they were help yes sir
- 2:17:30I thought you said something about
- 2:17:32readings in a foreign you know an
- 2:17:34American no sir foreign language
- 2:17:36newspaper no mr. chairman the question
- 2:17:38that I was asked which I read about was
- 2:17:41the break-in of dr. Fielding's office oh
- 2:17:43yes that's right I beg your pardon I
- 2:17:45remember now and it just shows that even
- 2:17:49not the chairman of this committee is
- 2:17:51not done it doesn't have my infallible
- 2:17:55memory of something he's heard just now
- 2:17:59after the break-in when was the first
- 2:18:02tough time have to break in you had any
- 2:18:04contact but then they bought it from the
- 2:18:05White House it was that that June 23rd
- 2:18:11me 23rd you and our general Walters were
- 2:18:14requested by the White House to to come
- 2:18:18to the White House well you know yes sir
- 2:18:21we were asked to come to mr. Ehrlichman
- 2:18:22and you had a a conversation with mr.
- 2:18:26Haldeman and mr. Ehrlichman that correct
- 2:18:29and they expressed a concern about the
- 2:18:35possibility that if the FBI continued
- 2:18:37certain investigations in Mexico that it
- 2:18:40might to an affair with some of the
- 2:18:42activities of the CIA yes sir yeah did
- 2:18:46dimension exactly what activities the
- 2:18:49FBI had in Mexico no sir they did not
- 2:18:52was there anything said about Mexican
- 2:18:54checks mr. chairman
- 2:19:04it is my recollection and I can suddenly
- 2:19:08say my honest recollection that the
- 2:19:11first time I heard about any money or a
- 2:19:13check going to Mexico was later on the
- 2:19:20day of the 23rd when General Warner's
- 2:19:23reported to me about his conversation
- 2:19:25with acting director Gray in the
- 2:19:28afternoon earlier in the afternoon I
- 2:19:30believe it that happened about an hour
- 2:19:32and a half after we'd been with mr.
- 2:19:34Ollivander mr. Ehrlichman and mr. gray
- 2:19:36had mentioned the general waters as I
- 2:19:38recall it that there was something about
- 2:19:41a check for something over $80,000 that
- 2:19:44has showed up in Mexico but this was the
- 2:19:47first I'd heard that was all--no
- 2:19:49after you log your visit to the White
- 2:19:51House but on the same day of your visit
- 2:19:53that's right I don't recall mr. Haldeman
- 2:19:55or mr. Ehrlichman missing anything about
- 2:19:57money
- 2:19:58well what specific matters gave them the
- 2:20:05White House concern about the
- 2:20:07possibility that FBI investigations
- 2:20:12might someway collide with the set up of
- 2:20:15the CIA no explanation was given mr.
- 2:20:17chairman and as I testified earlier this
- 2:20:20morning it was not possible for me to
- 2:20:24know everything that we were doing in
- 2:20:26Mexico or what the FBI might be running
- 2:20:28into and I simply thought it was prudent
- 2:20:30to do some checking before I got
- 2:20:32assertive about this now all the
- 2:20:36director the CIA or the Acting Director
- 2:20:39CIA is also a presidential appointee
- 2:20:43isn't it the director and the deputy
- 2:20:48director of Central Intelligence are by
- 2:20:51statute presidential appointees and
- 2:20:53subject to the advice and consent of the
- 2:20:55Senate and the same thing that's
- 2:20:58recently been have
- 2:20:59with respect to the director of the FBI
- 2:21:01isn't as I believe it has I think that
- 2:21:05he now is subject to Conville anyway
- 2:21:06after you had view after um general
- 2:21:09Walters had visited the White House and
- 2:21:13had a conversation with mr. Haldeman and
- 2:21:20mr. Ehrlichman in which they expressed
- 2:21:23concern about the possibility of FBI
- 2:21:27investigations in Mexico colliding with
- 2:21:32the Paula studied the act work of the of
- 2:21:38the agents of the CIA general Walters
- 2:21:41did receive a communication and from mr.
- 2:21:46gray the Acting Director of the FBI
- 2:21:49concerning these Mexican checks
- 2:21:51I believe that acting director gray
- 2:21:53spoke to him in their meeting about this
- 2:21:56I don't remember a communication I mean
- 2:21:58a written communication you know the
- 2:22:00director of the effort I mean mr. gray
- 2:22:02say the thing about especially any
- 2:22:04concern as to whether the FBI operations
- 2:22:08might impede them all the CIA in some
- 2:22:12manner in pursuing an investigation
- 2:22:15about these eight or nine thousand
- 2:22:17dollars in checks Mexicans yes mr.
- 2:22:19chairman I honestly don't remember but I
- 2:22:22believe that the general Walters who had
- 2:22:23the conversation who I believe will
- 2:22:25testify here might be able to clarify
- 2:22:27this for you because he was the one who
- 2:22:29after all that was with him now in
- 2:22:32addition to then then you are general
- 2:22:35Walters heads to several of our meetings
- 2:22:38all the phone calls with mr. Gregg about
- 2:22:41this Malecha my recollection is that
- 2:22:46during this period I did I personally
- 2:22:48did not see acting director gray I
- 2:22:52talked to him on the telephone it was
- 2:22:54only general Walters who visited with
- 2:22:56him and talked with him did you talk to
- 2:22:58mr. gray about the Mexican checks I
- 2:23:01never talked to about Mexican checks I
- 2:23:03talked to mr. gray on the phone about
- 2:23:05this Mexican lawyer Oh Gary Hill was
- 2:23:08something
- 2:23:09that's right but he but to you general
- 2:23:12waffles did report to you that in his
- 2:23:15meetings with mr. gray that mr. gray
- 2:23:17talked about the Mexican sheiks
- 2:23:19yes sir he did but and as I recall this
- 2:23:23now it was a sum of in excess of $80,000
- 2:23:27on the check but nobody ever explained
- 2:23:30to me at that time what this money was
- 2:23:32for or how it got there or anything
- 2:23:34about its purpose then after that time
- 2:23:45it took to make it perfectly clear to
- 2:23:51mr. gray that they could that FBI's
- 2:23:54investigation into the matters relating
- 2:23:59to these Mexican checks would not
- 2:24:00interfere with the CIA well sir what we
- 2:24:04made the clear to mr. gray was that if
- 2:24:07by any chance they ran into any of our
- 2:24:09operations they were to abide by our
- 2:24:11longtime understanding to notify us and
- 2:24:15that ended them out as far as the CIA
- 2:24:17and the Mexican section started mr. then
- 2:24:20a short time after that the mr. Deane
- 2:24:30contacted CIA owned on two successive
- 2:24:33days three 6s research yesterday's and
- 2:24:38the CIA assumed that he was representing
- 2:24:42the White House didn't well you see mr.
