Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 7, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 7, 1973
[00.22.47] Senator INOUYE. What was the magnitude of the, funds received through this means? Mr. SLOAN. I would be guessing, but I would say probably a third maybe more. Senator INOUYE. Twenty million dollars worth? Mr. SLOAN. No, sir, that would be--I am not familiar with, the receipts following June. The period I am really familiar with is the $20 million we raised essentially from March of 1971 through April 7 period. I would say a third of that figure probably would have been in securities. Senator INOUYE, Was this a scheme where one business Stocks it for say, 10 years ago at $10, and the value is now $50 and you get $50 and the donor does not have to pay any tax on it? Mr. SLOAN. I do not believe, it is a scheme, Senator, Senator INOUYE. Other Americans have to pay taxes, don't they? Mr. SLOAN. Well, I am not, a tax expert. The legal opinion we had under which I in was operating essentially said that this turning the securities over, in other words not cashing the securities--if the individual had cashed the securities himself, he obviously had a capital gains liability. But in making the gift in the form of securities, that liability did not go back to the donor. The legal opinion as to the status of the committee which I understood we were operating under, and there were--I believe there are legal Opinions in the files' of the committee supporting this--was that essentially the committee is a nonprofit organization in the sense that it, is not, a, moneymaking business and at the conclusion of the campaign all its assets essentially are liquidated. Senator INOUYE. I have with me a copy of a, GAO report dated May 20, and in this report, you have listed several disbursements. However, I notice that the cash disbursement which is noted on this board to Mr. Lankler is not listed in the GAO report,. Would you tell the committee why you did not, advise the GAO as to the $50,000 Cash disbursement to Mr. Lankler? Mr., SLOAN. Yes, sir, at the time I was giving the information contained in that report, I did not recall that particular transaction or, I believe, a number of other ones. This has been an attempt over a period of time with the General Accounting Office from memory, to try to reconstruct what in fact has happened-. The, Lankler transaction and one or two others were brought to my attention, to my attorney's attention, through another gentleman's attorney. Senator INOUYE. What was the purpose of this last disbursement? Mr. SLOAN. Excuse me? Senator INOUYE. What was the purpose of this cash disbursement to Mr. Lankler? Mr. SLOAN. Mr. Lankler? Senator INOUYE. Yes. Mr. SLOAN. As I understand it--I am not totally clear, as I was not present in the earlier periods. But my understanding of the situation that led to that distribution to Mr. Lankler was that in the setting up Of our fundraising operations that I believe Secretary Stans had made an arrangement with the fundraisers in Maryland who were 'working in behalf of the President that all the, funds they raised in a certain period would be turned in to the national headquarters. In other words, they would not hold cut funds for their own operation. As I understand it, in return for this, there, was an understanding that, when they had a major undertaking such as the, I believe it, was an Agnew dinner in this case, that they would get seed money back from Us on a loan basis to run their dinner and that this would be reimbursed to us out of the receipts of the dinner. Senator INOUYE. I gather from yesterday's testimony 7 that as treasurer of this committee, you had listed on one sheet of paper all of the cash disbursements that you had made. Mr. SLOAN. Senator, that listing of cash funds, that, does not, represent a listing of a committee, Those, funds were funds of multiple committees This was merely an internal control over funds that were kept in a physically secure place namely a safe. Senator INOUYE. How did you list these cash disbursements, or did you record them at all? Mr. SLOAN. I listed them on the same list of paper-excuse Me--by name of the individual to whom the distribution had been made. Senator INOUYE. And you testified that you destroyed this sheet. When did you destroy it? Mr. SLOAN. No, sir, I testified that I destroyed a working book which I had maintained for my own use in maintaining the security of these funds, only with the clear understanding that the final report made from that book in turning it over to Secretary Stans, would remain as a Permanent record of those transactions, Senator INOUYE. You have used the phrase--maintained the security of these funds. Were you afraid that these funds may be incriminating? Mr. SLOAN. No, sir, my concern was--I obviously had a responsibility to keep track of who they were from and who they went out to, merely a, record of that, and also a verification of any time someone wanted--if Secretary Stans, for instance, wanted to say, OK, let us go count the cash on hand, I want you to be able to substantiate to me that that is all the cash that is supposed to be there. In other words, it was a guarantee, a written record of all transactions. [00.38.35]