Watergate committee recesses
WASHiWgTON (AP) The Senate
Watergate committee went on summer
vacation yesterday, in the 10th week of
its hearings, without quite completing
the first phase of its inquiry into the
Democratic headquarters break-in and
the subsequent cover-up.
The hearings will reopen “subject to
call of the chairman,” sometime after
Labor Day, four weeks from now.
Asst. Atty. Gen. Henry E. Petersen
was the final and 35th witness on the 37th
day of televised hearings that began
May 17. Some 7,500 pages of testimony
have been taken.
Petersen angrily told the committee
he resents appointment of a special
Watergate prosecutor and the
Senate’s championing of that position
at a time when the case was nearly
solved.
“Damn, I think it’s a reflection on me
and the Department of Justice,”
Petersen said in a near shout.
The senators, who have been sitting
five days a week since the early days of
the televised hearings, were visibly tired
and seemed anxious to join the rest of
Congress in the summer recess. The
Senate is scheduled to return Sept. 5 and
presumably the hearings, recessed
“subject to the call of the chairman,”
would begin then or shortly after.
Petersen, the man in overall charge of
the Watergate investigation from the
start, strongly defended his prosecutors
for their work and ne was critical over
appointment of the special prosecutor.
“We would have broken that case wide
open and we would hA'e done it in the
most difficult of . circumstances...that
case was snatched out from under us
when we had it 90 per cent complete.” he
said.
The explosion came as Petersen was
defending the lack of indictments a few
months ago .when the Justice Depart
ment had a great deal of information
about the Watergate break-in and cover
up.
“Forgive my emotions,” Petersen
Weather
Fair and warm today and tonight;
high today of 86, low tonight of 65. Partly
cloudy, warm and humid tomorrow with
afternoon showers possible; high of 87.
Senate okays separate advising
By RICK NELSON
Collegian Managing Editor
Approval of a Subcommittee on Advising report and
discussion of the implications of collective bargaining
were the main topics at yesterday’s University Faculty
Senate meeting.
The Subcommittee report on Advising indicated it is
not feasible to have a single advising program for the
entire University and 'recommended each college draw
up its own advising plan subject to minimum
specifications set by the committee.
Subcommittee Chairman Thomas E. Daubert said,
“The major goal (of the subcommittee recom
mendations) is to provide viable service” to students in
an academically suitable manner.
Daubert said, “A major part of the recommendations
allows colleges to decide their own requirements.” He
said the recommendations remove the requirement of
the adviser’s signature on registration and drop-add
forms but added that many colleges may continue to
require the adviser’s signature.
In discussing the recommendations, Dan P. Silver
man, associate professor of history, questioned the
practice of having students advise incoming freshmen.
He said freshmen would be most in need of trained
faculty advisers. -
Daubert responded that, in colleges and programs
where the student to faculty ratio is 50 to one, having a
faculty adviser for each student would be impractical.
Another objection raised was the high turnover rate
of advisers in programs where a student may have a
student adviser his freshman year, one faculty adviser
the
daily
Still life north of the Playhouse
said after his outburst.
“I’ve been there too long and this has
been a terrible year.”
The blunt-speaking Petersen,
testifying rapidly and in a gravelly voice
said, “I resent the employment of a
special prosecutor” but came to the
conclusion later that it was necessary
“because of the temper and the attitude
of the Senate.” He said if he had been a
senator he might have taken the same
position.
Petersen also testifiecMhat when he
told President Nixon in mid-April that
the department has learned of trie 1971
Ellsberg psychiatrist’s break-in, Nixon
replied:
“I know about that. That’s a national
security matter. You stay out of it. It’s
your job to investigate Watergate.”
But Petersen hastened to add he is not
sure whether Nixon meant he knew
about the break-in itself, or the report of
it that had reached federal prosecutors.
Petersen said he pondered the
situation, discussed it with his staff and
finally determined that the Ellsberg
trial judge should be informed. On April
25 he talked with Atty. Gen. Richard G.
Kleindienst who agreed to approach the
President again.
This time the President readily agreed
the information should be transmitted,
Petersen said, and it was, resulting
eventually in termination of the Pen
tagon Papers trial of Daniel Ellsberg.