- 2:24:45chairman when he mr. Dean called general
- 2:24:48waters general Wallace was not
- 2:24:50acquainted with mr. Dean and since I
- 2:24:55think that they somehow in the
- 2:24:56conversation general waters intimated
- 2:24:59that why should he come down and talk to
- 2:25:00mr. Dean mr. Dean said you get a hold of
- 2:25:02mr. Ehrlichman and he will attest to the
- 2:25:04fact that I'm authorized to talk to you
- 2:25:06and general waters told me he had
- 2:25:08reached mr. Ehrlichman and
- 2:25:10Ehrlichman had so stated yes in these
- 2:25:14conversations just an interesting time
- 2:25:16I'll lump them together the first
- 2:25:19approach that mr. Dean made was that he
- 2:25:21requested that the CIA paid the defense
- 2:25:26of costume know the sport of these five
- 2:25:29men that the ten men had been called in
- 2:25:31the Watergate mr. chairman may I with
- 2:25:34great deference correct your State yes'm
- 2:25:37these were feelers to find out if there
- 2:25:40was some way that the CI might do
- 2:25:42according to general waters reports to
- 2:25:44me he was never requested to do anything
- 2:25:46yes well mr. Dean made inquiry of
- 2:25:52general Walters as to whether or not
- 2:25:55there was any way in which the CIA could
- 2:26:00Bailey's cause I think that's probably a
- 2:26:03goodness and then all the succeeding day
- 2:26:05while he made them after that he was
- 2:26:07advised by general Walters that CIA that
- 2:26:10would be beyond the authority of the CIA
- 2:26:13and that he knew that you wouldn't count
- 2:26:16on us then mr. Dean returned and asked
- 2:26:21if they could range if CIA could arrange
- 2:26:23bail for the persons that rested in the
- 2:26:26Watergate I had distinct a recollection
- 2:26:29and why they're stuck so firmly in my
- 2:26:31mind I'm not entirely sure it was on the
- 2:26:34second day that this question of bail
- 2:26:36and salaries was raised in other words
- 2:26:38there were three sessions Monday Tuesday
- 2:26:39and Wednesday and it was at a Tuesday
- 2:26:41session that these matters came up now
- 2:26:44you stated that you did the best you
- 2:26:48could and you did succeed and not
- 2:26:50stopping any further advances to the CIA
- 2:26:56in this respect and I presume that in so
- 2:26:58doing you were acting under the statute
- 2:27:00and pursuant to the statute which says
- 2:27:03that the CIA is has no law enforcement
- 2:27:08powers of a domestic nature and has no
- 2:27:12in regard to internal security but not
- 2:27:14only that was to chairman but a trust is
- 2:27:18put in the director of the central
- 2:27:20intelligence about the money that's
- 2:27:23given to him by Congress and there are
- 2:27:25certain understandings with the
- 2:27:26appropriate appropriations committees of
- 2:27:28Congress about what this money should be
- 2:27:29spent for and how it shall be handled
- 2:27:31and I was very clear in my mind about
- 2:27:33those and there was nothing about this
- 2:27:35request that we could have accommodated
- 2:27:37within those guidelines and that was
- 2:27:39made very clear mr. Dean I believe it
- 2:27:41was now there's been some examination
- 2:27:46indicating that perhaps you and general
- 2:27:49Walters had some discrepancy there was
- 2:27:52some discrepancy of a slight nature in
- 2:27:57the testimony you gave before believe
- 2:27:59some to sámi to this training and that
- 2:28:01as this understanding was all hanging
- 2:28:04out there in the committee I mean this
- 2:28:05is just the problem of human
- 2:28:07recollections and I realized that
- 2:28:09through these hearings I was told by
- 2:28:11some gentleman this morning that people
- 2:28:13seem to have a good forgettery when they
- 2:28:15get gas chair I don't have to pretend to
- 2:28:19be any better any worse than anyone else
- 2:28:21and my memory is fallible from time to
- 2:28:24time but I'm doing my very best at all
- 2:28:27of these hearings to tell you what I
- 2:28:30remembered at the time but and as far as
- 2:28:33the small disagreement and in general
- 2:28:34Wars and I were concerned that what we
- 2:28:36talked it over and analyzed the
- 2:28:38conversation and reconstructed it I had
- 2:28:40to admit I'd four guys this is not
- 2:28:43what's best not as in any indicator
- 2:28:46meeting any criticism all because I just
- 2:28:49illustrated myself for this morning that
- 2:28:51my memory is quite fallible and also
- 2:28:55there's some other good men's members
- 2:28:57and I strike myself I was a good man
- 2:28:59but there's members of other people have
- 2:29:02been a fallible and the Gospels of
- 2:29:09Matthew Mark Luke and John tell us that
- 2:29:13when the Pontius Pilate the Roman
- 2:29:15governor ordered the crucifixion of
- 2:29:19Christ that he wrote
- 2:29:22a title and had it placed on put on the
- 2:29:25cross and people who have an opportunity
- 2:29:29to know file things to just right and I
- 2:29:32think this more apt to be accurate then
- 2:29:37just what we're here and it's rather
- 2:29:40significant that these the writers of
- 2:29:43these four Gospels disagree this is
- 2:29:45exactly what this title it was put on
- 2:29:49the cross said the 37th of verse of the
- 2:29:5527th chapter Matthew says that the type
- 2:29:57of think that the writing which was put
- 2:30:00on the cross read as follows this is
- 2:30:03Jesus the King of the Jews the 26th
- 2:30:09verse of the fifteenth chapter Saint
- 2:30:11Mark has a different version it says the
- 2:30:15King of the Jews the 38th verse of the
- 2:30:2023rd chapter Saint Luke a still a
- 2:30:22different version of what was on this
- 2:30:25title and it says the title was this is
- 2:30:30the King of the Jews
- 2:30:31and then the Gospel the 19th verse of
- 2:30:36the nineteenth chapter Saint John has a
- 2:30:38fourth person of the same words the same
- 2:30:42title forever Jesus of Nazareth the King
- 2:30:47of the Jews and so I say that though if
- 2:30:51those four good men could have different
- 2:30:55versions of the same words it's quite
- 2:30:59understandable file you and I and other
- 2:31:02human beings have sawed off a label
- 2:31:04memories about things sometimes there's
- 2:31:07another thing I've noticed about the
- 2:31:09human mind and that is this that's
- 2:31:12sometimes sometimes when something
- 2:31:14occurs at first we have a recollection
- 2:31:19that certain things were said and our
- 2:31:24memory does not tell us that certain
- 2:31:25other things were said but when we hear
- 2:31:29the testimony of other people or
- 2:31:31sometimes look at the document that our
- 2:31:32memories become refreshed
- 2:31:34and the things that were hidden
- 2:31:36somewhere in an unconscious part of our
- 2:31:39mind but they'll come fresh to our
- 2:31:42memories again and so long I just want
- 2:31:46to say these things because I don't
- 2:31:48think a tribute to much importance to
- 2:31:50the fact that human beings don't recall
- 2:31:52all conversations and all you've all
- 2:31:55written words exactly alike and I just
- 2:31:58like to say this of mr. Helms for a
- 2:32:01moment the observation of the work you
- 2:32:07did is a direct to the CIA and from the
- 2:32:09context I had with you I think you did a
- 2:32:11a magnificent job in that capacity Thank
- 2:32:14You mr. chairman thank you very much
- 2:32:31chairman mr. ambassador in response to
- 2:32:34the Chairman's question
- 2:32:36you use the word which intrigues me
- 2:32:38feelers I presume feel is coming from
- 2:32:42the White House when did you realize
- 2:32:45that the White House was feeling you out
- 2:32:47about possibility of using your agency
- 2:32:51as a cover-up for why the Watergate
- 2:32:55burglars
- 2:33:02when I used to senator inouye the word
- 2:33:04feelers I was describing what I
- 2:33:08understood was the way mr. Dean put
- 2:33:12conducted a conversation with general
- 2:33:14waters which had to do with whether
- 2:33:19there was a possibility that the agency
- 2:33:22could provide covert funds to provide
- 2:33:25bail for the men who had broken into the
- 2:33:28Watergate and also whether or not when
- 2:33:34they were convicted and sent to jail the
- 2:33:36agency would pay their salaries while
- 2:33:38they were in jail now according to
- 2:33:42general Warner's report to me this was
- 2:33:44not a request of him by mr. Dean it was
- 2:33:48sort of postulating what could be done
- 2:33:50under the circumstances and this is why
- 2:33:53I thought maybe a descriptive word as
- 2:33:55any would be feelers oh don't you
- 2:33:59consider that the suggestions being made
- 2:34:01of the possibilities constituted a very
- 2:34:06serious departure from the statutorily
- 2:34:08prescribed functions of your agency it
- 2:34:11would have been if we had in any way
- 2:34:13become involved in this that being the
- 2:34:16case did you feel that that you should
- 2:34:22have advised the two senior members of
- 2:34:25the House and the Senate the chairman of
- 2:34:27the Appropriations Committee of the
- 2:34:28House and the Senate
- 2:34:30well said no way I didn't and I don't
- 2:34:35recall having thought that that was an
- 2:34:37obligation I had at the time I thought
- 2:34:39that my job was to keep the agency clear
- 2:34:41of all this and as long as I succeeded
- 2:34:43in keeping it clear but that was my job
- 2:34:45and my business and further that these
- 2:34:51conversations were held in such a
- 2:34:54fashion that there was if I understood
- 2:34:57general Walters report to me accurately
- 2:35:00to make the assertion that we'd been
- 2:35:02asked to do this would have been denied
- 2:35:04that this was a possibility that was
- 2:35:06being discussed but I don't want to lean
- 2:35:08heavily on that
- 2:35:10I want to lean heavily on the fact that
- 2:35:12I was trying to keep the agency clean
- 2:35:13and that I didn't as long as I kept it
- 2:35:17clean I felt I was doing my job
- 2:35:19but whatever was being suggested in your
- 2:35:22mind was improper the improper thing
- 2:35:26would have been if we'd done it did you
- 2:35:29advise your successor mr. Schlesinger
- 2:35:31are these feelers I don't recall our
- 2:35:39disgustingness now as a matter of fact I
- 2:35:42had the conversations I was mr.
- 2:35:45Schlesinger when he came into the agency
- 2:35:47had to do almost entirely with
- 2:35:50operational matters and liaison our
- 2:35:51relationships and things of that kind I
- 2:35:53didn't get into these matters as I
- 2:35:54recall them thank you
- 2:36:15mr. Helms I'd like to Pastor Helms I'd
- 2:36:18like to if I can go back to the meeting
- 2:36:22of the 23rd and I'm now using the
- 2:36:26transcript of the hearing specifically
- 2:36:29that portion of transcript which relates
- 2:36:31to mr. Collins recollections of that
- 2:36:33meeting you're now quoting from mr.
