Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Hugh Sloan. In the Ehrlichman meeting Samuel Dash, attorney. When did that occur? Hugh Sloan. That happened around, I believe it was a 12 o'clock meeting on the 23rd. The Ehrlichman meeting, which be the Friday, the Ehrlichman meeting at 2. I started into generally the same discussion of problems. Samuel Dash, attorney. Mr. Sloan, when you say problems, did that include any statements by you about cash disbursements that had been made to Mr. Liddy? Hugh Sloan. I don t believe I at that point in time was pointing fingers. I don t believe I mentioned the Magruder remark. I don t believe I mentioned the money to Liddy or Liddy s remark. I was just saying that somebody external to the campaign has to look at this because the concern had risen in my mind at that point of the possibility of the entire campaign being involved and therefore it couldn t investigate itself. Samuel Dash, attorney. What was Mr. Ehrlichman's response? Hugh Sloan. His response, I believe he interpreted my concerns, and I d expressed to him my personal concerns with regard to the money, I believe he interpreted my being there as personal fear and he indicated to me that I had a special relationship with the White House, if I needed help getting a lawyer he d be glad to do that, but do not tell me any details, I don t want to know, my position would have to be until after the election that I would have to take executive privilege.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Samuel Dash, attorney. Now, Mr. Sloan on that same day, on June 23rd, did you make a final report to Mr. Stans concerning your cash disbursements and at about that time did you discuss with Mr. Stans what should be done about the balance of the cash remaining in the safe? Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir. Samuel Dash, attorney. Would you please give the committee a brief report on that? Hugh Sloan. Since April 7th, Secretary Stans had been pressuring very hard on myself for the preparation of records in the final form that he wanted them as the permanent record of the pre-April 7 period. This was a very mammoth task with regard to all the contributions and so forth that had been received at that point. The problem with producing a cash summary, a summary of all the cash funds that had been handled, pre April 7th funds. Was that when I submitted an earlier interim report close after April 7th, he wanted to be sure that I went back to every individual on that list and verified with them personally that they acknowledged the amount of money on that list as having been received by themselves so that there would never be an internal conflict or possibility of somebody saying somebody absconded with some funds. So this took a considerable period of time and the reason for the delay until this late date with regard to this process was that Mr. Herbert Kalmbach, I believe had been traveling in Europe during this period and this was the first occasion I had to sit down with him since his return and since he was able to come to Washington to review the figures on that list of the receipts he had from me.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Samuel Dash, attorney. But you did on this day give this final report to Mr. Stans? Hugh Sloan. Yes sir, I did. Samuel Dash, attorney. Did it show a cash balance still in the safe at the office? Hugh Sloan. I cannot recollect the final form of this. The problem with the cash balance is that it included $18,000 which presumably a balance left over out of the Liddy commitment. And there was another $63,000, of the 50 I had mentioned before, of funds that had come in, been received from the people on the political side of the campaign who had accepted the contributions on the basis that they would remain anonymous. We did not have the information. We couldn t accept them that way. We would have to know, for instance, from a $10,000 contribution what four committees that was to go to. And so these were pending problems, whether to go back to the individuals, whether they wanted their money back or whether they were willing to be disclosed and give us the information we needed. Samuel Dash, attorney. Do you know approximately how much money was in the safe at that time? Hugh Sloan. Oh, yes, approximately $81,000.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Samuel Dash, attorney. Did Mr. Stans make any statement to you concerning that $81,000 Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir, he did. Samuel Dash, attorney. Would you tell us what he said? Hugh Sloan. He indicated that he was aware I was leaving with my wife on vacation to Bermuda on Sunday. He indicated to me that he feared a General Accounting Office audit that these were pre-April 7 funds, it was none of their business. He thought this might occur when I was in Bermuda and suggested, he asked me whether I had a safe at home that I could put the funds in. I said no, I did not. I had no secure place. He said, in that case, you had better take half and I had better take half. So I took half, approximately $40,000, home with me that day. Samuel Dash, attorney. What did you do with that $40,000? Hugh Sloan. I put it in a trunk. Samuel Dash, attorney. And to your knowledge did Mr. Stans also take $40,000 with him? Hugh Sloan. I had understood he took $40,000. He has since told me that he never took it out of the office.