News stories from Monday July 16, 1973

Butterfield said that the President seems oblivious that recording machines are present, but confirmed that all calls to and from four phones in the aforementioned offices were taped. Senator Talmadge asked if there is any warning signal on the machine to allow a caller to know that his conversation is being taped. Butterfield replied that the buzzing sound should be a warning, but no one was explicitly told that their conversation was being recorded. At the end of his testimony, Butterfield stated that he answered all questions honestly, and he doesn't think that President Nixon is guilty of any wrongdoing.

The Watergate committee intends to ask for the tapes in order to find the truth regarding the President's involvement in Watergate, as alleged in John Dean's testimony. [CBS]

The White House had no comment except for Buzhardt's letter confirming Butterfield's testimony. Joseph Califano, a close aide to LBJ, asserted that President Johnson never tapped phones on a "regular, automatic" basis as Nixon has. The White House had no comment on the legality of the recordings. [CBS]

Kalmbach stated that he obtained $75,000 from campaign finance chief Maurice Stans. He then gave $25,000 to convicted Watergate burglar E. Howard Hunt's lawyer and most of the remaining money to Mrs. Hunt for distribution to other defendants. Kalmbach became worried and went to John Ehrlichman for reassurance; he asked Ehrlichman if Dean really had the authority to give such orders, if the assignment was proper, and whether he should proceed. Ehrlichman advised him to go ahead.

Ehrlichman noted that secrecy was necessary to keep the press from misinterpreting the concept of raising funds for the defendants. Last January Kalmbach got out of fund raising. Responding to questioning from Republican counsel Fred Thompson, Kalmbach contradicted Dean regarding meeting places and dates. Kalmbach is to return to the hearings for further testimony tomorrow. [CBS]

The Pentagon has confirmed Knight's story, and new Air Force Chief of Staff George Brown admitted that fake reports were part of a larger security plan, and higher officials were aware of the real story. The White House admits that President Nixon officially approved Cambodian raids even as the U.S. officially recognized Cambodia's neutrality. [CBS]

At Maxwell AFB in Alabama, Colonel Theodore Guy, who originally pressed the charges, was present but had no comment. Former POW Parsels stated that the eight who were charged would cooperate with their Vietnamese captors in any way, and he related stories of those POWs aiding the enemy. Parsels said he would like to see the eight dismissed with dishonorable discharges. Some of the accused said that their actions in the prison camp were based on sincere opposition to the war. [CBS]