- 2:36:36Haldeman that's right that's right I
- 2:36:38think this is a good opportunity to try
- 2:36:40and not so much sell the question as to
- 2:36:43whether or not Watergate was discussed
- 2:36:45because to be candid there was no
- 2:36:48question that it was and so far as mr.
- 2:36:50Holloman was concerned and but rather
- 2:36:54what was said I think that's that's
- 2:36:56what's important I think everybody
- 2:36:58concedes the fact that Watergate was
- 2:37:00discussed at this meeting regardless as
- 2:37:02I say just look if you're a recollection
- 2:37:04of those hearings no be disputes that
- 2:37:06either your later recollection or and
- 2:37:08mr. Hall Evans testimony buddy before
- 2:37:11the committee Solomon said so without
- 2:37:15commenting on either the accuracy of mr.
- 2:37:17Walters recollection or your recitation
- 2:37:19of it and he's talking to mr. - because
- 2:37:24he's given number of different
- 2:37:25statements and depositions in this thing
- 2:37:27that make a rather complex but the
- 2:37:28meeting one of the purpose of the
- 2:37:30meeting is assigned to me by the
- 2:37:31President on the morning of the 23rd
- 2:37:33when he told me to have to have me and
- 2:37:36Ehrlichman meet with director Helms and
- 2:37:38deputy director or Walters in addition
- 2:37:42to ascertaining whether there was any
- 2:37:44CIA involvement I put that as point
- 2:37:47number one whether there was any CIA
- 2:37:50concern about earlier activities of
- 2:37:53people who had been arrested at the
- 2:37:54Watergate I put that as point number two
- 2:37:57and three was to tell us CIA directors
- 2:38:01at the FBI had expressed concern that as
- 2:38:06to whether there was CIA involvement or
- 2:38:08any impingement now he elaborates that
- 2:38:13he elaborates on this in the following
- 2:38:16statements mr. Helms told me at the
- 2:38:20meeting that there was had no CIA
- 2:38:24involvement in the Watergate operation
- 2:38:26and he had so informed director
- 2:38:28gray so I learned that at that meeting I
- 2:38:30didn't know it prior to the meeting
- 2:38:33now and here's what I'd like to to
- 2:38:37question you on as to what your
- 2:38:38recollection is we get into what he
- 2:38:39considered to be the main point mr.
- 2:38:42Haldeman because and there seems to be a
- 2:38:45very difficult point to get across but
- 2:38:48because there were other items of
- 2:38:50concern the matter the question raised
- 2:38:53was not solely the question of whether
- 2:38:55the CIA had been involved in the
- 2:38:56Watergate break-in but also whether the
- 2:39:00investigation of the Watergate break-in
- 2:39:02which was to be thorough and total could
- 2:39:05possibly impinge upon the activities
- 2:39:08totally unrelated to Watergate and
- 2:39:11related to national security
- 2:39:14or to covert CIA operations the
- 2:39:17activities of some of the individuals
- 2:39:19who had also been involved in the
- 2:39:21Watergate and had been arrested at the
- 2:39:22Watergate let me just read that last
- 2:39:25portion but also whether the
- 2:39:27investigation of the Watergate break-in
- 2:39:29which is to be thorough in total could
- 2:39:30possibly impinge upon the activities
- 2:39:32totally unrelated to Watergate and
- 2:39:34related to national security or to
- 2:39:36covert CIA operations now is that
- 2:39:42thien's is that the instruction that you
- 2:39:46recall or is that the subject matter
- 2:39:48that you recall being related from mr.
- 2:39:52Haldeman to general Walters or is it of
- 2:39:55a different nature and if so well I
- 2:39:57recall being asked if there was any CIA
- 2:40:00involvement right and I answered
- 2:40:02negatively correct I recall as I said
- 2:40:07earlier this morning that mr. Hollin
- 2:40:09made some reference to the Bay of Pigs I
- 2:40:11referred to it as an incoherent
- 2:40:13reference because it was frankly in my
- 2:40:16recollection I don't know exactly what
- 2:40:18he point he had in mind but I reacted to
- 2:40:24that question very firmly
- 2:40:27now the Bay of Pigs is the rubric for a
- 2:40:31very unhappy event in the life of the
- 2:40:33CIA it's been a dead cat that's been
- 2:40:36thrown at us
- 2:40:37over the years ever since and therefore
- 2:40:41it's one to which I'm likely to react
- 2:40:44and react rather quickly for the simple
- 2:40:48reason that the Bay of Pigs was long
- 2:40:50since over the problems arising from
- 2:40:53what had been liquidated I was well
- 2:40:55aware of this and I didn't care what any
- 2:40:57investigation had to do with the Bay of
- 2:40:59Pigs he could have gotten into anybody
- 2:41:00involved with it or without it or above
- 2:41:02it or below it I didn't care and I was
- 2:41:05trying to make this clear to mr.
- 2:41:06Haldeman on that occasion the fact that
- 2:41:09some of these people that broke into the
- 2:41:11Watergate had at one time and had
- 2:41:13relationships with the agency including
- 2:41:15Martinez who had had them up and told
- 2:41:17just a few days before didn't make any
- 2:41:21difference to me I mean there was
- 2:41:23nothing that anybody was going to find
- 2:41:24out about investigating them it was
- 2:41:26going to bother us as far as I was aware
- 2:41:29we then get down to the question of what
- 2:41:33an FBI investigation in Mexico might
- 2:41:35turn out and as I explained earlier I
- 2:41:38did not have in my head all of our
- 2:41:40operations and makes it criminal but
- 2:41:42what was more important I didn't know
- 2:41:44where the FBI was investigating in
- 2:41:47Mexico I didn't know who they were
- 2:41:49following I didn't know what they were
- 2:41:51up to
- 2:41:51so I regarded as prudent to inform
- 2:41:55myself a bit about these things
- 2:41:57before I came down flatly and said let
- 2:42:00the FBI go ahead investigate in Mexico
- 2:42:02they'll never run across our operations
- 2:42:04because this might not have been the
- 2:42:06case do I answer your question sir all
- 2:42:10right so that that's what what then did
- 2:42:16mr. Haldeman to the best of your
- 2:42:18recollection tell general Walters the
- 2:42:21thrust of what I understood mr. Haldeman
- 2:42:25to say to general waters was that he
- 2:42:27wanted him to speak to acting director
- 2:42:29Gray to restrain whatever investigation
- 2:42:36the FBI was conducting in Mexico because
- 2:42:39it might run into certain CIA operations
- 2:42:41down there and I've just explained to
- 2:42:43you why it was that I could not save on
- 2:42:46the spur of the moment
- 2:42:47it couldn't possibly happen so mr.
