Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 5, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 5, 1973
[00.30.25] THOMPSON. It was someone in the Humphrey committee, from what you can tell? Mr. REISNER. From what I can tell, I mean it purported to be. Mr. THOMPSON. How much money was this individual receiving? Mr. Reisner My recollection is that it was approximately a thousand dollars a month, but I could have read that in the newspaper, frankly, it is vague. Mr. THOMPSON. What about Mr. Liddy? Mr. REISNER. Mr. Liddy received several disbursements that were considerably larger than that. I think they were in the nature of $5,000 to $8,000, I am not certain. The reason I remember them is that there were-he would return sums of money and it made the accounting somewhat bizarre, He would return $300 after taking out $8,000, that at sort of thing. I really am not completely clear on that. Mr. THOMPSON. Was there any indication as to the total amount Liddy had received to that time? Mr. Reisner No, there wasn't. I have the feeling that the total magnitude, $40,000 to $50,000, means that, and that is the total magnitude of what wits recorded. I have no idea. Mr. Porter, I do not think, would have hidden any of what he was recording but I only saw what the receipts were there and Mr. Liddy's total figure I would think would be in the nature of half of that. Mr. THOMPSON. Did you state when this inventory took place? Mr. REISNER. In March, later March. of could not pin it down exactly but it was Mr. THOMPSON. Concerning the money in Mr. Porter's safe, could you tell either from anything that you saw there in the, nature of receipts, from conversations With Mr. Porter, from conversations with anybody else about any other operations or individuals who Were being funded, who had been paid money out of the safe of Mr. Porter? Mr. REISNER. Anything else would be by the nature of a supposition. There is nothing else that-- Mr. THOMPSON. Do you know? Mr. REISNER. It is hard. Mr. THOMPSON. Or do you know or have any basis for believing that any demonstrations or counter demonstrations were funded? Mr. REISNER. Yes, there was one occasion in April in which I overheard a conversation. The nature of my job was such that there are pieces of these things that were overheard that after subsequent events they perhaps take some meaning. I was sitting in Mr. Magruder's office at the time he received a phone call. The phone call concerned the fact that there was a desire to get, some counter demonstrators to attend the Hoover funeral, that there was some sort of planned demonstration. It seems to me that that was an activity that Mr. Liddy was then asked to undertake and it seems to me there was some cash in that activity. Mr. THOMPSON. Magruder asked Liddy to take care of this? Mr. Reisner When I say this I say this in an effort to be cooperative because I am talking about only my specific recollection. It may be that that wasn't carried out or that it was carried out differently from the Way in which I heard the conversation and I think only Porter could be of assistance there. That was the nature of the initial conversation. Mr. THOMPSON. Did you have occasion to overhear a conversation between Mr. Magruder and Mr. Porter concerning a possible front for some of Mr. Porter's activities? Mr. REISNER. Yes, I did. Mr. THOMPSON. Could you tell us about, that? Mr. REISNER. That was earlier. That, was either January or February or perhaps in December and it was, again it was the same, the nature of the conversation was identical. It was the beginning of discussion that did not take place with me present. And in the, beginning of that discussion Mr. Magruder indicated to Mr. Porter that Mr. Kalmbach had agreed to find a job for someone who Was going to work for Mr. Porter. That. was the nature of the, conversation. Mr. Thompson. Did he state what kind of work? "Mr. REISNER. The idea was there was a business concern who was going to employ an individual who would work for Mr. Porter. That was, the limit of the conversation that I heard, I think inferentially and from the circumstance under which the conversation took place it was my feeling that that was by way of a front activity, but as to whether it, was in fact, as to whether it was carried out, as to whether Mr. Kalmbach was of assistance I can't help with that. Mr. THOMPSON. What did you think Porter was doing? Mr. REISNER. I am not. certain. 1 think perhaps what he was doing was obtaining information; that, there was possibly people that were working for him who were perhaps disgruntled with other campaigns or perhaps Just individuals, who wanted to be involved in politics and who wanted to obtain information and pass, it on to our campaign. That, was as close as I could come. Mr. THOMPSON. You never asked him? Mr. REISNER. There, were one or two occasions on which I was present in the office and I was shown something. For example, one time I was shown a Xerox copy of what purported to be minutes of an issues group that Senator Muskie had. I do not, know whether those in fact were minutes of any real issues group. Mr. THOMPSON. Who showed you that.? Mr. REISNER. I believe Mr. Porter was giving it to Mr. Magruder. It wasn't, by way of showing it to me. Mr. THOMPSON. You do not know how he obtained that? Mr. REISNER. -No, I do not have any idea, It could have been--It was someone working for Senator Muskie who had decided that they wished to do that. It could also--you can make other assumption that were more negative concerning-- Mr. THOMPSON. When did you first, become aware that the Gemstone file had in do with surveillance activity of some kind? Mr. REISNER. I am not certain. I do not think that I am necessarily. aware at this time what I think that, when I took it, in with Mrs. Harmony's testimony and with other witnesses, it seems to me that I have a pretty good idea of what it was. [00.36.56]