Petersen said the President had been
criticized unfairly on the matter, ad
ding: “I think the ultimate thing is.that
he came up with the right answer.”
Kleindienst, who preceded Petersen to
the witness chair, had recounted his
shock on learning April 15 about high
reaching involvement in the Watergate
scandal and of telling the story to a
“dumbfounded...very upset” President.
But Petersen, who sat in on a second
meeting with the President and Klein
dienst that day, described Nixon as
concerned, but said, "I admired his
calm.”
The sequence that led. Kleindienst to
the President began the evening before
when then-Watergate prosecutor Earl J.
Silbert related to Petersen what he had
learned from the grand jury testimony
of John W. Dean 111, the White House
counsel and Jeb Stuart Magruder, the
deputy Nixon campaign director.
Petersen, Silbert and U.S. Atty.
Collegian
his sophomore year and a different faculty adviser after
he declares a major.
Daubert Suggested the college could provide for this
by letting,a student ask to keep his freshman year
adviser until he declares a major.
John D. Sink, professor of meat science, objected to
wording in the recommendations which States that
‘departments and colleges should train advisers” and
suggested .it be changed to read “departments and
colleges must train advisers.”
Daubert responded that such wording would be too
strong, and Marvin E. Rozen, professor of economics,
suggested a “vaguer, less coherent wording.”
But Silverman said, “I would like to straitjacke't the
colleges into some form of adviser training,” and
moved that the wording in the recommendation be
changed.
The amendment passed by a 51-40 margin.
The subcommittee report was approved
unanimously.
The Senate heard a report of the Ad Hoc Committee to
Study the Implications of Collective Bargaining for
Faculty Governance.
W. D. Taylor, head of the Department of Biophysics,
reported there are three ways for an organization to
become certified as a collective bargaining agent:
If an organization has a 50 per cent or greater
“showing of interest” and the employer consents, the
organization may apply to the Pennsylvania Labor
Relations Board for certification;
If the employer consents, an organization may
petition for an election; and
Photo by Rick Nelson
Harold Titus met in a 1 a.m. to dawn
conference later with Kleindienst, who
in turn sought and got an audience the
following afternoon with. Nixon.
“Nothing was said to me that night
that would implicate the President of the
United States,” Kleindienst said.
“The primary thrust” of Silbert’s
information “was the efforts- made by
many to coverup, to obstruct the FBI
investigation into the Watergate in
cident,” Kleindienst said.
The information “in one way or
another” would implicate former Atty.
Gen. John N. Mitchell, Frederick C.
Laßue, themselves, H.R. Haldeman,
John D. Ehrlichman, Robert C. Mardian
and “you name it,” Kleindienst said. ,
Nixon lawyers say courts have
Tape subpoena
WASHINGTON (AP) Lawyers for
President Nixon told a federal judge
yesterday that the courts have no
authority to force Nixon to turn over
White House tape recordings. Watergate
investigators consider the tapes key
evidence in determining who knew what
about the Watergate affair.
In a brief filed in U.S. District Court,
the lawyers said any attempt by the
courts to enforce a subpoena for the
tapes from special . Watergate
prosecutor Archibald Cox “would be an
unsupportable violation of the con
stitutional doctrine of separation . of
powers.”
Meanwhile, Samuel Dash, chief
counsel of the Senate Watergate com
mittee, said the committee is ready to
file its lawsuit seeking access to
Watergate : related White House
evidence. Dash said the filing of the suit
was postponed Tuesday because com
mittee lawyers wanted to examine the
White House response to Cox.
The brief filed by Nixon’s lawyers
formally outlined for the first time the
arguments the President will use in this
.constitutional test of strength over the
tapes.
The brief supported Nixon’s previous
refusal to honor the Cox subpoena for the
$50,000 kickback cited
U.S. probing Agnew
WASHINGTON (AP) Justice
Department sources yesterday con
firmed that the department is in
vestigating Vice President Spiro T.
Agnew and an alleged kickback scheme
that a newspaper chain reported may
involve payments of up to $50,000 to
Agnew.