- 2:42:55sender Wiker I'd also like to mention
- 2:42:57here if you don't mind but something I
- 2:42:59said a moment earlier that often the
- 2:43:02White House gets information about
- 2:43:04things that other people in the
- 2:43:07government are not privy to the
- 2:43:08President and other people in the White
- 2:43:09House have a great many sources of
- 2:43:11information and I didn't know what they
- 2:43:13had on their mind about CIA operations
- 2:43:15in Mexico at that point or might have
- 2:43:18had on their mind now immediately upon
- 2:43:22leaving this meeting with general
- 2:43:25Walters did you have any discussion with
- 2:43:28general Walters relative to the
- 2:43:30discussion which had taken place with
- 2:43:32mr. Haldeman and mr. Lee as I testified
- 2:43:34earlier I told general Walters that I
- 2:43:37thought when he saw mr. gray that he
- 2:43:40should point out to mr. gray that
- 2:43:42there's a delimitation agreement between
- 2:43:43the FBI and the CIA we're in if FBI
- 2:43:47investigations run into CIA matters the
- 2:43:50word there to be reported to the CIA and
- 2:43:52if CIA operations from the FBI matters
- 2:43:55they were to be reported to the FBI and
- 2:43:57I thought that this was all the whole
- 2:43:59distance he had to go in his
- 2:44:00conversation with mr. gray it was a
- 2:44:02legitimate request it was made because I
- 2:44:06didn't know whether mr. gray was
- 2:44:07familiar with this he hadn't been acting
- 2:44:09director for very long I wasn't even
- 2:44:11sure general waters was familiar with it
- 2:44:13because he had only been in the agency
- 2:44:14about six weeks or so so I wanted to be
- 2:44:17sure that these two relatively new
- 2:44:19people were not talking about what I
- 2:44:21thought were we're talking about what I
- 2:44:24thought were important and legitimate
- 2:44:25things would it be proper to say that
- 2:44:30you were comfortable with general
- 2:44:33Walters going to Pat gray with what you
- 2:44:37indicated to him outside of the meeting
- 2:44:40and that you were uneasy if he had gone
- 2:44:42to general gray with what had been
- 2:44:44transmitted by mr. Haldeman I accept
- 2:44:46that
- 2:44:49then one last question
- 2:44:58when I asked you in the first round of
- 2:45:01questioning as to whether not you felt
- 2:45:03you were being talked around during that
- 2:45:05meeting of the 23rd and and and as
- 2:45:10you've testified to I've gathered this
- 2:45:13pride that you have in the independence
- 2:45:15of the CIA the belief that you have in
- 2:45:21the in the trust that is imposed upon
- 2:45:23the director by the Congress and I
- 2:45:27gather you you you certainly don't
- 2:45:28hesitate to express those feelings to
- 2:45:30this committee and I gather you don't
- 2:45:31hesitate to express them or you didn't
- 2:45:34hesitate to express them to anybody else
- 2:45:36so while you were director of the CIA
- 2:45:40now do you feel that this might have
- 2:45:42been one of the reasons why you were
- 2:45:44talked around at this meeting of the
- 2:45:4623rd well certainly that occurred to me
- 2:45:51I had mixed emotions about this any
- 2:45:57sensible person I think would have
- 2:45:59wondered why I was not asked to do this
- 2:46:03various interpretations I suppose could
- 2:46:06have been thought up but the fact of the
- 2:46:11way it was handled is in himself an
- 2:46:15unusual event and general waters I think
- 2:46:21and he could speak for himself about
- 2:46:22this thought that maybe they were asking
- 2:46:24him to do it because he was an army
- 2:46:25officer and used to taking orders but
- 2:46:28I've been in the government a long time
- 2:46:29and used to taking orders too so that I
- 2:46:33think one was forced a bit to the
- 2:46:35conclusion that for some reason they
- 2:46:36thought he might carry out the
- 2:46:38instructions more precisely and more
- 2:46:40fully than I might have I just don't
- 2:46:43know
- 2:46:43I've never been told thank you very much
- 2:46:49[Music]
- 2:46:52I'm soon very much time as I understood
- 2:46:55your testimony mr. ambassador hunt was
- 2:46:59supplied with certain equipment I don't
- 2:47:02recall what you said he was supplied
- 2:47:04with but that it was not used in the
- 2:47:07Ellsberg burglary well Senator Baker
- 2:47:10this is the point I was trying to make
- 2:47:14that you read out to me a moment ago the
- 2:47:17equipment that he was given and I submit
- 2:47:20to you as a highly intelligent human
- 2:47:23being could you break into a building
- 2:47:25with that equipment I don't know but
- 2:47:26what I'm reaching for is if it wasn't
- 2:47:29use prevent what was it used for I don't
- 2:47:31know to this day did you give us any
- 2:47:37idea with it were there other operations
- 2:47:39and that required this this rather
- 2:47:41elaborate and exotic spice at you know
- 2:47:49the spice set was if you put it together
- 2:47:52I think it's consistent with what the
- 2:47:55Chairman was saying that this would be
- 2:47:57the kind of thing you would want if you
- 2:47:59were going to conduct an individual an
- 2:48:01interview with an individual whom you
- 2:48:04didn't want to recognize you for who you
- 2:48:06were in other words under an assumed
- 2:48:08name for whatever purposes you have any
- 2:48:10idea we've heard testimony I believe
- 2:48:17from other witnesses that it's the
- 2:48:18practice of the CIA and the event that
- 2:48:21one of their agents gets into trouble
- 2:48:23that the agency takes care of their
- 2:48:26family and
- 2:48:28sort of thing is that in fact a policy
- 2:48:30of the CIA well for example it is now
- 2:48:34public knowledge that mr. Downey and mr.
- 2:48:38Fecteau were working for the CIA when
- 2:48:40they were captured arrested convicted
- 2:48:41and put in jail in China and during the
- 2:48:44period that they were in jail their
- 2:48:45salaries were paid just as though
- 2:48:47they've been on our own when they came
- 2:48:49out they had a quite tidy piece of money
- 2:48:51to take care of them for whatever period
- 2:48:54of time they wanted to use it for it and
- 2:48:55we supported the families of one of them
- 2:48:57during that period is the answer yes yes
- 2:49:05do I understand the thrust of your
- 2:49:08testimony to be that the things I listed
- 2:49:11earlier about the wigs about the camera
- 2:49:14and about the voice altering device
- 2:49:16about the psychological profile possibly
- 2:49:19at a number of other things were all
- 2:49:21done by the CIA but that you learned of
- 2:49:23all or most of them much much later oh I
- 2:49:26was involved in the psychological
- 2:49:28profile I don't want to duck that one
- 2:49:29are i authorized it's being made okay
- 2:49:32what about the others but do I
- 2:49:33understand that you learned that these
- 2:49:34things much like somewhat later because
- 2:49:43you see if you find my answer equivocal
- 2:49:45let me explain it my recollection was
- 2:49:47that I heard about the tape recorder in
- 2:49:50the camera within the timeframe of July
- 2:49:53August 1971
- 2:49:55it's the wig and the other things that I
- 2:49:56did not remember having been told about
- 2:49:58at that time which I learned about
- 2:50:00considerably later and to this day you
- 2:50:02don't know what those things were used
- 2:50:04for no sir you know senator Baker I want
- 2:50:07to explain something the committee I've
- 2:50:08been away in these recent months so I've
- 2:50:10not had access to the newspapers here of
- 2:50:13the full testimony before this committee
- 2:50:15this may have been explained many times
- 2:50:16in Congress and I may have missed it so
- 2:50:19that I'm not I just don't know why
- 2:50:21didn't you when you found out about
- 2:50:23these things launch an inquiry into
- 2:50:29but quite frankly as of the time that
- 2:50:35this was all going on you realize that
- 2:50:38at the time of the Watergate burglary
- 2:50:40there was no evidence that had ever come
- 2:50:42to my attention that this equipment had
- 2:50:44been used for any illegal or improper
- 2:50:46act yeah but you knew it was outstanding
- 2:50:49at the moment you found out this stuff
- 2:50:51had been issued of the support supplied
- 2:50:53by CIA did you do anything to
- 2:50:55investigate what it was used for no sir
- 2:50:57why didn't you frankly it didn't occur
- 2:51:02to me you knew a day after this happened
- 2:51:06that two or three four of your former
- 2:51:09FBI CIA agents and one of them still on
- 2:51:12the payroll was involved did you launch
- 2:51:14yourself an investigation to see what
- 2:51:16was going on about the Watergate
- 2:51:18burglary certainly certainly what you do
- 2:51:21we checked on all these people their
- 2:51:24relationships with our people their
- 2:51:26relationships with the agency we went
- 2:51:28through all of that and turned all that
- 2:51:29material over there go talk to these
- 2:51:31people you pick up the phone and say
- 2:51:33what the world's going on no sir we
- 2:51:35never talked to any of them as far as
- 2:51:36I'm aware after all they were in jail at
- 2:51:40that time Wow
- 2:51:41that's right they were I won't pursue
- 2:51:49this mr. chairman it strikes me though
- 2:51:51that there were there was there were
- 2:51:55great indications maybe hindsight's the
- 2:51:57only way we can look at this they're
- 2:51:59great indications of a deep cross
- 2:52:03identification with at least CIA
- 2:52:04personnel CIA material a past history of
- 2:52:09relationships with CIA that you didn't
- 2:52:12know about it except for the
- 2:52:14psychological profile and I can't help
