SENATE WATERGATE HEARINGS: JOHN DEAN TESTIMONY (TV)
Summary
Live coverage of the appearance of former presidential counsel John Dean before the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities. In this portion, Dean begins reading from his 245-page prepared statement and describing climate of excessive concern in the Nixon White House over re-election, domestic intelligence gathering, and dissent. Dean says publication of "The Pentagon Papers" in June 1971 greatly escalated concern in White House and that Egil Krogh's "Plumbers Unit" was established to deal with information leaks. He notes use of the FBI and White House employees to trail Democrats Edward M. Kennedy and George McGovern.
Dean describes establishment of an intelligence unit at President Nixon's Campaign Headquarters ("CREEP"--The Committee to Reelect the President), calls reelection the main focus of the White House, and details G. Gordon Liddy's "mind-boggling" plans for covert intelligence. Dean discusses the June 17, 1972 burglary of Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., the connection of the burglars to the White House, and concern over monies in E. Howard Hunt's safe.
Dean describes White House attempts to "buy silence" of the Watergate burglars, says John Ehrlichman told him to "deep six" a briefcase from E. Howard Hunt's safe, and notes FBI Director L. Patrick Gray's investigation of the Watergate burglary. Dean speaks of his growing realization that he was participating in a cover-up of illegal White House activities and implicates White House employees and associates John Ehrlichman, H.R. Haldeman, John Mitchell, Herb Kalmbach, Jeb Stuart Magruder in the cover-up. The committee recesses.
Dean recapitulates President Nixon's Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler's denials of White House illegal activities or cover-up, notes grand jury indictments of Watergate burglars, and describes White House efforts to block hearings of the House Banking and Currency Committee concerning funding of the Watergate burglary. Dean also comments about Donald Segretti, a White House employee specializing in political "dirty tricks," and reveals pressure from Watergate burglars for White House money to buy their silence.
Dean continues his description of demands for White House hush money and notes the issue of executive clemency for E. Howard Hunt. The committee recesses. Dean resumes his testimony, saying the White House assured Hunt of clemency and that John Mitchell thought James McCord should also receive clemency. Dean describes White House efforts to obtain from the Justice Department certain CIA documents concerning the Watergate investigation.
Dean describes the strategies of the Nixon White House to discredit these hearings and counter adverse press. He details the meetings he had with President Nixon in February and March of 1973. Dean says Nixon wanted none of the White House staff to appear before the committee but Nixon denied any obstruction of justice occurred. Dean describes the President as unhappy with the investigation by FBI Director L. Patrick Gray and says Nixon wanted Dean to draft a statement outlining "Executive Privilege."
Dean describes his efforts to persuade President Nixon of the gravity of the Watergate affair, calling it a "cancer on the presidency" which must be removed. Dean says White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman wanted to dissociate the administration from Dean and his analysis of the situation. Dean testifies that there was pressure on him from the White House either to testify falsely or not at all. He relates his decision to hire counsel and to reconstruct the events of the Watergate burglary cover-up.
Dean describes the plan of White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman to place the blame for the Watergate cover-up on John Mitchell. Dean also relates the events preparatory to his resignation from the White House. (This program contains some unavoidable technical problems.)
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: June 25, 1973 10:00 AM
- RUNNING TIME: 7:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T79:0308
- GENRE: News
- SUBJECT HEADING: Watergate; U S - Officials - Talk/Interviews; U S Senate Comm. on Pres. Campaign Activities; Pentagon Papers, The
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1973
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Frank Reynolds … Reporter
- Sam Donaldson … Reporter
- John Dean
- John Ehrlichman
- Daniel Ellsberg
- L. Patrick Gray
- H. R. Haldeman
- E. Howard Hunt
- Herbert Kalmbach
- Edward M. Kennedy
- Egil Krogh
- G. Gordon Liddy
- Jeb Stuart Magruder
- James McCord
- George McGovern
- John Mitchell
- Richard M. Nixon
- Donald Segretti
- Ron Ziegler