Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 29, 1973 (1/2
Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, June 29, 1973 (1/2
[00.40.01-GURNEY wraps up his interrogation on the subject of the Hotel meeting between DEAN and KALMBACH.] Senator GURNEY. Let me ask you, Mr. Dean, -what does that mean now, what is your testimony so that we can apt it on the record here? Mr. DEAN. What I would like to say I have a very clear recollection of meeting with Mr. Kalmbach in the coffee shop before our meeting in his room. I think Mr. Kalmbach can resolve, if it is important to the, Senator the particular location of that meeting. To Me, there was the substance of the meeting, that Was the important part and I think I have relayed to the committee the full substance of the meeting and what occurred as a result of the meeting.] [00.40.36] Senator GURNEY. NOW. What is your testimony as to what hotel? Mr. DEAN. To the best of my recollection , it was the Mayflower but I am perfectly--if am incorrect I will stand corrected. Senator GURNEY. Now, to get back to the payments for the credit cards here, of course, all I wanted to point out is that you did frequently use your credit cards. Is that not correct? [00.41.07-DEAN responds to GURNEY beating a dead horse about DEAN'S personal finances] Mr. DEAN. Yes, I did use them but as I say, I prefer not to live on credit. When I made the reference to that I have other credit cards as when my records -will reveal when they are turned over to the committee when my full checking account is reveal revealed it will note that most of my expenditures are paid for by check. There is nothing more shattering to me than to see a check come through like this September 27 check for 900-and-some dollars because I can never remember that I am expecting such an amount and I live basically on my salary and I do not like to reach into brokerage accounts and capital to make expenditures. So as I say, I think this is fully revealed to the committee when my financial materials are, gone through in great detail and the committee, if that is their desire, are welcome to have those records. [00.42.03] Senator GURNEY. But it is not your testimony that you use, credit cards only for expenses in connection with your job. You do use credit cards also for personal expenses is that correct? Mr. DEAN. Well, for example, Senator, when I was at the Republican Convention, and often traveling on behalf of the Government, I knew I would be reimbursed for some of those expenses. Rather than to go to some elaborate, procedure when you are checking out of a hotel, I stayed at the Doral Hotel, I had a bill there for several days, the, easiest way to cheek out, is to use a, credit card, particularly When you know you are going to be reimbursed because it is a, Government-related expenditure or a job-related expenditure and the like, and I think that that will be reflected when -Mr. Bellino goes through my financial records that that was often the, case with some of these expenditures. [00.42.57] Senator GURNEY. Well, I have no doubt it is, I am sure that -will be true but my question was do you not use credit cards for personal expenses, too? Mr. DEAN. Yes; I do. Senator GURNEY. That is all I was asking. Mr. DEAN. Yes. Senator GURNEY. Another point that I am interested in here is this meeting of March 21 with the President which, of course, 'was an extremely important meeting. I was going over that yesterday, and there was one part of that that I must say totally confused me. I just did not understand it. [00.43.38-Sen. GURNEY challenges DEAN'S account of meeting with NIXON on March 21; GURNEY contends that this was the first information NIXON got on WATERGATE, DEAN contends that he knew of the COVERUP long before.] Summarizing briefly, you mentioned, of course, that you talked to the, President about perjury being committed, you talked "about the coverup, if it was going to' continue it would require, more perjury and more money because of the demands that were being made upon, by these convicted people, and you said it, was time, for the surgery on the cancer, itself and all those involved to stand up and account for themselves. In other words, a rather complete briefing to the President on the whole Watergate affair, I just touched some of the highlights there. But then, You also made this statement: After I finished I realized that I had not really made the President understand because he asked me a few questions after he asked me a few questions he, suggested it would be an excellent idea if I gave some sort of briefing to the Cabinet and that he was very impressed with my knowledge Of the circumstances but he did not seem particular particularly concerned about their implications. [00.44.49] Senator GURNEY. Well, I must say I Overlooked that, I think, totally when the testimony was first given, and I must say it does not seem to make, any sense, to me at all. [00.45.00-GURNEY continues to attempt to discredit DEAN'S assertions that the PRESIDENT knew of the Watergate COVERUP before March 21, 1973.] If the President was now fully knowledgeable about this whole, coverup business, and a part of It, as I think you have indicated before the committee here, why in the world would he want the Cabinet briefed? Mr. DEAN. Well, as I--when the matter came up, the conversation had tapered down and we were into a light, question and answer session about some of the areas that I had gone into, and I must say that I had a similar reaction, and I said to the President, Mr. President, I do not think this is the sort of thing that I could give a briefing on even a tailored-down briefing on. But he felt it might be important that I explained some of the parameters Of the problem and the like. It was not a lengthy matter. I felt at some time during my presentation that he was very sort of impressed with the way I was giving the presentation. I tried to, I -was trying to, really give one of the most dramatic speeches I had ever given in my life. [00.46.10]