- 2:52:17him saying but the similarity between
- 2:52:19that contention and I do not doubt it by
- 2:52:23US Director CIA is remarkably similar to
- 2:52:26the contention with the president that
- 2:52:27he didn't know all about
- 2:52:34well now let's halt a minute
- 2:52:43when we looked into these various
- 2:52:45relationships of these individuals with
- 2:52:48the agency we turned over to the FBI
- 2:52:53everything that we were able to
- 2:52:54establish about this now therefore I
- 2:53:00assume that what you're saying is that
- 2:53:05somehow I should have gotten to these
- 2:53:09fellows who were in jail and asked them
- 2:53:13each one of them what he'd been up to
- 2:53:15well it didn't seem to me that that was
- 2:53:17my function sir law enforcement
- 2:53:20authorities the FBI was conducting an
- 2:53:22investigation there were the proper
- 2:53:24authorities to do this and quite frankly
- 2:53:26I if I think I had intruded into this
- 2:53:28matter at that time would have been an
- 2:53:30improper actor that's almost precisely
- 2:53:31what mr. Ehrlichman and mr. Haldeman
- 2:53:33tell us that may be sick but you had
- 2:53:38people in the CIA that you later learned
- 2:53:40had supplied these wigs and
- 2:53:43voice-altering devices and cameras and
- 2:53:45processing equipment and aliases and
- 2:53:47forged documents did you go to the
- 2:53:50people inside the CIA and find out how
- 2:53:52come they did it and for what purpose
- 2:53:54you say it was not for the Ellsberg
- 2:53:56thing I'm consumed by curiosity what
- 2:53:58else was going on what was it eautiful
- 2:54:00but Senator Baker all of this is in your
- 2:54:02record all of these memoranda all of the
- 2:54:05inquiry of these various individuals in
- 2:54:07the CIA you have it there
- 2:54:09I'm stacks you know part of that record
- 2:54:12tells me what those things were used for
- 2:54:14if we exclude the Ellsberg situation I
- 2:54:17don't know what they were useful what
- 2:54:19I'm saying is why don't you know why
- 2:54:21didn't you find out because I thought
- 2:54:25frankly that when these individuals have
- 2:54:27been arrested that that was the FBI's
- 2:54:29job and so did the White House wasn't it
- 2:54:33the FBI's job well maybe it was but I've
- 2:54:38used the analogy once or twice and I
- 2:54:40feel a little ill at ease using it if I
- 2:54:43had someone on mice
- 2:54:44who was caught red-handed robbing a
- 2:54:46jewelry store or let alone the
- 2:54:48Democratic National Committee
- 2:54:49headquarters and I read about it in the
- 2:54:51newspaper then or later I have a hunch
- 2:54:54that I would have jumped up and down and
- 2:54:55screamed until I found out what happened
- 2:54:58I have no reason to question that you
- 2:55:06might have said but I have no reason to
- 2:55:08question that you might have to and
- 2:55:10that's why I'm asking why you didn't
- 2:55:11because I have a great admiration for
- 2:55:14you mr. towns I think you are an
- 2:55:15extraordinary citizen I think you've
- 2:55:17done extraordinary service for your
- 2:55:19country you know I'd like to be worthy
- 2:55:24of your comments senator Baker and I
- 2:55:26trust that I am but at the time that
- 2:55:30these men were arrested it did not seem
- 2:55:34to me that it was a proper thing for me
- 2:55:36to get into that affair as to why they
- 2:55:38had been arrested or their past it just
- 2:55:40didn't seem like a big event at the time
- 2:55:42oh it was it was a big event but it did
- 2:55:44not seem to me that it was a proper job
- 2:55:46for me to undertake to investigate how
- 2:55:48they had gotten there or why they'd been
- 2:55:50arrested all right lest I be
- 2:55:51misunderstood in this Jim say mr.
- 2:55:54ambassador I now continue to have and
- 2:55:58nothing I've asked you by way of testing
- 2:56:00the situation by your evidence should
- 2:56:04imply anything to the contrary I
- 2:56:05continue to have an enormous respect and
- 2:56:08admiration for you for what you've done
- 2:56:09and what you will do and I appreciate
- 2:56:12your testimony thank you one question
- 2:56:16couldn't you couldn't you reason you
- 2:56:18know did you draw the conclusion that if
- 2:56:21you don't undertake them to investigate
- 2:56:23the burglarizing of the Watergate that
- 2:56:26that would have been inconsistent with
- 2:56:27the prohibition of the hack on which you
- 2:56:29operate that you have the CIA has no
- 2:56:32function in respect to internal security
- 2:56:39I'm talking about investigating his own
- 2:56:42staff within his own organization and
- 2:56:44that's
- 2:56:44we doesn't violate any domestic security
- 2:56:48program but didn't you testify that you
- 2:56:51did investigate it inside of the
- 2:56:53Cheyenne turned over the information FBI
- 2:56:55and yes sir and also you have it in the
- 2:56:57records of this committee On June 17
- 2:57:111972 was Mr Hunt a member of the CIA the
- 2:57:19part of the CIA no he was not with mr.
- 2:57:21Liddy a part of the CIA
- 2:57:22no mr. Barker part of the CIA no senator
- 2:57:25was mr. McCord a part of the CIA no sir
- 2:57:28was mr. Martinez a part of the CIA
- 2:57:32mr. Martinez was getting a retainer of
- 2:57:35$100 a month on a fiduciary relationship
- 2:57:39he was not a staff employee of the CEO
- 2:57:41which which operation was down in
- 2:57:43Florida insofar as screening those
- 2:57:45persons coming over from Cuba and
- 2:57:47ascertaining as to whether or not they
- 2:57:49should be would be half of intelligence
- 2:57:52value yes sir mr. Sturges was he a
- 2:57:55member of the CIA no sir not at that
- 2:57:57time mr. Gonzales is he a member the CIA
- 2:57:59no sir mr. Baldwin is he a member the
- 2:58:03CIA no sir
- 2:58:06debarker was he a member the CIA no sir
- 2:58:11so America the only member of the CIA in
- 2:58:14all of these matters on June 17th 1972
- 2:58:19was mr. Martinez who was on a hundred
- 2:58:23dollar retainer down in Florida relative
- 2:58:25to the screening of Cuban exiles
- 2:58:27that's correct
- 2:58:34and you did you turn over the records of
- 2:58:37these men to the FBI yes sir when as
- 2:58:42soon as well I don't know the precise
- 2:58:45dates but the FBI started inquiring of
- 2:58:49the agency about the backgrounds of
- 2:58:51these men as soon as the men have been
- 2:58:53arrested and we started providing the
- 2:58:55information from that day
- 2:59:13I can't if I understand the analogy and
- 2:59:18I'm not sure that I do but perhaps your
- 2:59:22ideas then that because there was
- 2:59:24visible former CIA employees and not
- 2:59:27present CIA employees that that some way
- 2:59:31would relieve you of responsibility you
- 2:59:34might otherwise have
- 2:59:35is that a fair yes I think so I think
- 2:59:38mr. Thompson that I should make it clear
- 2:59:41because I was asked at another hearing
- 2:59:43one time when an individual resigns or
- 2:59:48retires from the CIA that's the end of
- 2:59:50his identification with the agency as
- 2:59:53far as we're concerned certainly under
- 2:59:54American laws one has no way of keeping
- 2:59:58a string on people like this so when
- 3:00:00they walk out the door they turn in
- 3:00:02their badge and their employment where
- 3:00:04the agency is finished unless some sort
- 3:00:06of a contractual or fiduciary
- 3:00:08relationship is established with it this
- 3:00:10was not the case with these others
- 3:00:12except for Martinez I can see that and
- 3:00:16as long as we're talking about analogy
- 3:00:17I'm not reaching any conclusion but just
- 3:00:19really thinking aloud for the same token
- 3:00:23there were no present White House
- 3:00:25employees involved in the break-in even
- 3:00:27they were also former employees so if we
- 3:00:31have an analogy I imagine analysis still
- 3:00:33holds up thank you
- 3:00:43you'll be back at 2 o'clock
- 3:00:46we are recessed two o'clock the counter
- 3:00:54the committee broke for lunch just as
- 3:00:56the questioning started to reveal
- 3:00:58differences between some committee
- 3:01:00members public televisions coverage of
- 3:01:02the Senate hearings will continue after
- 3:01:04we paused for station identification
- 3:01:06unabridged coverage of these hearings is
- 3:01:09provided as a public service by the
- 3:01:10member stations of PBS the Public
- 3:01:13Broadcasting Service impact continues
- 3:01:21its coverage of hearings but a Senate
- 3:01:23Select Committee on presidential
- 3:01:25campaign activities here again
- 3:01:27correspondent Robert MacNeil as we pick
- 3:01:30up the testimony again assistant chief
- 3:01:32counsel David Dawson is questioning
- 3:01:34Richard Helms the committee will come to
- 3:01:39order
- 3:01:39and counsel Thank You mr. chairman the
- 3:01:54normal contact from the White House to
- 3:01:58the CIA dr. Kissinger was there much
- 3:02:03contact between mr. Ehrlichman or mr.
- 3:02:06Haldeman and the CIA there was some of
- 3:02:09course not nearly as much there was more
- 3:02:11with mr. Ehrlichman and there was with
- 3:02:12mr. Haldeman can you give some give us
- 3:02:15some idea the number of contacts between
- 3:02:18mr. Ehrlichman and the CIA during the
- 3:02:20time you were director but that would be
- 3:02:22difficult to mr. Council because I don't
- 3:02:27know any way to come up with a statistic
- 3:02:29I suppose that I've had a dozen or so
- 3:02:33contacts within myself over
- 3:02:36three or four years and where many of
- 3:02:38these requests for information or
- 3:02:39requests that the CIA do something
- 3:02:41whether were a variety of things there
- 3:02:43were meetings I attended that mr.
