May 19, 1973

Mrs Mitchell says May 18 that her husband ex‐Atty Gen Mitchell has been protecting Pres Nixon in Watergate scandal, news conf; suggests that Nixon might be impeached if he does not resign; says White House must bear 'all the blame' for Watergate; says they tried to make her husband 'fall guy' but he is 'good guy'; says her husband told her May 18 that 'if anything happens to the Pres, the country will fall apart' says she replied that it would be a 'darn better idea for Mr Nixon to resign than to be impeached'; Mrs Mitchell's comments come after Watergate conspirator McCord told Sen Watergate com that he believed he was acting on orders from Mr Mitchell in Dem Natl Com hq break‐in

White House press sec Ziegler says May 18, in response to questions, that Pres Nixon has no intention of resigning; says Nixon 'was elected to lead this country as Pres in '72, and that he intends to do'; Ziegler repeats denial made by his deputy G L Warren 10 days ago that 'Pres did not participate in any way, or have any knowledge regarding cover‐up and at no time authorized anyone to represent him in offering exec clemency'; says Watergate conspirator J W McCord Jr's allegations at Sen Watergate com hearings are 'based on total hearsay'; says Nixon is not watching any of Sen proceedings on TV but is seeing daily summary of them prepared under direction of Gen A M Haig Jr, acting White House chief of staff; says White House has bought copy of running transcript from Ward & Paul, stenographic reptg co; says Nixon met with Cabinet May 18 and discussed such topics as foreign policy, energy and trade and that there was 'some reference to the situation and setting we are in' but that there was no specific discussion of Sen hearings; says, in reply to question, that Nixon never questioned 'legitimacy' of '72 Pres election or fact that it constituted 'total, absolute expression of the Amer people'; says Nixon has no plans to make statement to Sen com, either in person, by submitting written statement or through counsel; comments, in reply to question, that any statement made by ex‐White House counsel Dean 'must be seen in the light of the fact' that he is seeking immunity from prosecution in scandal and is seen suggesting that Dean is willing to exaggerate or invent in order to convince prosecutors that he has so much information that he must be given immunity if they hope to prosecute 'higher‐ups'

WASHINGTON, May 18—John J. Caulfield, a former White House aide whose name figured prominently in today's Senate Watergate testimony, tried three years ago to obtain Internal Revenue Service intelligence for the White House on one of President Nixon's closest friends, according to sources directly acquainted with the matter.

NYS Legis on May 18 passes revision of off‐track betting law that establishes state racing and wagering bd, eases financial problems of race tracks, permits new off‐track betting operations in various localities and allows racing on Sunday; new 3‐man racing and wagering bd, to be named by Gov, will supervise race tracks, OTB and state lottery; new off‐track betting operations will be created in 6 regional systems connected to statewide betting pool; other provisions of bill would extend racing to end of yr instead of present Dec 15 deadline, have OTB pay more to tracks, about $6.4‐million, but its share in 'exotic' betting would increase, cut state race track admission taxes from 15% to 4% and increase aid to horse breeders; NYRA would be granted tax relief amounting to 1% for rest of yr; state will also cut revenue and expense take‐out from betting pool from 17% to 14%; opposition to bill noted

article discusses J W McCord Jr's appearance before Sen Watergate com; notes McCord's statements regarding exec clemency and his allegation that White House was involved in 'game‐plan' designed to cover up involvement of officials in Nixon Adm and Nixon's re‐election com; notes Sens emphasis on fact that much of what McCord was asserting is hearsay; says Sen Talmadge seems anxious to discredit McCord's testimony while some of com's Dem members appear eager to reinforce McCord's believability

The Watergate hearings and fears of a crisis of confidence affecting the Nixon Administration sent stoat prices plummeting yesterday. The Dow‐Jones industrial average tumbled 16.55 points to 895.17. This marked the first time in more than 15 months that the Dow had finished under 900. Details, Page 49.

