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
Fred Thompson, attorney. Let me ask you one or two other lines of questions. You mentioned you went to Mr. Ehrlichman after the break in with your concerns and he in effect said he did not want to hear the facts at that time. Is that correct? Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. Statements have been made publicly to the effect that Mr. Ehrlichman at one time told Mr. Dean to make a report about this matter. Did Mr. Dean ever contact you from June 17, 1972, up until the time he left the White House, about the Watergate matter? Hugh Sloan. I had numerous conversations with Mr. Dean over a period of time, but with regard to your specific question, in terms of an investigation, I would have to describe the transmittal of information essentially as my forcing it on him, rather than him soliciting it from me.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Fred Thompson, attorney. Another point. Did I understand your testimony correctly that you told the three prosecutors in the criminal case on July 18 that Magruder had attempted to get you to perjure yourself? Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. All three of them? Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. In the same room at the same time? Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir. In the presence of counsel. Fred Thompson, attorney. Your present counsel? Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. Did they have a reaction to this at that time? Hugh Sloan. I think they were disturbed by it. I cannot characterize their reaction but I think they were disturbed by the whole thing. Fred Thompson, attorney. The trial was the following January and you were a witness at that trial. Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. You told about the $199,000. Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. Mr. Magruder was also a witness at that trial, a prosecution witness, was he not? Hugh Sloan. Yes sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. What was the atmosphere there? You knew what you told the prosecutors. Did you have any further conversation with the prosecutors? Did you have any further conversation with Mr. Magruder about the situation? What was the atmosphere over there during the trial when both of you were being used as Government witnesses to prove the Government's case. Hugh Sloan. I don't believe I have seen Mr. Magruder except on the day of the trial where we were put in the same witness room. Fred Thompson, attorney. Who was called first? Hugh Sloan. I believe it was Mr. Magruder, Mr. Porter, and then myself Fred Thompson, attorney. Go ahead. Hugh Sloan. There really was no conversation with Mr. Magruder. As to the prosecutors, I don't recall any further discussion about that aspect. My assumption is that they got into a situation where here is one man's word against another, no one else was present. They have no corroborative evidence. They can't do anything with it.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Fred Thompson, attorney. Do you know whether or not they ever confronted Mr. Magruder? Hugh Sloan. I have no knowledge. Excuse me, indirectly I have knowledge that that issue came up, yes, sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. Could you tell us what you know about it? Hugh Sloan. Sir, following my appearance before the Grand Jury, prior to Mr. Magruder's appearance before the Grand Jury, Mr. Mardian and Mr. O'Brien requested that my attorney at that time, Mr. Treese, Mr. Stoner was out of town, meet with them at the committee headquarters. They requested at that point in time information as to what I told the grand jury precisely with regard to Mr. Magruder. And I said I have no hesitancy at all, I would tell it to his face. I told them they already knew because I told Mr. O'Brien before. I was very surprised at the request. Fred Thompson, attorney. You went ahead and told them? Hugh Sloan. I told Mr. O'Brien originally. Fred Thompson, attorney. I assume you told the Grand Jury the same thing that you told the three prosecutors? Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. About Mr. Magruder? Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Fred Thompson, attorney. What was their reaction when you told Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Parkinson? Hugh Sloan. You mean initially? Fred Thompson, attorney. No, after you told them what you told the grand jury about Mr. Magruder. Hugh Sloan. I believe Mr. O'Brien's comment quite frankly was, I don t know what the hell Jeb s going to do but you have to give the guy a fighting chance.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Fred Thompson, attorney. One other question and I will leave that for further inquiry. Are you saying that after this initial meeting with the three prosecutors you talked to them about it? Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. And you told the Grand Jury? Hugh Sloan. That was after my grand jury testimony. Fred Thompson, attorney. That was after your grand jury testimony? Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. Was this in response to a specific question or did you volunteer this information? Hugh Sloan. They asked us directly would we tell them what we had told the Grand Jury about Mr. Magruder's approaches to me and essentially I believe our response was you already know because I told you initially. Fred Thompson, attorney. Excuse me, I am talking about before the Grand Jury. Hugh Sloan. Yes, sir. What I told the grand jury was essentially what I had told the prosecutors. It was also the same thing I told Mr. Parkinson and Mr. O'Brien originally. Fred Thompson, attorney. I m sorry. I think I misunderstood you. Did you tell the grand jury first or did you tell the three prosecutors first? Hugh Sloan. I talked to the three prosecutors first and then the grand jury and then the meeting with Mr. Mardian and Mr. O'Brien.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Fred Thompson, attorney. One other line, I believe you said the $25,000 to Mr. Hitt was a loan. Hugh Sloan. I am not sure I knew that at the time and I cannot recall who instructed me to make the payment. Fred Thompson, attorney. Was there ever any attempt, if you understand that to be the case now, was there ever any attempt to collect that loan? Hugh Sloan. Yes sir, I think this is really where my knowledge came from. Mr. Lee Nunn who is one of our vice chairmen who was involved in this. When Secretary Stans came in February, when he was reviewing the status of the campaign that we d run prior to his coming in, I had mentioned to him one of the open items at that point was what I understood to be a loan, this $25,000. And he said let's get it back. I believe I said I do not know all of the arrangements but Lee Nunn was involved in it. Mr. Nunn, I believe, was called in at that point to Mr. Stans' office and he said yes, I have tried. The campaign had been long over, I believe, at that point. He said Bob Haldeman made the deal, let him get it back. Fred Thompson, attorney. Mr. Nunn said Bob Haldeman made the deal? Hugh Sloan. That is my best recollection. He indicated there had been a conversation between Fred Thompson, attorney. Did you understand that, meant Haldeman ordered that the loan be made? Hugh Sloan. I m just not sure in my recollection whether that is indirectly where the request came from. Fred Thompson, attorney. Do you know what it was used for? Hugh Sloan. No, sir. Fred Thompson, attorney. General campaign? Hugh Sloan. Well, the knowledge I had was that it was something to do with the special election.
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973 Testimony of Hugh Sloan
Fred Thompson, attorney. When did you understand, according to the phraseology, that the deal had been made for the loan or that the loan had been in fact delivered? Hugh Sloan. I m just not sure. There had been some discussion back and forth. This was negotiated over a period of time. I believe Mr. Nunn and myself both felt strongly that here we essentially were taking money that had been given to the President's campaign, giving it to a congressional race, and you have a problem and obvious precedent when you come up in the 1972 campaign. Fred Thompson, attorney. What I m interested in is if Mr. Haldeman did in fact, have something to do with his getting the loan? Hugh Sloan. That is my understanding, but it is second handed. Fred Thompson, attorney. I was wondering when, if you can shed any light, first of all, in 1971? Hugh Sloan. Oh, I am sure it is 1971. I believe it can be pegged, I would suspect it was a few days or a week before the election, whenever precisely that was. But I am sure it was 1971. Fred Thompson, attorney. Thank you Mr. Sloan. No further questions.