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I told him that the break-in was an operation of the intelligence arm of the Committee to Re-Elect the President; that the men arrested were our people working under my direction. I told him that all were arrested under aliases but that one, James McCord, was also on the regular committee payroll under his true name.
"Jesus Christ!" interjected Kleindienst.
I told Kleindienst that the message I was to deliver was from John Mitchell, and he interrupted to ask if I had received it from Mitchell directly. I told him I had not; that it came through Magruder. I was very uncomfortable because I knew the message was a bad idea, so I said, "I don't know how you can do this, but I'm supposed to tell you that it's a 'personal request from John.' Anyway, he wants you to help get McCord out of jail right away —before it's found out who he really is."
Kleindienst looked stunned. I said, "I know. There's no way you can even try without it getting out. Then what happens to you?"
Kleindienst exploded. "Me? What happens to the President if I try a fool thing like that? Jesus Christ! What did you people think you were doing in there?"
I started to explain, but Kleindienst waved me off. "God," he said, "this is terrible. I can't imagine John Mitchell asking me to do a thing like that." Then, abruptly, his speech grew crisp again. "You tell whoever it was that John Mitchell knows me well enough to call me himself if he has anything more like that to say to me. And tell them I can't do it—won't do it. For the President's sake I'm going to handle this one just like any other case."
Kleindienst's words articulated forcefully and concisely the unspoken attitude and criterion that I had found myself applying instinctively to Watergate: "Never mind what happens to me. What happens to the President if I do that?"
Walking with John Dean
On 12 June, John Dean let me know he wanted to see me in his office in the Old Executive Office Building. He was waiting in the hall. He was nervous, saying only, "Let's go for a walk."
It was obvious that Dean didn't want to be seen with me if he could avoid it. His attitude meant I was hot. We walked into the park and sat down. Turning to Dean I said: "Am I correct in assuming that you're the damage control action officer for this problem?"
Dean looked a bit puzzled by that, but said, "Yes, Gordon; you could put it that way."
"I'm not playing games, John; it's just that I have to know how much you need to know. If you're the action officer, then you need to know it all. D'you follow me?"
Dean nodded his head.
"O.K. The first thing I want to say is that I was commanding the aircraft carrier when it hit the reef. I accept full responsibility. All of the people arrested are my men. You remember the intelligence operation you recruited me for and those meetings in the AG's office?"
Dean didn't like being reminded. He cut me off with "Gordon, there's something I've got to know right away. Did anyone in the White House know you were going there—I mean specifically?"
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