Testimony of Gerald Alch - Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee Hearings on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 24, 1973
Testimony of Gerald Alch - Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee Hearings on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 24, 1973
Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee Hearings on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 24, 1973 - Testimony of Gerald Alch United States Senate Caucus Room, Washington DC
Testimony of Gerald Alch - Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee Hearings on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 24, 1973
Senator ERVIN. Senator Montoya. Senator MONTOYA. I have a few questions, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Alch, what were the exact words or the mental attitude of Mr. .McCord when you confronted him with the offer to plead to one charge in exchange for him being a Government witness, assuming that you did not recommend it? Mr. ALCH. He said words to the effect "no deal.' Senator MONTOYA. What else did he say? Mr. ALCH. Just "Tell them I am not interested in that type of arrangement." Senator MONTOYA. Now this was communicated to Mr. McCord as a result of your meeting in the office of Mr. Bittman, is that correct? Mr. ALCH. Are we talking about - I may have misunderstood you, Senator, are you talking - Senator MONTOYA. As I understood your testimony you went to Mr. Bittman's office on January 8? Mr. ALCH. Yes sir. Senator MONTOYA. You went into a private conference with him? Mr. ALCH. Yes sir. Senator MONTOYA. And you discussed with him the possibility that Mr. Hunt was going to offer a plea of guilty? Mr. ALCH. Yes sir.
Testimony of Gerald Alch - Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee Hearings on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 24, 1973
Senator MONTOYA. Now, did you at that conference ascertain or did you at that conference receive the suggestion or analyze the suggestion from the prosecutors as to what they might do if Mr. McCord would plead guilty? Mr. ALCH. No sir. Senator MONTOYA. Did you discuss it with Mr. Bittman? Mr. ALCH. I did not. Senator MONTOYA. I understand from your testimony, of course, that these conferences or offers by the prosecutors took place in the courtroom; is that correct? Mr. ALCH. Either in the courtroom or at their office. Senator MONTOYA. Yes. Now, did you attend any other conferences in Mr. Bittman's office? Mr. ALCH. Yes sir. Senator MONTOYA. When was this? Mr. ALCH. The exact dates I do not recall. I recall the purposes. One such purpose was to prepare motions, memorandums, affidavits in support of motions; one such occasion Mr. McCord accompanied me up there. The reason Senator MONTOYA. But you remained outside? Mr. ALCH. No, no, he came in with me on this particular occasion to which I am referring because we were using Mr. Bittman's office and secretarial help because of logistic problems whenever immideate typing had to be done.
Testimony of Gerald Alch - Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee Hearings on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 24, 1973
Senator MONTOYA. Now, on what date did you and the lawyers for the other defendants meet to work out the strategy for the trial? Mr. ALCH. There were several meetings. I cannot specifically recall the dates. I could tell you that there were, to my recollection, perhaps three or four in the late fall and winter - in the late months of 1972. Senator MONTOYA. During what particular conferences did the matter of the CIA involvement being used as a defense occur? Mr. ALCH. Mr. McCord claimed it was December 21, 1972. It could very well be. He may very well be right about that. Senator MONTOYA. Well, with respect to that conference what transpired specifically? Mr. ALCH. As I told the other Senators, I announced what my defense was going to be. The response was "Well, this applies to your Man but it does not do us any good." At that point, the question was asked "Is this a CIA operation?" In the conversation that followed, it was pointed out that some of the defendants, if not all of them, had prior CIA connections, that one of them had been caught with documents which purported to be CIA-forged credentials, and each lawyer agreed to ask the client whether or not there was in fact a factual basis for CIA involvement and then we went on with the conference. Senator MONTOYA. Who brought up the matter of using the CIA involvement as a defense? Mr. ALCH. I have told the Senators, I am not sure. It may have been Mr. Bittman, it may have been one of the other defense attorneys. I just do not have specific recall. Senator MONTOYA. Were any of the defendants present at this conference? Mr. ALCH. I believe that - I believe Mr. Liddy was present. Senator MONTOYA, Did you communicate specifically to the conference and those attending that Mr. McCord would have nothing of that? Mr. ALCH. Not at that time because I hadn't discussed it with him. I discussed it with him and he told me that at a subsequent meeting, I did say to them, "Mr. McCord says there is no CIA involvement and he will have no part of any allegations to the contrary." Senator MONTOYA. When did you discuss it with him? More or less. Mr. ALCH. Immediately after the meeting. Senator MONTOYA. Was that in late December? Mr. ALCH. December 21, I believe. And then a few days later In Boston.
Testimony of Gerald Alch - Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee Hearings on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 24, 1973
Senator MONTOYA. Mr. McCord advised Mr. Shankman, your local participator in the defense, that he did not want to communicate with you for the reason that you were trying to get the CIA involvement in as a defense. That is correct, isn't it? Mr. ALCH. That is what Mr. Shankman told me Mr. McCord told him. Senator MONTOYA. And that is what you testified to here. Mr. ALCH. What I said, sir, was when I confronted Mr. McCord after the letter of dismissal had been given to Judge Sirica, I told him that Mr. Shankman had told me the reason for his being dissatisfied was this CIA-contemplated defense and I said to him in words or substance, I thought that was laid to rest at our last meeting. To which he replied, "That is not my reason. My reason is I don't think you are communicating with me enough, I don't think you are adequately preparing the case," et cetera.
Testimony of Gerald Alch - Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee Hearings on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 24, 1973
Senator MONTOYA. Did you feel any time that Mr. McCord was not giving you all the material facts to present an adequate defense? Mr. ALCH. Well, I know from the very beginning by what he told me. When I asked him exactly what s involved he said, "I am just going to tell you what my motivation was." Senator MONTOYA. Well, you indicated in testimony that he would not give you in many instances immediate responses. Mr. ALCH. That is right. Senator MONTOYA. And there would be days of lapse and then he would come back with defense answers. Mr. ALCH. Yes, and mostly in written memoranda. Senator MONTOYA. Well, did this not disturb you in trying to present an adequate defense? Mr. ALCH. It puzzled me a bit, because when I - Senator MONTOYA. Did it ever occur to you that in view of that attitude by Mr. McCord and his failure to respond to your questions and divulge all the necessary information, that you might consider withdrawing from the case? Mr. ALCH. No, sir, for this reason. What I would ask him to give to me was corroboration of a lot of things. From the very beginning, he said, this is why I broke into the Watergate. And I would say to him, Well, can you give me reasons documenting or corroborating your intention? And he would say, let me think about it. Then I would get in the mail memoranda, some of which I have made available to this committee, outlining, here is my reasons, here is the information I was receiving.
Testimony of Gerald Alch - Watergate Hearings: Senate Select Committee Hearings on Presidential Campaign Activities, May 24, 1973
Senator MONTOYA. All right. Then during your meeting of January the 8th, you indicated that Mr. Bittman had told you when you expressed Mr. McCord's concern about what was going on, that he was being made the fall guy, you indicated that Mr. Bittman had told you, tell McCord that he will receive a call from a friend. Mr. ALCH. Yes, sir. Senator MONTOYA. Now, did you at that time ask Mr. Bittman What that call would be about? Mr. ALCH. I did not. Senator MONTOYA. Did it arouse your curiosity? Mr. ALCH. To the extent I surmised that it had something to do with his fears or his suspicions that his codefendants were ganging up on him, because Mr. Bittman said it right after I made that remark to Mr. McCord. Senator MONTOYA. You are known as a very inquisitive lawyer. You didn't ask any questions as to who might be calling your client on that night? Mr. ALCH. I did not. I assumed that it was going to be or could have been Mr. Hunt.