Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Samuel Dash, attorney. Now in fact, Mr. Magruder, Mr. Liddy, Mr. Hunt, and others did go into another break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the early morning hours of June 17, 1972. Where were you when this occurred? Jeb Magruder. I was in Los Angeles, California Samuel Dash, attorney. Were you aware that this break-in was to take place? Jeb Magruder. No. Samuel Dash, attorney. With whom were you in California? Jeb Magruder. I was with Mr. Mitchell, Mr. LaRue, Mr. Porter, Mr. Mardian. We had a number of political activities in California that weekend.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Samuel Dash, attorney. What took place in Los Angeles when you first learned about the break-in? Jeb Magruder. Well, I was at breakfast at the Beverly Hills Hotel. There were a number of us probably 8 or 10 of us at breakfast. I received a call from Mr. Liddy and he indicated to me that I should get to a secure phone. And I indicated to him there was no way I can get to a secure phone at this time. He indicated there had been a problem the night before. I said well, what kind of a problem or something of that and he indicated that our security chief had been arrested at the Watergate. And I said you mean Mr. McCord and he said yes, I think I blanched to say the least. And said, I will call you back immediately at a pay phone to get more detail. And I did that. I went to a phone and called him back and he gave me more detail which was simply that the five people had been apprehended at the Watergate and that Mr. McCord was among the five.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Samuel Dash, attorney. Now, did you report that back to anybody? Jeb Magruder. Yes, I first talked with Mr. LaRue and indicated the problem, and Mr. LaRue, then talked to Mr. Mitchell. And then Mitchell and Mr. LaRue and I discussed it again together. We knew that Mr. Mardian who was there was a closer friend of Mr. Liddy's than any of us. And Mr. Mitchell asked Mr. Mardian to call Mr. Liddy and ask him to see the Attorney General, the current Attorney General Mr. Kleindienst and see if there was any possibility that Mr. McCord could be released from jail. Samuel Dash, attorney. Do you know what happened as a result of that call? Jeb Magruder. My understanding is that they went out to the Burning Tree Country Club where Mr. Kleindienst was playing golf and Mr. Kleindienst rebuffed Mr. Liddy and Mr. Powell Moore who was with him. Samuel Dash, attorney. Mr. McCord was not released? Jeb Magruder. No, he was not.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Samuel Dash, attorney. Did you call Mr. Reisner or Mr. Odle from California? Jeb Magruder. Yes, later that day. We had numerous conversations that day. We were trying to come up with a statement that Mr. Mitchell could make if he was asked in a press conference and later release the statement. I discussed with Mr. Reisner the need to take certain files from my office. We were concerned about the break-in from our own standpoint because of McCord. We could not understand why Mr. McCord was involved in the situation. And we thought that maybe since this break-in was done in a rather amateurish way that possibly there was some double-agent activity going on here and we were honestly concerned about our own files. I did ask Mr. Reisner to remove certain files, my advertising file, the budget file, our strategy file, and the Gemstone file. Then I talked with him and Mr. Odle. And Mr. Odle took the Gemstone file home.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Samuel Dash, attorney. Did you talk to anybody else from California? Jeb Magruder. Well. Yes, I talked to Powell Moore as I recall. I cannot recall any other specifically Samuel Dash, attorney. Did you call Mr. Strachan? Jeb Magruder. Oh, yes, I called Mr. Strachan that evening. Samuel Dash, attorney. What did you tell Mr. Strachan? Jeb Magruder. I told him of course we knew no more than he knew. We knew that they had been apprehended and we had a problem and just discussed in a sense that we had a problem and we did not quite know what to do about it. At that time we had heard that there was some money at that time found on the individuals. And we had hoped that it was money that had been found at the Democratic National Committee, but unfortunately, it was our money. So we, in effect, just discussed the problem. We had no answers obviously at that time.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Samuel Dash, attorney. Did you receive a call from Mr. Haldeman? Jeb Magruder. Yes. The next morning on Sunday, I received a call from Mr. Haldeman. He asked me what has happened. Again, I told him basically Samuel Dash, attorney. From where was he calling? Jeb Magruder. Key Biscayne, Florida. He just asked me the basic background of the break-in and what had happened. I just told him what had happened. He indicated that I should get back to Washington immediately, since no one in any position of authority was at the committee and to talk with Mr. Dean and Mr. Strachan and Mr. Sloan and others on Monday to try to find out what actually had happened and whose money it was and so on.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Samuel Dash, attorney. Now, you did return to Washington? Jeb Magruder. Yes, I did. Samuel Dash, attorney. And would you tell us briefly, but as specifically as you can, what you did as soon as you returned to Washington and who you met with? Jeb Magruder. Well, on Monday, I met with Mr. Dean, Mr. Strachan, Mr. Sloan, Mr. Liddy. Mr. Liddy and I did not really have too much to say to each other. He said he had goofed and I accepted that on face value. There really was not much to discuss at that time. I determined from Mr. Sloan that the money was our money, not someone else's money. Mr. Dean and I discussed the problem in terms of what we were going to do. As did Mr. Strachan and I.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Samuel Dash, attorney. Did you have a meeting on that evening, the evening of June 19th, when you came back to Washington, in Mr. Mitchell s apartment? Jeb Magruder. Yes, Mr. Mitchell flew back that Monday with LaRue and Mr. Mardian. We met in his apartment with Mr. Dean, so that would have been Mr. Mitchell, Mr. LaRue, Mr. Dean, Mr. Mardian, and myself, and the general discussion again was what were we going to do about the problem. It was again, we had very little information. We didn t, of course, know what type of investigation would then be held. And we talked about types of alternative solutions. One solution that was recommended in which I was to of course, destroy the Gemstone file. So I called my office and Samuel Dash, attorney. That solution came up as a result of that meeting? Jeb Magruder. Well, I think yes, it was generally concluded that that file should be immediately destroyed. Samuel Dash, attorney. And did you destroy it? Jeb Magruder. Yes, I did destroy it.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Robert MacNeil in studio states that there is more to come from Magruder and urges support of local PBS stations that are carrying the coverage
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
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Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities June 14, 1973 - Testimony of Jeb Magruder
Title screen "SENATE HEARINGS ON CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES"