Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 6, 1973
[00.42.58--LEHRER IN STUDIO] LEHRER summarizes GURNEY'S interrupted questioning [PBS Network ID--Title Screen--"SENATE HEARINGS ON CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES"] [00.45.26--LEHRER in studio] LEHRER states that the Senate just rejected the Hubert Humphrey bill to require the US to maintain reserves of feed grain [00.45.39--in to committee room, Senators returning from vote to sit at table] Senator ERVIN. Senator Gurney. Senator GURNEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think we were, discussing the time that you were in California, Mr. Sloan. Mr. SLOAN. Yes, sir. Senator GURNEY. You had described what your activities were, there at that time. Mr. SLOAN. Until that Sunday evening when I joined Secretary Stans I had gone to San Francisco and spent a day and a half in my hotel room. I joined Secretary Stans for the budget meeting. When we concluded that we flew to--I think Portland, Ore., where we had fundraising meetings. I think there was one other stop and we went, to Des Moines for a meeting there and at that point I had a call to come back. Senator GURNEY. From whom? Mr. SLOAN. I am not sure whether it was one of the attorneys or Fred LaRue himself. I was asked to come back a day earlier than the scheduled trip for Secretary Stans. Senator GURNEY. What about the discussions on the budget, what budget was this? Mr. SLOAN. At this point, in time we were attempting probably I think for the first time in a Presidential campaign to incorporate the 50 State budgets in an overall budget nationally and there was rather acrimonious discussion of what was the proper amount for California to do the job they thought they ought to do. Someone had gone out there to try to solve a problem. Senator GURNEY. While you were in California, did you have any telephone discussions with anyone in the Committee To Re-Elect here in Washington? Mr. SLOAN-. I probably did. I am sure I probably checked with my office secretary. I recall none that would be pertinent in this context. Senator GURNEY. We have covered this before, the rather humorous advice you received from Mr. Mitchell and I don't want to go over that again except, I wish you would explain in more detail exactly how the conference between you and Mr. LaRue and Mr. Mitchell came about. Mr. SLOAN. I was talking to Mr. LaRue in his office about these general financial matters, particularly about a $50,000 contribution that Mr. Porter had brought in post-April 7, for which there was no identification of the donor. It was during this conversation that I had a call from my secretary indicating the two gentlemen from the Bureau were waiting in my' office to see me. I asked Fred what I should do and he said before you go down I think you ought to see John and why don't you wait here, I will go down and see him. And he went down and came back in a few minutes and took me down into the room I believe where Bob Mardian was. [00.48.45]