Impeachment Hearings: House Judiciary Committee, July 29, 1974
Impeachment Hearings: House Judiciary Committee, July 29, 1974
[00.06.21] Mr. CONYERS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members. I rise of course, in opposition to the motion for strike and I must observe that for the second time in a row we have clauses that have attempted to persuade the American People and our colleagues in this immediate vital judgment that national security itself -was, a justification for illegal activities emanating directly from the White House and I am very sorry to say from the authority and the condonation of the President, of the United States himself. And I think that we cannot here today make this record too replete with the documentation that says once and for all that the bugaboo of national security will no longer suffice to intimidate the Congress or scare the American people into condoning activities of the kind that we have heard here in article II in these proceedings. I want to assert, and I am sure my other colleagues that follow, me will, that the President was in fact directly responsible for the creation of the Plumbers. It is documented in our evidence. The President publicly admitted it, that he approved the creation of a special investigative unit, the Plumbers. For the first time in our history the people this Nation. were treated to the spectacle of a secret 'intelligence unit operating not in the FBI, not in the CIA, nor the Secret Service, but, in the White House under the direction of White House employees reporting directly to the President of the United States. John Ehrlichman in his own trial, the Domestic Affairs Adviser of the President, testified that he asked the CIA, can you imagine, our foreign intelligence agency, to help and that he asked the CIA to help Howard Hunt at the direction of the, President of the United States. he said, "In my personal experience my requests of the CIA were always at the specific instance of' the President I never did make a step to ask the CIA to do anything without the President having authorized me to do so in advance." So the fact is that the President could and expected that the Plumbers, a clandestine secret organization, would in fact operate illegally. The President had, you -may recall, approved the Huston, plan a year before, knowing full well that it sanctioned admittedly illegal activity. According further to the notes of the President's former Domestic Adviser of his meeting with the President on July 6, 1971, the President asked "Could a nonlegal team on the conspiracy." Now, we have learned during these months in the euphemisms of White House parlance that stonewalling, modified hangout has a significance all its own and a nonlegal team suggests precisely that, and Ehrlichman' notes reflect the assignment of David Young, cochairman of the plumbers to a Special project. Mr. Ehrlichman testified further before, the grand jury that, the President of the United States had prior knowledge of the first trip by Mr. Liddy and Mr. Hunt. I am sure you remember those names from June, 17, 1972, to go to California to case the Fielding office. The CHAIRMAN. The 4 minutes of the gentleman have expired. The Chair calls attention to the fact that there is a rollcall vote, and the Chair will recess the committee until 7:30. And the Chair would also like to observe that at this time 8 minutes have been considered consumed by those in opposition to the amendment and 5 minutes in support of the amendment and the balance of the time will be reserved opponents and the proponents. The committee is recessed until 7:30. [00.11.22--DUKE in studio] DUKE describes day of "lawyerlike work" on perfecting amendments to refine the language, and the limiting and striking amendments offered by the PRO-NIXON side. However, the votes of the morning session indicated that the PRO-IMPEACHMENT side was strongly in command, and that the second ARTICLE OF IMPEACHMENT would be approved. LEHRER says that in fact the second ARTICLE was approved at the end of the evening session by vote of 28-10.. Says that more articles will be introduced in the next day's session, none of which are expected to get broad support, and some may not even pass. Signs off for DUKE. [title screen--NPACT screen--PBS network ID] [00.13.20--TAPE OUT]