THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Tuesday, May 14, 1974

THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, May 14, 1 9'74

President manipulated

EDITOR'S NOTE: - "It
was the system that has
brought the facts to light and
that will bring those guilty to
justice," President Nixon said
about Watergate on April 30,
1973. "A system that in this
case has included a determin-
ed grand jury, honest prosecu-
tors, a courageous judge, John
Sirica, and a vigorous free
press." Here is the third of a
series in how the Watergate
transcripts show President

Nixon and his advisers tried
to use the justice system.
WASHINGTON tt -- The edit-
ed transcripts of White House
tapes show President Nixon and
some of his top aides struggled
with the inexorable demands of
the criminal justice system in an
effort to keep themselves and
the presidency above the scandal
of Watergate.
The wheels of justice never
stopped. To date, the Presi-

dent's two top aides have been
indicted, his formed counsel has
pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to
obstruct justice and a number
of other former high officials,
including a former attorney gen-
eral, are awaiting trial.
THE TRANSCRIPTS show
how the President and his men
endeavored to cope with the re-
quisites of justice - with the
help of confidential information
from the Federal Bureau of In-

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justice
vestigation, the Department of
J u s t i c e and the Watergate
grand jury.
Specifically, the transcripts
show:
* The President and some
of his top aides asked fhr and
got from Henry Petersen, assist-
ant attorney general, regular
and detailed reports on w h at
Watergate prosecutors and the
Watergate grand iury were do-
ing. This information was used
to prepare testimony and. in at
least one instance, to attempt to
suborn perjury.
* The President was able to
obtain an assurance from the
Justice Department that it htd
'no mandate" to investigate the
President himself. Ninn told
Henry Petersen at, the time:
"You have got to ma atain the
presidency out of nis."
* The White House had ac-
cess to Watergate information
from the FBI.
* The President intended to
use the justice system to pun-
ish his political enemies at the
first opportunity.
The transcripts show the
White House obtai ted confiden.-
tial information fornmPetersen
as early as the summer of 192,
when John Dean, White House
counsel at the tme, was tue
President's in-house Watergate
investigator.
"I was totally aware.of what
the grand jury was dw-ng," de-
clared Dean, who has si'.ce
pleaded guilty to co'v1, acy to
otstruct justice, in tis March
21, 1973 conversation with Nix-
or, "I know what witnesses
were going to be cated. I knew
what they were asked
Nixon: "Why did Petersen
play the game so straight with
us?"

system
lems, where we had problems
and the like."
IN A CONVERSATION with
the President on April 17, Peter-
sen defended his moves io keep
Dean informed. "I can disclose
to an attorney for the govern-
ment in the course of my work.
Dean was, in addition to coun-
sel for the President, obviously
an attorney for the government
-- and there is not anything im-
proper ire that."
But Dean acknonledged on
March 21 that such close co-
operation with the White House
was "awkward for Pe-erse'."
Peterson was, indeed, head .f
the criminal division of the Jus-
tice Department, Dean pointed
out. "To discuss some atfthese
things with him, we ma-y well
want to remove him from the
head of the criminal division
and . . . give him some special
assignment over here where he
could sit down and say, 'Yes,
thus is an obstructnon 4f justice,
but it couldn't be proved'"
PETERSEN remained as head
See TAPES, Page 14

Violence
divides.
God
unites.
The
community

Dean: "Because Petersen is *-.
a soldier. He kept me onormed.
be told me when we has prob- i1ake it
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41
Confidence.
7 ACADEMY
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