Pres Nixon, accusing Cong of 'backdoor' assault on Pres authority, vetoes May 18 bill that would require Sen confirmation of Dir and Deputy Dir of Mgt and Budget Office; veto is 1st strong indication that Pres will continue his const struggle with Cong despite shake‐up his Adm has undergone in Watergate case

Watergate conspirator J W McCord Jr testifies before Sen Watergate Com May 18 that former White House official then in Treas Dept J J Caulfield, who said that he was acting with Pres Nixon's knowledge, offered him exec clemency, financial aid and eventually a job in return for his silence in Watergate scandal; White House denies that Pres knew of any such efforts; McCord says Caulfield met with him in Jan and pleaded for his silence; says Caulfield told him that he was bringing 'message of exec clemency' to McCord 'from very highest levels of the White House'; says Caulfield stated that 'Nixon was in Key Biscayne, Fla, that weekend, had been told of the forthcoming meeting with me and would be immediately told of the results of the meeting'; says Caulfield further stated that 'I may have a message for you at our next meeting from the Pres himself; says that while he was at Nixon's re‐election com he recd 'almost daily' confidential memorandums from Internal Security Div of Justice Dept concerning activities of orgns that dept believed were planning demonstrations against Repubs; McCord says that at another meeting with Caulfield he was told that Pres' 'ability to govern is at stake'; says pressure to keep silent and plead guilty began in late Sept or early Oct and continued through 'the night before my conviction' Jan 19; says pressure also came from Watergate conspirator E H Hunt Jr, atty G Alch and Hunt's atty W O Bittman; Alch refuses to comment on charge and Bittman denies any improper activity; Sen Ervin says that McCord's statement 'would not be accepted in ct of law to connect Pres with what Caulfield was doing' because it was hearsay; McCord testifies that after his arrest June 17 he recd $46,000 in cash from Mrs E H Hunt Jr, $25,000 of which was used for legal fees; says he thought funds had come from Nixon campaign com; McCord repeats charges made during closed‐door appearances in various proceedings that J N Mitchell had approved conspiracy in advance; says co‐conspirator G G Liddy told him that Watergate wiretapping was approved by ex‐Atty Gen Mitchell, J W Dean 3d and J S Magruder in early '72; Caulfield, who was immediately subpoenaed by Sen com, reads statement May 18 in which he confirms that he met with McCord 3 times in Jan and conveyed to him 'certain messages from a high‐White House official'; asserts that McCord's version of meetings 'does not fully reflect my best recollection of the events'; illus of Ervin, McCord, Sen Gurney and hearing room

Atty Gen‐designate Richardson names Prof A Cox, Solicitor Gen in Kennedy and Johnson Adms, as special Watergate prosecutor; says he did not consult White House prior to naming Cox; says he will go before Sen Judiciary Com May 21 with Cox and that apptmt will be subject to Sen confirmation although there is no legal necessity for it; Richardson says he plans to modify guidelines, made public May 17, in line with recommendations he has recd from Sen, news conf; says he will have no control over investigation for 'all practical day‐to‐day purposes'; says he will make no attempt to keep in touch with special prosecutor and that Cox will determine to what extent he will keep Richardson informed; Cox career sketch; Sen Kennedy lauds choice of Cox; Asst Atty Gen Petersen told friends that he feels badly about idea of outside prosecutor as he believes it reflects on Justice Dept and him personally; Richardson illus

Article on life of control comm regional team members stationed at Vinh Long; groups is hamstrung from performing its duties by the comm's own restrictions on transportation; helicopters can no longer be used for investigation since the communists shot down 2 last mo; despite limitation on its mobility, the Vinh Long cams is one of the busiest in the country; comment on some of its work; team tries to enjoy life when not on duty; illus playing volley ball; map

US Embassy in Saigon discloses, May 18, that a 24th US servicemen was found to have been buried in N Vietnam; he had died in an air crash; his name is not on the original list of 23 Amers who died in captivity and were buried in the North; disclosure comes after US team returns from one‐day trip to N Vietnam; team visited Ba Huyen cemetery, 25 mi N of Hanoi, and saw the graves of 21 Amers

Kissinger and Le Duc Tho hold 2d meeting, Paris; Hanoi Deputy Foreign Min Nguyen Co Thach says it is too early to say whether there is any progress; says both sides are revg all the problems arising out of the nonobservance of the truce accordillus of Hanoi officials Le Duc Tho, Nguyen Co Thach and Luu Van Lol arriving at truce accord meeting