June 15, 1973

J S Magruder, former deputy dir of Pres Nixon's '72 re‐election campaign, tells Sen Watergate com on June 14 how he and other high‐ranking officials plotted bugging of Dems and then tried to cover it up; confesses his own guilt and implicates ex‐Atty Gen Mitchell, J W Dean 3d and H R Haldeman; says Mitchell and Dean were among those who planned Watergate bugging as part of broader espionage campaign; says he told Haldeman full story last Jan; testifies that cover‐up effort was decided on almost immediately after June 17 arrests of 5 men inside Dem Natl Com hq and that among those who knew that he would lie to authorities about case were Mitchell, Dean and Haldeman; says he does not know whether J D Ehrlichman was aware of break‐in or cover‐up, that campaign finance dir M H Stans learned shortly after burglary that it had been paid for with campaign funds, and that C W Colson had actively encouraged espionage activities, although not specifically Watergate operation; says he believes Pres Nixon had no knowledge of spying operation; says he feared Nixon's re‐election 'would be probably negated' if story was revealed; says 'I think I blanched, to say the least' when he heard that J W McCord had been arrested at Watergate; says as early as Sept '71 there were discussions with Dean on pol intelligence operations and that talk began in earnest in Dec when G G Liddy arrived at Com to Re‐Elect Pres; says Liddy, on Jan 27 '72, presented his plan to Mitchell, Dean and Magruder at meeting in then‐Atty Gen's office; says projects included 'wiretapping, electronic surveillance and photography (of documents); and cost was estimated at $1‐million; says 'gen nature of 1st Liddy plan was relayed to G Strachan; testifies that he, Mitchell and Dean met again on Feb 4 '72 and that Liddy presented them with $500,000 plan, trimmed of everything but wiretapping and photography; says sometime after meeting, Colson called him and told him to get budget approved for Liddy's plans, because they needed information; says on Mar 30 72 he discussed Liddy's 3d plan with Mitchell and F LaRue; says Liddy had cut cost to $250,000 and Mitchell approved; says logs of wiretapped conversations and photographs of documents in Dem files reached Magruder in 2 packages, 1st 1 a wk or so after tap was installed in May; says Mitchell was shown illictly gathered information at meeting and he 'revd the documents' and indicated that they were not satisfactory as there was no information relating to any of subjects he hoped to receive; says Strachan saw data and talked about 'lack of substance' in them; says 2d tap at Watergate worked but 1 on L O'Brien's telephone did not and early on June 17, 5 men under Liddy's direction broke in again to repair things; illus of Magruder and his wife

NYC Controller Beame and Repr Badillo, Dem mayoral candidates, meet in 1st face‐to‐face debate at NY Times; Badillo calls for moratorium on city subsidies or tax abatement for apts renting for more than $60 per room on grounds that shift of priority from luxury housing to rehabilitation of existing housing is necessary; Beame says such a moratorium could halt construction of middle‐income housing

persons close to J B Connally, who has been unable to re‐establish 'clout' as part‐time Pres adviser, say that he has decided to resign soon

article on Sen vote to cut off additional funding for bombing of Cambodia or for any other US mil action in Indochina notes provision is attached as an amendment to bill that would authorize $609.1‐million in funds for State Dept for fiscal '74

Ashland Oil Co, reacting to Pres Nixon's 60‐day price freeze, rescinds increase in its posted oil prices and 1c a gal price increase on gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel distillate and fuel oil