Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 12, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 12, 1973
[00.40.07] Senator TALMADGE. At that, time I believe he, directed you or suggested to you that you play ball by Magruder's rules or what was the comment that he made at that time? Mr. PORTER. No sir. I believe that the conversation you are referring to perhaps that the staff has put, down is that during the May 28 meeting that I had with Mr. Parkinson in his office at his request Mr. Parkinson made a comment about me by Mr. 'Magruder, and I do not, remember exactly what the comment was, but, I said "Well, that, is kind of a strange thing for him to say" or something and he said "Well, let me tell you exactly what he said," and he picked up a yellow note pad and he had on -it notes that he said he had taken from an earlier conversation with Mr. Magruder in his office, and he, read from the bottom part of the page and I quote him "Porter told play ball by Mitchell, LaRue, Dean and Magruder. Porter will not hold up under indictment." Then he flipped the page and it said "Porter had meetings With Mitchell, Dean, La Rue, Magruder" and I looked at him rather incredulously I think and I said "First of all, Ken, I was never told to play ball by anybody. I never had a conversation with Mr. Mitchell or Mr. LaRue or Mr. Dean or Mr. 'Magruder was the only one I talked to. That the expression 'play ball' certainly was never used, and I described to him again the conversation Mr. Magruder had with me. Concerning the second paragraph I never had any meeting after that, with Mr. Mitchell or Mr. Dean. I may have, had a conversation with Mr. LaRue but I would not classify them meetings, and that 'was the extent of It. Senator TALMADGE. Did anything else of significance, occur at that conversation? Mr. PORTER. I believe I have already testified that Mr. Parkinson told me when I detailed my story to him that that, I had no problem, that I had not committed perjury that I had embellished the story; that I Should not worry about it and when I asked him if I should, if he thought it was important for me to got a lawyer in this thing at all, he Said no. I was certainly entitled to do so but he thought it would be a little disruptive at that point and it would take too long for a new lawyer to come in and learn. all the facts in the case. We were referring to the civil suit filed by the Democrats in which I was named as a defendant. So I took that advice and left. Senator TALMADGE. Thank you, Mr. Porter. Thank you very much. Mr. PORTER. Yes, sir. Senator TALMADGE. No further questions. Senator ERVIN. Senator Weicker. Senator WEICKER. Mr. Porter, I would just like to cover two areas. In the disbursement of the moneys the list of which you gave to Senator Gurney, did you mention in that list the purchase of microfilm viewing equipment? Mr. PORTER. No sir; I did not, And that should be in there. Senator WEICKER. You did not mention it in the list which you gave Senator Gurney? Mr. PORTER. No sir, I probably, in my mind I had that classified under the Reitz money but I did not specifically mention it. Senator WEICKER. Well, is it the Rietz money or is there a separate expenditure? Mr. PORTER. It is a separate expenditure, Senator. Senator WEICKER. Thank you. Would you give me the amount of that expenditure? Mr. PORTER. I believe it was probably $60, $50 or $60, something like that. Senator WEICKER. In the nature of microfilm viewing equipment? Mr. PORTER. Yes sir. Well, I would not classify it as microfilm viewing equipment. I would classify it as film strip viewing equipment, 35 millimeter film strip, not microfilm, Senator WEICKER. YOU Say YOU thought you had this classified in your mind under the Rietz payments but is it not so that you gave this money to your secretary, Martha Duncan? Mr. PORTER. No, sir; I do not believe so. Senator WEICKER. You gave no money, then, to your secretary' to purchase microfilm for you and your equipment? Mr. PORTER. No, sir; I do not believe so. I did not. If you would like me to tell you what I know about buying any equipment, I certainly can, but I do not remember giving Mrs. Duncan, or Miss Duncan--at least, nothing was ever purchased as a result of it. Senator WEICKER. You never instructed your secretary to purchase viewing equipment for microfilms? Mr. PORTER. Senator, I do not remember. I think at the time Mr. Magruder brought some 35-millimeter negative film to me on one occasion. I remember looking for a better viewing vehicle than the little tiny thing that you had to hold up to your eye, and I did go, I believe, to one or two camera stores around, close to the committee, and look for a 35-millimeter film strip projector. Now, it is possible that I might have asked Miss Duncan, on a lunch hour or something, to go to one of these places to see if she could find one or see if she knew where I could get one. I was having trouble finding one and I ended I up getting one from New York or out of a New York company- so Miss Duncan did not purchase any of that equipment, to my know]edge. [00.46.33]