- 3:02:45Ehrlichman called I recall one
- 3:02:49particular activity when the White House
- 3:02:53was redoing the method of classification
- 3:02:55of documents and devising some new
- 3:02:58procedures for declassifying documents
- 3:03:01there were some meetings in order to
- 3:03:03rewrite these regulations and I remember
- 3:03:05attending at least one the may have been
- 3:03:06to now in connection with the request in
- 3:03:11July of 1971 for the CIA to furnish
- 3:03:14supports for mr. hunt
- 3:03:17as your understanding is it not that mr.
- 3:03:20Ehrlichman contacted General Cushman is
- 3:03:22that correct
- 3:03:22that was my distinct impression and in
- 3:03:25June of 1972 when you were at the
- 3:03:30meeting in mr. ehrlichman's office am i
- 3:03:33correct that it was miss general Walters
- 3:03:35who was asked to go to Patrick gray by
- 3:03:38mr. Ehrlichman he was asked by mr.
- 3:03:40Haldeman
- 3:03:40Sooni by mr. Haldeman yes did you make
- 3:03:43any connection then or subsequently
- 3:03:45concerning the fact that the two
- 3:03:48deputies who were asked to participate
- 3:03:50in the fashion described were both
- 3:03:52military men well I didn't know whether
- 3:03:56it had to do with the fact they're a
- 3:03:57military
- 3:03:58there are particular appointees of this
- 3:04:01administration or Jax just exactly when
- 3:04:03they're old friends and therefore seem
- 3:04:05to be easier to deal with am i ray don't
- 3:04:06know which of these considerations loom
- 3:04:08the largest now were you aware prior to
- 3:04:16the May 22nd 1972 announcement by the
- 3:04:20president of the organization known as
- 3:04:23the plumbers or the fact that there was
- 3:04:25such an organization in the White House
- 3:04:27you mean the May 22 1973 excuse me 73
- 3:04:31I've never heard of a plumbers unit were
- 3:04:35you familiar with an investigative unit
- 3:04:36in the White House I didn't know there
- 3:04:38was any unit in the White House that was
- 3:04:40actively carrying out if you like
- 3:04:43burglaries or activist activities of
- 3:04:45this kind now with respect to the
- 3:04:50material supply to Howard hunt you
- 3:04:55referred to the wig as a fairly famous
- 3:04:58item was the wig that was applied to mr.
- 3:05:03hunt by the CIA the same wig allegedly
- 3:05:07worn by hunt the red wig when he saw
- 3:05:11Dida beard I've been told in recent
- 3:05:14times that the wig provided by the
- 3:05:17agency was a brunette wig it was a dark
- 3:05:21hair anyway and that so the agency
- 3:05:25technicians rather resented the fact
- 3:05:27that the red wig had been tied into the
- 3:05:29CIA because it was such a lousy fit
- 3:05:41mr. Helms ambassador Helms are you
- 3:05:43familiar with the memorandum which there
- 3:05:47was a covering routing slip from general
- 3:05:50Cushman to you with the date August 23
- 3:05:531971 on it yes seriously this is indeed
- 3:05:59the memorandum as you showed me that's
- 3:06:00correct and I just like to have you
- 3:06:07identify it
- 3:06:07please cameras
- 3:06:14[Applause]
- 3:06:19yes I am familiar with a memorandum soon
- 3:06:24because I like the Ambassador and hold
- 3:06:26it for another minute and is that
- 3:06:27memorandum the memorandum in chief if I
- 3:06:32if I may use that expression deal with
- 3:06:33the request of mr. hunt for the
- 3:06:36Secretary to which you referred earlier
- 3:06:41yes and there's a portion of the routing
- 3:06:45slip is that a portion of that in your
- 3:06:47handwriting yes there is and could you
- 3:06:50read the routing slip to us please
- 3:06:52including the portion which I understand
- 3:06:54is in general Cushman's handwriting and
- 3:06:56the portion that is in your handwriting
- 3:06:57the part that is in general Cushman's
- 3:07:00handwriting appears first it says FYI
- 3:07:03and guidance on how to handle and then
- 3:07:08general Cushman's initial appears I note
- 3:07:11back to him says if Hunt renews the
- 3:07:14request please let me know and I'll
- 3:07:17speak to Ehrlichman about it or rather
- 3:07:20they speak too early but at once these
- 3:07:22Xeroxes are not famously good mr.
- 3:07:26chairman with the committee's permission
- 3:07:28I would like to have that received in
- 3:07:29evidence without objection it will be
- 3:07:33marked appropriate as an exhibit
- 3:07:36received in evidence as such
- 3:07:43bastard Helms this morning you were
- 3:07:47shown or it was read to you the
- 3:07:51memorandum dated August 31 1971 I would
- 3:07:56like to show you a copy of that at this
- 3:07:58point and to refresh your recollection
- 3:08:04this is the one that deals well with
- 3:08:07states I called John Ehrlichman Friday
- 3:08:09and explain why we could not meet these
- 3:08:11requests I indicated Hunt was becoming a
- 3:08:14pain in the neck John said he would
- 3:08:16restrain hunt it's signed by general
- 3:08:19Cushman and you wrote good is that
- 3:08:20correct yes sir I direct your attention
- 3:08:22to the last typewritten page of that
- 3:08:25memorandum and I read you number three I
- 3:08:29told mr. and the name is blanked out at
- 3:08:31request of the CIA that mr. hunts latest
- 3:08:35requests drew us even further into the
- 3:08:37sensitive area of domestic operations
- 3:08:39against Americans and that all such
- 3:08:41requests should be referred to general
- 3:08:43Cushman's office meanwhile these
- 3:08:45requests should not be met and there's a
- 3:08:48signature initials D DCI which
- 3:08:51represents a position in the CIA what
- 3:08:55does that paragraph mean I don't know
- 3:08:58what this gentleman had reference to it
- 3:09:00is signed by the executive assistant to
- 3:09:03the Deputy Director and what he was
- 3:09:05referring to there I have no idea
- 3:09:06I heard of no specific Americans being
- 3:09:09involved
- 3:09:10that time do you have any knowledge of
- 3:09:12domestic operations against Americans no
- 3:09:15sir I don't know what he had in mind
- 3:09:24in your conversations with Sumi mr.
- 3:09:28chairman this I believe has been
- 3:09:29received in evidence and copies were
- 3:09:31supplied this morning of both and each
- 3:09:37senator had exceed the copy this morning
- 3:09:40do you know what general Cushman was
- 3:09:43told concerning mr. hunts operations
- 3:09:46I don't specifically mr. Council all I
- 3:09:51recall was what I said this morning that
- 3:09:53when hunt came to him and asked for this
- 3:09:56assistance he said it was for a one-time
- 3:09:59interview and do you know whether the
- 3:10:04camera that was given to mr. hunt was
- 3:10:09returned to the CIA prior to September
- 3:10:153rd 1971 which has been given as the
- 3:10:18date of the burglary I don't know I have
- 3:10:20heard it said that the camera was not
- 3:10:24returned but that's really hearsay I'm
- 3:10:27not sure that that was accurate
- 3:10:28information but it was somehow my
- 3:10:30impression that he did not return this
- 3:10:32equipment question the records of the
- 3:10:34CIA I believe the camera was returned
- 3:10:37but the recorder was not was it but you
- 3:10:41have this in the record stone that is
- 3:10:43what I think it should be in the records
- 3:10:44of the committee because I don't think
- 3:10:45this show should depend on my memory
- 3:10:47it's a relevant fact and I would like to
- 3:10:49identify myself with what the record
- 3:10:52shows very good is ambassador now
- 3:10:54earlier you were asked by Senator
- 3:10:56Talmadge whether you were asked by the
- 3:10:59White House concerning mr. hunt in terms
- 3:11:03of supplying a reference and you
- 3:11:05indicated that you were not so consulted
- 3:11:08what reference would you have given you
- 3:11:09pass
- 3:11:11well that's a terribly difficult
- 3:11:12question
- 3:11:13asked me in July our August of 1973
- 3:11:18after all the evidence that's been
- 3:11:20brought forward I think that what would
- 3:11:28have been in my mind at the time was to
- 3:11:31wonder why they wanted him and what his
- 3:11:35talents were that they wanted to avail
- 3:11:36themselves of and I think my answer
- 3:11:38would have been largely dependent on
- 3:11:40what they told me am I correct that in
- 3:11:42the last year's of mr. hunts service
- 3:11:45with the CIA he was given a somewhat
- 3:11:47different assignment than he had before
- 3:11:51yes I believe that in his recent years
- 3:11:54there he was stationed in Washington for
- 3:11:56one thing and but precisely what his
- 3:11:58duties were at the time I don't know but
- 3:11:59they were not particularly operational
- 3:12:01but as I explained this morning he was
- 3:12:03having some family difficulties and so
- 3:12:05forth and he was trying to work these
- 3:12:08out as well as do his job and so on so
- 3:12:11that I can only assume that we were
- 3:12:17taking these human factors into
- 3:12:19consideration and had assigned him at a
- 3:12:22place where he can commentate himself
- 3:12:24did a question arise at a later time as
- 3:12:28to whether in fact mr. Ehrlichman had
- 3:12:31communicated to the CIA with respect to
- 3:12:33Mr Hunt
- 3:12:35yes and not terribly long ago it seems
- 3:12:40to me that it was at the end of last
- 3:12:44year that and I would like to say mr.
