Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 12, 1973
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 12, 1973
[00.46.33] Senator WEICKER. What was the purpose of this equipment? Mr. PORTER. The purpose of the equipment was to view 35-millimeter film strips that were given to me. Senator WEICKER. And what was the nature of those film strips? Mr. PORTER. The nature of the film strips was, that they were, appeared to be 35 millimeter photographs or negative--, of interoffice memorandums from Senator Muskie's campaign headquarters to his Senate offices and back again. Senator WEICKER. And did you give any sort of an admonition to your secretary, Miss Duncan as to whether ether or not she was free to talk about these matters? Mr. PORTER. I think there was a general understanding, Senator, at the time that it was not anything you went to a party and talked about, if that is an answer to the question. Senator WEICKER. I want to know exactly what Miss Duncan's function was in relation to these particular microfilms. Mr. PORTER. Let me back up, Senator, to answer the question, I think, a little more fully and put it, in context. At a certain time, and I do not remember the exact month-November, perhaps, of 1971---- Magruder came into my office with a small roll, a very small roll, of 35 millimeter film strip and a little viewing device that had a little light source from the back. He said, here, hold these for me, put them in my safe or desk or whatever I had at the time. I asked him what they were and he said, well, you can look at them, but never mind. So I looked at them, you and they were apparently, as I say, interoffice memos from staff members in Senator Muskie's office. he came back later, I think a day later, perhaps, and retrieved the film strips, took them and said that he was going to show them to Mr. Mitchell. He came back and apparently he did show them to Mr. Mitchell, because he was a little irate at me for not making sure that the batteries worked, and apparently, he got all the way to Mr. Mitchell's office and the batteries did not work, and he blamed it on me. [00.49.06] After that time, when he gave the film strips back to me--I would say there were probably four or five frames on the strip--I think I asked Mr. Magruder where he got, them and he refused to tell me at that time. At a later date, Mr. Magruder said that Mr. Ken Rietz was going to be, was going to deliver these film strips to me and would I view them for him, and Mr. Magruder, and anything that I thought was "important" or interesting, that, I should bring it to Mr. Magruder's attention and he would then tell me what to do with it. I did that and Mr. Reitz started delivering these things to me, and I did view them. And at that, I think the first or second time that, I did this is, it became apparent that I needed something a little more easy On the eye, perhaps, to see what these things said, and so I then went out and out of my own pocket, I think, wrote a, check for just, a, small, little projection device so that you could see it, you could enlarge it and see what, it, said. Senator WEICKER. All right, now. Let, us take it right at that, point. Did your secretary participate in typing any transcripts or memorandums based on these microfilms? Mr. PORTER Yes, sir, she did. On one occasion, I remember there was a, I think it was in December, early December there was a staff memo that I saw from one. of the campaign officials to the Senator or perhaps to his campaign manager, saying that the Senator's role, I believe as chairman of a subcommittee on Governmental Operations or something like that Senator WEICKER. Which Senator is this? Mr. PORTER. Senator Muskie--could be used as a great front to go to California and hold tax hearings that would be a great, visual event for Senator Muskie and all at the taxpayers' expense and he could get a lot of value for his campaign. We thought that was rather interesting, to say the least, and I told Mr. Magruder about it. He asked me to just copy the memo on a, I believe it was written on plain bond-and send it to Evans and Novak. Miss Duncan did that. Miss Duncan typed it and we sent it to Evans and Novak, and they printed it and the hearings were never held. [00.52.07]