January 19, 1974

Egyptian Pres Sadat on Jan 18 denies repts that Egypt accepted commitment to reopen Suez Canal as part of accords with Israel; says opening of canal is Egyptian decision; Israeli Defense Min Moshe Dayan says Egypt agreed to start dredging canal (S)

Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn charged that the campaign by Soviet authorities against his new book revealed their “animal fear of exposure.” The dissident writer predicted that the time would soon come when his book would be widely read, even in the Soviet Union. Page 4.

Joint Cs/S Chmn Adm Thomas H Moorer acknowledges on Jan 18 that he recd ‘file’ of unauthorized documents taken in ‘71 from Natl Security Council office in White House, int, NBC TV Today show; says documents were collected by Yeoman 1/C Charles E Radford and delivered to him by Rear Adm Robert O Welander, who were both then assigned as liaison to staff of Pres Nixon's natl security adviser Henry A Kissinger; Moorer illus (M)

S Vietnamese spokesman Lt Col Le Trung Hien repts, Jan 19, fighting between S Vietnamese and Chinese naval and ground forces in Paracels; 3 Vietnamese killed, 2 wounded; Chinese casualties not known; Vietnamese navy commando team landed on Duncan Island encountered Chinese troops and exchanged fire; Hien says Chinese patrol boat later opened fire on Vietnamese cutter, which returned fire; repts Chinese ship caught fire, Vietnamese ship lightly damaged; Vietnamese have claimed Parcels since 1802; China revived their ‘immemorial’ claim several yrs ago, repeating it last wk, after which a group of Chinese fishermen landed on Robert Island; Hien fears incident on high seas may lead to war with China and thereby plunge great powers into World War III; S Vietnam's observer at the UN has protested situation to Security Council; map

Judge John J Sirica asks special Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski on Jan 18 to give ‘immediate and serious consideration’ to grand jury investigation of erasure of 18 1/2 mins of June 20 ‘72 Nixon‐Haldeman tape recording and alleged nonexistence of 2 other subpoenaed tapes; Jaworski says he will follow Sirica's recommendation; office of White House counsel says in statement that ‘it would be wrong to conclude on basis of Judge Sirica's decision that any individual in White House is guilty of impropriety or wrongdoing in handling of Watergate case'; holds focus of investigation by Fed grand jury is primarily how tape may have been erased, not what tape contained; Sirica says it is ct's opinion that distinct possibility of unlawful conduct on part of 1 or more persons exists and that grand jury should determine whether indictments are appropriate; special prosecutor Richard Ben‐Veniste discloses 57‐sec gap on cassette on which Pres Nixon recorded his ‘recollections’ of meetings with his aides last Mar 21 to discuss Watergate cover‐up; discloses 38‐sec gap in dictating belt on which Nixon recorded his recollections of telephone conversation he had with ex‐Atty Gen John N Mitchell June 20 ‘72, 3 days after Watergate break‐in; White House atty J Fred Buzhardt Jr concedes gaps exist but says there is nothing improper or even unusual about their existence; says he does not think they were caused by erasure; cassette and Dictabelt are turned over to technical experts for analysis; Rose Mary Woods's atty Charles S Rhyne charges that Buzhardt and aide Leonard Garment told Sirica last Nov 21 that Woods was responsible for improper, rather than just accidental, erasure of 18 1/2‐min gap; White House has said it believed there was no innocent explanation until later on Nov 21 when, through tests at White House, Pres aides were able to recreate buzzing sound that is now heard on tape; illus of technical experts Richard H Bolt, Franklin Cooper, Mark R Weiss, Thomas G Stockham Jr, John G McKnight and James L Flanagan (L)