- 3:12:51chairman that I believe that there is in
- 3:12:53your record paper which will give the
- 3:12:58precise dates and details about these
- 3:13:00things but my recollection is that
- 3:13:03sometime in
- 3:13:05November I guess it was November or
- 3:13:07December of 1972 mr. William Coley and
- 3:13:11mr. John Warner of the agency visited
- 3:13:16mr. Henry Peterson at the Justice
- 3:13:19Department and I believe mr. Peterson
- 3:13:21had mr. Earl Silbert with him and
- 3:13:23perhaps two or three other people I'm
- 3:13:24not sure who all the individuals were
- 3:13:26and during this meeting they were going
- 3:13:30over some material having to do with
- 3:13:31Howard hunt and the question came up
- 3:13:34about who had got who had arranged for
- 3:13:36Howard hunt to get assistance from the
- 3:13:38agency and mr. Colby identified the
- 3:13:42individual in the White House's mr.
- 3:13:43Ehrlichman as best I recall it some days
- 3:13:48go by and one day I got a call from mr.
- 3:13:50Dean who said that he had understood
- 3:13:54that it had been stated to mr. Peterson
- 3:13:57that mr. Ehrlichman was the man who had
- 3:13:59sponsored mr. hunt and that mr.
- 3:14:04Ehrlichman didn't remember this and I
- 3:14:07could there be some confusion my
- 3:14:10recollection of the conversation was
- 3:14:11that I said I general Cushman was the
- 3:14:14one who had dealt with this matter and
- 3:14:16that I thought they could get the
- 3:14:18information from him mr. Dean then said
- 3:14:21he thought there ought to be a meeting
- 3:14:23to discuss this and I said fine but be
- 3:14:25sure that you have general Cushman at
- 3:14:27the meeting then subsequent to that
- 3:14:30telephone call a meeting was called in
- 3:14:32mr. ehrlichman's office about this
- 3:14:36matter I went to this meeting with mr.
- 3:14:39Colby since mr. Colby had had the
- 3:14:41conversation with mr. Petersen and we
- 3:14:44found in mr. Lincoln's office mr.
- 3:14:46Ehrlichman mr. Dean and there were the
- 3:14:47two of us the general Cushman was not
- 3:14:49there mr. Colby was asked to explain
- 3:14:54when he had had to say and he did so mr.
- 3:14:58Ehrlichman as I recall it said that he
- 3:15:00didn't remember these conversations or
- 3:15:02this Congress
- 3:15:03with the general Cushman the median net
- 3:15:07ended up in a rather unsatisfactory
- 3:15:08manner because the only person that
- 3:15:11could have been helpful and this was
- 3:15:12general and at the very end mr.
- 3:15:15Ehrlichman said well why don't you have
- 3:15:17general Cushman call me he asked mr.
- 3:15:21Colby to do this and I verified - mr.
- 3:15:23Colby that was to call general Cushman
- 3:15:26and let him know now also if memory
- 3:15:29serves when I got that first telephone
- 3:15:32call from mr. Dean I believe I
- 3:15:34instructed mr. Colby to tell general
- 3:15:36Cushman this meeting might be coming up
- 3:15:38so that he would be prepared for it was
- 3:15:42there any reason given why mr. why
- 3:15:44general Cushman was not at the meeting
- 3:15:45there was no reason given that I recall
- 3:15:47and general Cushman to be the person
- 3:15:51most familiar with the question on how
- 3:15:53namely who called he was really the only
- 3:15:55one that could verify it now during the
- 3:15:59recess we did look at one or more
- 3:16:02records and discover that the first
- 3:16:05transmission from the CIA to the FBI
- 3:16:07occurred on June 20th 1973 would that be
- 3:16:11consistent with your recollection 1972
- 3:16:13sir if it was it was in 72 this would
- 3:16:16have been it does and it corresponds to
- 3:16:19my recollection is mentioned in this
- 3:16:21morning's testimony when I said that as
- 3:16:23soon as the FBI started asking his
- 3:16:24questions about these people we began
- 3:16:26replying so that would track very well
- 3:16:30with respect to general Walters
- 3:16:33memoranda on the subject of how they
- 3:16:37represent your recollection as well as
- 3:16:40general Walters recollection could you
- 3:16:43please stay to us again what contact you
- 3:16:46had in terms of reading them or speaking
- 3:16:49to general Walters before he wrote them
- 3:16:55well when general walters and i decided
- 3:17:00that there should be a memorandum for
- 3:17:02the record of these various meetings and
- 3:17:04conversations if i recall it he wrote
- 3:17:08several on the same day
- 3:17:10in other words EU was catching up he
- 3:17:14wrote the meeting of the 23rd and i
- 3:17:15think he wrote his meeting with Abdeen
- 3:17:18with on the 26th and on the 27th and
- 3:17:22there may be another memorandum it
- 3:17:24certainly is all of your record there
- 3:17:26but in any event he was writing them all
- 3:17:28to catch up and then i began to believe
- 3:17:30after that he began to write member and
- 3:17:33for the record assumes he'd had a
- 3:17:34meeting so this wasn't necessary any
- 3:17:36longer i don't recall how carefully I
- 3:17:39read these various memoranda because
- 3:17:41he'd reported to me the contents of
- 3:17:43these meeting orally each time and I
- 3:17:45didn't feel at that juncture as I recall
- 3:17:47it constrained to read through every
- 3:17:49line to be sure that this was exactly
- 3:17:51what he told me in other words I was not
- 3:17:52distrustful his record but you did
- 3:17:55peruse them to the extent of making sure
- 3:17:57that they were generally accurate is
- 3:17:59that correct I think so yes and before
- 3:18:01general Walters wrote each memorandum he
- 3:18:03had already articulated to you almost
- 3:18:07immediately after the meeting the
- 3:18:09circumstances of what occurred at each
- 3:18:11meetings act now there was some question
- 3:18:14this morning as to whether or not the
- 3:18:19president's name was invoked during the
- 3:18:21June 23rd 1972 meeting and I believe
- 3:18:26it's your best recollection that it was
- 3:18:28not is that correct yes that's correct
- 3:18:31general Wallace as I recall the language
- 3:18:33is Mara and said something about it is
- 3:18:35the president's wish I did not recall
- 3:18:37that language having been used when for
- 3:18:40the first time did you take note of your
- 3:18:43difference with the general Walter's
- 3:18:47memorandum I believe we discussed that
- 3:18:49even at the time as to just exactly how
- 3:18:52this had been put so that was one
- 3:18:54instance in where you saw fit to I'm
- 3:18:56afraid there is a disagreement even now
- 3:18:58between this is two I just
- 3:19:01this was worded but in in other words
- 3:19:02you did discuss possible disagreements
- 3:19:04in the subject matter of the memoranda
- 3:19:06even and I think he felt at the time
- 3:19:08that since this was just a memorandum to
- 3:19:10jog his memory and so forth that there
- 3:19:12was no reason to put down that we had a
- 3:19:13difference or to re-edit the language to
- 3:19:15read ich tape the memorandum it's very
- 3:19:18interesting mr. council a lot of
- 3:19:20memoranda funded known then what one
- 3:19:22knows now would have been compiled more
- 3:19:24carefully the language would have been
- 3:19:26more judicious that would have been a
- 3:19:27lot of things happened that didn't
- 3:19:29happen well well thank you for the
- 3:19:30memoranda that we do have mr. ambassador
- 3:19:35now one question that I think is quite
- 3:19:37important I believe you testified that
- 3:19:41you were asked whether there was during
- 3:19:43the same June 23rd meeting as to whether
- 3:19:46there was any involvement by the CIA in
- 3:19:50the Watergate is that correct were you
- 3:19:55so asked that yes I believe I was mister
- 3:19:57counsel and you replied no yes
- 3:20:00now before mr. Haldeman turned to
- 3:20:04general Walters and told him to go and
- 3:20:06speak to Patrick ray was any question
- 3:20:10directed at you or general Walters as to
- 3:20:14whether further investigation by the CIA
- 3:20:18might uncover assets or operations of
- 3:20:21the CIA in further investigation of the
- 3:20:23FBI the FBI might uncover assets or
- 3:20:27operations of the CIA in Mexico I don't
- 3:20:31recall that this point was ever put to
- 3:20:35either of us in the form of a question
- 3:20:37it was my recollection and is my
- 3:20:40recollection that general Walters was
- 3:20:42asked to go and speak to mr. gray about
- 3:20:45this because there was the possibility
- 3:20:47that it might run into CIA operations I
- 3:20:49was not asked whether it
- 3:20:51wouldn't did you comment one way the
- 3:20:54other at that meeting as to whether you
- 3:20:56whether you thought it might uncover
- 3:20:58such operations was there any discussion
- 3:21:00of that subject I'm sorry mister counsel
- 3:21:03I don't recall on me at any time did the
- 3:21:10CIA announced that it was conducting an
- 3:21:13investigation into the Watergate
- 3:21:16announced that it was conduct yes no
- 3:21:19you're in a public announced yet
- 3:21:21was there any decision made within the
- 3:21:23CIA that there would be an investigation
- 3:21:26of the Watergate or is the opposite true
- 3:21:29I'm talking about any CIA discussions as
- 3:21:32to whether there would be an independent
- 3:21:33investigation by the CIA and I'm not
- 3:21:35trying to be picky when we talk about
- 3:21:36Watergate now we're talking about the
- 3:21:38burglary right I'm talking about the
- 3:21:39burglar yes there was no public
- 3:21:42announcement we simply did as I
- 3:21:43indicated this morning and that is
- 3:21:45checked with the various people that
- 3:21:46have had to do with the burglary check
- 3:21:49on their records check with others that
- 3:21:51have had dealings with him to be sure
- 3:21:52what their status was and all the rest
- 3:21:55of it and am I correct that there were a
- 3:21:56number of quite numerous amount of
- 3:22:00communications between the CIA and the
- 3:22:03FBI in the Justice Department
- 3:22:06many and to your knowledge was any
- 3:22:09relevant information withheld from the
- 3:22:12CIA for by the CIA to the FBI the
- 3:22:15Justice Department information that you
- 3:22:17were aware of while the events were
- 3:22:23taking place in June July or August in
- 3:22:261972 sir I don't believe so does the
- 3:22:31record show that the the
- 3:22:33I'm not suggesting that at all I'm mr.