Knight Newspapers yesterday
reported that federal, investigators are
. probing allegations that Agnew received
weekly $l,OOO payments from con
tractors while a Baltimore County- of
ficial and $50,000 after he became vice
president.
Justice department.. spokesmen
refused to comment on the Knight story,
but other department sources confirmed
that Republican fund-raising practices
and contributors are involved in the
probe.
The Knight story said investigators
are checking information that leading
campaign fund-raisers for Agnew sought
contributions from contractors in ex
change for state and federal contracts.
At the same time, Atty. Gen. Elliot L.
Richardson decided to keep the in
vestigation inside the Justice Depart
ment and not turn over the case to
Kleindienst’s testimony runs counter
to that of Dean who said he felt Nixon
knew as early as last Sept. 15 about the
cover-up; and the President’s own
statement that he received ’ new* in
formation on March 21 “which per
suaded me that there 'was a real
possibility that some of these charges
were true.”
The morning session of the hearing
was interrupted for about 10 minutes by
a group of men and women attempting to
read a statement and shouting. Nine
were forcibly expelled, but not arrested.
They said they belong to an
organization called the National Caucus
of Labor Committees of New York City.
tapes ’Of - private presidential con
versations and said if Nixon were
compelled to produce the material,
“from that moment it would be simply
impossible for any president of the
United States to function.”
“A president would he helpless if he
and his advisers could not talk freely, if
they were required always to guard their
words against the possibility that next
month or next year those words might be
made public,” the brief said. “The issue
in this case is nothing less than the
continued existence of the presidency as
a functioning institution.”
The Senate Watergate committee had
served Nixon with two subpoenas for
tape recordings and other Watergate
related White House material. Its
planned lawsuit was aimed at having the
subpoenas enforced.
Sources inside the committee said the
panel’s lawyers are concerned that the
federal courts will refuse to accept
jurisdiction in the suit. If that happened,
the committee would have to seek either
special legislation that could be tested in
the courts or initiate, contempt
proceedings against Nixon. :
“The committee met in executive
session this rooming and decided to
postpone filing a suit until counsel for the
If the employer does not consent, an organization
may petition for an election if it has a 30 per cent
“showing of interest.”
“Showing of interest” may take the form of signature
cards obtained by the organization or membership in
the organization among the employes, according to
Taylor.
A question was raised as to whether membership in
the' American Association of University Professors
constituted a vote for that organization as collective
bargaining agent.
Rozen, an AAUP member, said, “I don’t think any
organization can commit its members to a goal they
didn’t have m mind when they joined the organization.”
Kenneth P. Mortimer, associate professor of
education, said it is unlikely that an organization could
be certified as bargaining agent by showing a 51 per
cent membership but added, “I don’t Tfiiow if it could
happen.” .*
In other action, the Senate.received an additional
nomination for its Faculty Rights and Responsibilities
committee.
Silverman noted there are no blacks among the
nominees: and said, “I think we should have (as a
nominee) a member of a minority group. It seems
members of minority groups have the most complaints
about society as a whole, and I think the Senate should
have the opportunity to vote for a member of a minority
group.” He nominated Roy Austin, assistant professor
of sociology. ”
The next Senate meeting is scheduled for 2:10 p.m
Oct. 9 in 112 Kern.
Wednesday, August 8, 1973 ' r
University Park Pennsylvania, Vol. 74, No. 20 6 pages
Published by Students of The Pennsylvania State University
special Watergate prosecutor Archibald
Cox.
Richardson made the decision after
discussing with U.S. Atty. George Beall
the ways to proceed with the probe,
which reportedly includes Agnew’s
handling of state and local building
contracts while Maryland governor and
Baltimore County executive during the
60’s.
The fund-raising aspect arose when J.
Walter Jones of Annapolis, Md., a
banker and real estate developer, ad
mitted in a statement that he “was one
of many, including the vice president,
under investigation for alleged
violations in connection with past fund
raising efforts.
Jones, however, denied any improper
or illegal acts.
The Justice Department sources also
said the investigation involves a great
many persons other than Jones who
have been identified publicly and it has
extended over a period of several years.
Meanwhile, the federal prosecutors
subpoenaed the records of the Maryland
Department of Transportation for
contracts awarded while Agnew was
governor. The prosecutors requested
records covering the years from 1967
into at least 1971 so as to include projects
which were not completed until after he
left office.
