THE Summer Daily Vol. LXXXII, No. 47-S Ann Arbor, Michigan-Wednesday, July 25, 1973 Ten Cents Twelve Pages P reichman:e sberg break-i Ilwas lgal President willcha e nge subpoenas WASHINGTON UP)-John Ehrlich- man told t h e Senate Watergate committee yesterday that-President Nixon believes the Ellsberg psychia- trist break-in was "well within both the constitutional duty and obliga- tion of the presidency." And the White House announced yesterday that the President will challenge subpoenas which demand that he produce tapes and docu- ments directly related to the Water- gate scandal. A spokesman, however, refused to speculate on Nixon's ac- tions if courts rule against him. EHRLICHMAN, formerly the Presi- dent's top domestic adviser, acknowledg- ed in testimony that he had approved a covert operation to examine the medical files of Pentagon Papers figure Daniel Ellsberg, but that he did not have a break-in in mind. Ehrlichman's statement about Nixon contradicts the President's own remarks of May 22, in which he said he would have disapproved any illegal means of obtain- ing information by the hush-hush White House unit investigating the 1971 Penta- gon Papers case. Ehrlichman testified that last March, some weeks before he quit amidst heat of the Watergate scandal, he had been reviewing the Ellsberg matter with Da- vid Young, a member of the secret White House investigating unit called the p-mbers. EHRLICHMAN was asked if he had in- dicated to Young that Nixon had known about the break-in or felt it was a proper- ty legal matter. "I may well have," he said: "In that period of time I did have a conversation with the President about this." Ehrlichman did not acknowledge any prior approval of the September 1971 break-in until after close questioning by committee yesterday. During his testimony; he said the Ellsherg break-in was within "the constitutional duty" of the President, contradicting Nixon who said on May 22 he would have disapproved of any illegal actions. Hijackers ca ptured following 5day chase across Europe Sen. Ervin committee chief counsel Samuel Dash and examination of a memorandum. AND THEN, while conceding he had ap- proved "a covert operation be undertaken to examine all of the files still held by Ellsberg's psychiatrist," he maintained he thought "that one way or another this information could be adduced by an in- vestigator who was trained and knew what he was looking for." But, said Ehrlichman, "if you are ask- ing if this means I had in my mind there would be a breaking and entering, I cer- tainly did not." The approval on the memo said the op- eration was okayed "if done so not traceable. EHRLICHMAN explained this as mean- ing, "I was not keen on the concept of the White House having investigators in the field and known to be in the field. I don't think from a public relations stand- point, from a public policy standpoint, th t is a desirable situation." Ehrlichman opened his testimony to the Watergate Committee with a declara- tio of innovence and attributing blaime for the cover-uap primarily to Joho Dean. Ehrlichman denied that he assured Her- bert Kalmbach, Nixon's private attorney, of the propriety of raising funds last sum- mer for Watergate defendants and their lawyers. KALMBACH testified last week that Ehrlichman gave specific assurances. And Kalmbach reiterated the point in a tele- phone conversation with Ehrlichman this spring which Ehrlichman recorded and later had to yield to the Senate commit- tee under subpoena. But Ehrlichman insisted Kalmbach did not ask him for reassurance, and that Ehrlichman's own information on the money-raising plan had come from Dean. Committee Chairman Sen. Sam Ervin (D-N.C.) grilled Ehrlichman on his testi- See EHRLICHMAN. Paee 10 BENGHAZI, Libya (P') - The four men who hijacked a Japan Air Lines 747 Jumbo jet and blew is up at the desert airport here were#arrested by Libyan authorities yesterday at the end of a marathon flight' across Europe and the Middle East. The 137 passengers and crew who had been their captives for 31/ days have been taken to a resort hotel for rest. Palestinian guerrilla groups elsewhere in the Middle East condemned the hijack- ing that began Friday in the Netherlands. They announced "a detailed investigation" of the entire matter. The hijackers, identified here as three Palestinians and a Japanese, were under- going questioning by Libyan officials last night after being seized as they ran from the jetliner after it landed in this Libyan resort on the Mediterranean. After the plane landed here yesterday morning, its emergency chutes spilled out from the fuselage and everyone on board came sliding down. Two minutes later a resounding blast ripped through the air- craft. The passengers and crew ran in one direction and the highjackers in ano- ther. Libyan troops seized the hijackers be- fore they could leave the airport. Forty-five minutes later the plane's fuel tanks ignited and three more explosions erupted in a spectacular fireball. As col- umns of oily black smoke, more than a mile high, blocked out the early morning sun. Japan Air Lines in London said it would send two planes to Benghazi today to pick up the passengers and crew of the hi- jacked aircraft. The plane was hijacked a half-hour out of Amsterdam on Friday at-the start of a flight to Tokyo over the North Pole. It was forced to fly to the Persian Gulf sheikdom of Dubai, where it remained on the ground until Monday night. The hijackers then commended Capt. Kenzi Konuma to fly to Damascus, Syria, for refuelling and then on to Libya. The passengers were driven from the Benghazi airport. to the city's largest hotel where they will remain as guests of the Libyan government. See SKYJACKERS, Page 10