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IN DISPUTE. Ehrlichman denied authorizing the burglary but admitted approving a memo from Krogh and Young suggesting that "a covert operation be undertaken to examine all the medical files still held by Ellsberg's psychiatrist." This information was needed, Ehrlichman said, not to prosecute Ellsberg (such evidence would be inadmissible) but to provide more data for a "psychological profile" that the plumbers had asked the CIA to compile; the White House had found the CIA's first such report inadequate. He rejected Senator Lowell Weicker's charge that the aim was to "smear" Ellsberg for political purposes.
WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE. Ehrlichman's admitted approval of a "covert operation" strongly suggests that he gave a go-ahead to the burglary; Young has told the Ervin committee staff that Ehrlichman in fact did so. A memo from Young to Ehrlichman just before the burglary said that "we have already started on a negative press image for Ellsberg" and that if the "present Hunt/ Liddy project Number 1 is successful," there must be a "game plan" for its use. This suggests a move by the White House to smear Ellsberg.
WHAT DID NIXON KNOW? Dean claims that Krogh told him the burglary orders came "right out of the Oval Office." Ehrlichman, curiously, argued that Nixon would have been within his legal rights in ordering such a burglary. Nixon said he "did not authorize and had no knowledge of any illegal means to be used" to assess Ellsberg's motives. He said he was informed by Attorney General Richard Kleindienst on April 25 that Hunt was involved in the burglary and promptly agreed that the Ellsberg trial judge, Matthew Byrne, must be informed. Yet a White House-supplied log of Nixon-Dean meetings indicates that Dean told Nixon about the burglary more than a month earlier, on March 17. If Nixon was not actually informed of all plumber activities, he was, in this case, remarkably slow in telling the judge.
Overtures to Judge Byrne
UNDISPUTED FACTS. Shortly before the Ellsberg case was expected to go to the jury, Nixon told Ehrlichman to find out whether Judge Byrne would be interested in a possible appointment as FBI director. Ehrlichman twice met briefly in California with the judge to discuss this. Nixon also briefly met him.
IN DISPUTE. Ehrlichman claims that since no formal offer was made and the judge did not object to discussing the matter, the meetings were not improper. He said neither he nor the President intended to influence the Ellsberg case.
WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE. Any approach to a sitting judge by Government officials who have an obvious interest in wanting the Government's case to prevail is wholly improper. If a private citizen made a similar move, he could be prosecuted.
WHAT DID NIXON KNOW? He ordered the contact made.
The Liddy Plans