- 3:22:35ambassador I'm just asking for your
- 3:22:36knowledge I have no knowledge of the
- 3:22:38contrary well I I don't either so but I
- 3:22:41just wanted to be sure that my
- 3:22:43recollection tracked with the facts
- 3:22:51senator Baker mr. Chairman I have no
- 3:22:53further questions Thank You mr. Thompson
- 3:23:00mr. ambassador
- 3:23:02did General Walters indicates you to
- 3:23:05indicate to you between the time of June
- 3:23:08the 23rd and June the 28th that he was
- 3:23:12in any way concerned about the propriety
- 3:23:14of the request or order that mr. Hall
- 3:23:18would have given him
- 3:23:24I don't know whether we you ever
- 3:23:28mentioned the propriety of it I think
- 3:23:30that in fact I'm sure that we discussed
- 3:23:34why the request was being made we'd been
- 3:23:37asked to do it what was behind it we
- 3:23:40didn't have the information to put
- 3:23:41together at that time and I'm sure as
- 3:23:44associates would we were you know
- 3:23:46expressing wonderment to each other's to
- 3:23:48what was what this was all about do you
- 3:23:52know why for example he waited until
- 3:23:56June the 28:28 to prepare this
- 3:24:02memorandum which we've been referring to
- 3:24:04where he sets all these things away 25
- 3:24:07days in order to do that mr. Thompson I
- 3:24:10don't know and but he will certainly be
- 3:24:13able to testify to that but didn't
- 3:24:14discuss this but as I indicated this
- 3:24:17morning I don't remember any more which
- 3:24:20one of us was the one that decided or
- 3:24:23whether we just agreed in the
- 3:24:24conversation together after the request
- 3:24:27from Dean for the agency to provide bail
- 3:24:30or salaries for the breakers in or in
- 3:24:34breakers or whatever they are that at
- 3:24:36that time it seemed desirable to put
- 3:24:39some of this on the record because this
- 3:24:41was getting a bit far afield and into a
- 3:24:43rather strange area we thought and that
- 3:24:45these various meetings that ought to be
- 3:24:47caught up and I think that's the reason
- 3:24:50that on the same day he did the several
- 3:24:52at the same time in between the time of
- 3:24:54your conversational 23rd at the time he
- 3:24:57prepared this memorandum Dean had
- 3:25:00contacted him three times had he not in
- 3:25:0326 27 28 days Monday Tuesday Wednesday
- 3:25:06anyway I believe that's right yeah so
- 3:25:08would you could you say about that time
- 3:25:10then that he had become he had become
- 3:25:14concerned about the matter and was
- 3:25:17covering his tracks so to speak well you
- 3:25:19see mr. Thompson I I wish you'd help me
- 3:25:26with the point here
- 3:25:27it is my recollection contrary to what
- 3:25:30those memoranda show that it was on
- 3:25:32Tuesday the second meeting with mr. Dean
- 3:25:35that mr. Dean made mentioned bail and
- 3:25:37salaries whereas general waters
- 3:25:40memorandum indicates that that comes on
- 3:25:42the Monday and because my recollection
- 3:25:45is that it came on the Tuesday that it
- 3:25:47was after that that I said we agreed
- 3:25:49that he should write these memoranda and
- 3:25:51therefore he wrote the first to them on
- 3:25:53the very next day I don't know whether
- 3:25:59his memory not over is there may be some
- 3:26:03difference between the memorandum and an
- 3:26:05interview my understanding was frankly
- 3:26:07but on the 26th Dean had asked him if
- 3:26:10there was any way that the FB the CIA
- 3:26:13could possibly be involved and whether
- 3:26:16or not the CIA could could have been
- 3:26:18involved without law of his knowledge
- 3:26:19and then the following day on the 27th
- 3:26:23mentioning the witnesses involved and
- 3:26:26whether or not salary could be paid them
- 3:26:29and bail money could be raised and on
- 3:26:32the 28th just as more general discussion
- 3:26:34as to whether or not mr. general Boggs
- 3:26:36had any any ideas as as to how the
- 3:26:39matter could be his memory may
- 3:26:41straighten that out and how I don't know
- 3:26:44but the reason that I cling to my
- 3:26:49recollection in this particular case is
- 3:26:51that the question of bail and salaries
- 3:26:53hit me rather hard I've made an
- 3:26:57impression on me and it was that which I
- 3:26:59believe motivated us to say you better
- 3:27:01start getting this in the record and I
- 3:27:03think that happened on the Tuesday which
- 3:27:05I believe is the 27th and therefore he
- 3:27:07would have been writing these memorandum
- 3:27:08there and I know it's difficult to
- 3:27:12conclude what another man was thinking
- 3:27:14I assume you were talking to him from
- 3:27:16time to time might we conclude then that
- 3:27:18it was not so much the 23rd meeting the
- 3:27:21in and of itself but the subsequent
- 3:27:23contact with Dean that inspired him to
- 3:27:27put the matter in writing yes I think
- 3:27:29that's right is the combination of this
- 3:27:31thank you sir I have a question are
- 3:27:34there other questions of the witness if
- 3:27:37there are no other questions mr.
- 3:27:39Chalmers on behalf of the committee may
- 3:27:40I thank you for your appearance you
- 3:27:43reiterate we have some appreciation of
- 3:27:45the inconvenience that it may have
- 3:27:46caused you we are grateful for your
- 3:27:49testimony and wish you good luck Thank
- 3:27:53You mr. chair and I thank the committee
- 3:27:54for its consideration thank you sir when
- 3:27:56counsel called the next witness please
- 3:28:00general question the next witness is
- 3:28:07Marine Corps commandant Robert Cushman
- 3:28:09who was deputy director of the CIA in
- 3:28:111971 when the agency provided assistance
- 3:28:14to e Howard hunt fisherman is 58 years
- 3:28:17old and a graduate of the Naval Academy
- 3:28:19he was an aide to then Vice President
- 3:28:21Nixon from 1957 to 1961 here in the Navy
- 3:28:25Cross the Legion of Merit and the Bronze
- 3:28:27Star during World War two
- 3:28:28President Nixon named him to hit the
- 3:28:30Marine Corps last year
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