Maryland Gov. Marvin Mandel
pledged in a statement “full
cooperation” in providing the records.
One of those involved in the in
vestigation,' Jerome B. Wolff, headed the
State Roads Commission while -Agnew
was governor. The commission became
part of the Transportation Department
in an executive reorganization under the
Mandel administration.
There were reports that the probe also
involved the awarding of federal con
tracts in Maryland let by the General
Services Administration since Agnew
became vice president in 1969. However,
Justice Department officials refused to
confirm that aspect.
Agnew, in a statement issued by his
office Monday night, confirmed that he
was under criminal investigation but
denied any wrongdoing.
no authority
'unsupportable'
committee have an opportunity to
ascertain and study the reaction of the
White House attorneys to the motion of
the special prosecutor,” committee
chairman Sam J. Ervin Jr., D-N.C., said
in announcing the decision.
The next move probably will be Cox’s.
Judge John. J. Sirica gave the special
prosecutor until Monday to reply to
Nixon’s response. Sirica then told White
House counsel Fred Buzhardt the White
House could have until the following
Friday, Aug. 17, for any additional
written response it wishes to make.
Sirica scheduled oral argument for 1 10
a.m., EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 22.
Cox had subpoenaed nine con
versations from among those which
were tape recorded by hidden
microphones and telephone pickups at
the White House, in the Executive Office
Building and at the presidential retreat
at Camp David, Md. The Watergate
committee supoenas also demanded
tape recordings along with related
documents and other papers and
memoranda in Nixon’s custody.
the brief filed by Buzhardt Tuesday
refected. Cox’s argument that Nixon had
Advising the Senate
THOMAS E.; DAUBERT, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Advising,
listens to questions and discussion about his subcommittee’s report concerning
revisions in the student advising program at yesterday's Faculty Senate
meeting.
Justice Department officials said
Richardson also discussed the case with
Cox, who is conducting an independent
investigation of the Watergate affair and
other alleged illegal activities by
members of the administration. But they
said he decided to leave the case with
Beall, the U.S. attorney in Baltimore
who began the investigation last
January.
The investigation involves charges of
bribery, extortion and tax evasion
relating payments from private
building contractors to Maryland and
Baltimore County political figures.
The probe originally focused on
alleged political corruption in the
county, where Agnew began his political
career in 1958 as a member of the Board
of Zoning Appeals. It reportedly was
broadened in recent months to embrace
state contracts awarded during Agnew’s
two years as governor as well as the GSA
contracts in Maryland since he was
elected vice president.
The investigation reportedly is still in
its preliminary stages with- many of
those involved not yet having appeared
before the federal grand jury hearing
evidence in the case.
Despite this?Beall served Agnew with
a letter last week officially notifying the
vice president that he was under in
vestigation. The letter was first cleared
by RichaFdson.
Agnew has not been called to testify in
the case, nor is he formally accused of
any crime.
He has not commented since his initial
statement Monday night.
The White House has refused com
ment other than to say that it was aware
of Agnew’s statement before it was
released.
If the case proceeded to the grand jury
stage, the prosecutors would have to
confront the constitutional doctrine of
separation of powers, the doctrine Nixon
is invoking in the Watergate case. There
is also the question'about whether the
vice president could be indicted for a
criminal offense without first being
impeached.
waived any claim of executive privilege
when he permitted aides to testify before
the Watergate committee about the
recorded conversations.
The brief said presidential papers
have a unique status, and that they often
are kept confidential for years, for
security reasons or because they are
personal or highly sensitive.
The brief noted that there are very few
precedents on which to base a claim on
either side of the argument.
Nixon has turned over to “Cox two
documents the prosecutor sought but has
not responded to requests.for two White
House files, one on International
Telephone & Telegraph Co. and another
identified only as former White House
counsel John W. Dean Ill’s intelligence
file.
■ The tape at issue are
conversations between Nixon and key
aides, including Dean, and are believed
to include discussion of last year’s
burglary of Democratic National
Committee headquarters in the
Watergate office building and the
subsequent attempts to cover up the
scandal.