Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973
[00.07.58] ***SEE RESTRICTIONS FIELD IN RIGHTS SECTION*** MacNEILL states that SLOAN will return to testify the next day, followed by CRP press secretary Powell MOORE and CRP scheduling director Herbert PORTER, neither of which man has been prominent in the testimony thus far. LEHRER states that a big part of SLOAN's testimony relates to the change in campaign law that took effect April 7, 1972, and introduced much stricter requirements for disclosure for contributions and expenditures. Calls on guest commentator Phillip HUGHES, director of the General Accounting Office. HUGHES describes the increased stringency of the laws over the previous Corrupt Practices Act, which HUGHES says was characterized by LBJ as "More Loophole than Law"--states that much confusion was evident in the transition period between old and new requirements, and that the transition period was when many of the financial dealings pertaining to the Watergate breakin were effected during this transition period. HUGHES states that the GAO was available to help political committees to comply with the law, and that part of the problem was that committees had to get used to the idea of a strict law that would be enforced MacNEILLgives an account of the testimony of the day, hour-by-hour. [00.11.23--cut committee room, Sen. ERVIN conferring with Sam DASH. MacNEILL continues, v.o., to give hourly breakdown of the testimony] [00.12.46--ERVIN gavels meeting open]