News stories from Thursday May 17, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The Senate Watergate Committee commenced its hearings today. Chairman Sam Ervin called the committee to order and said that if the Watergate charges are true, those who are guilty have taken away the right of every American to a free election. Senator Howard Baker questioned former Nixon campaign committee employee Robert Odle about a secret file belonging to Jeb Magruder. Odle said he never saw the "blue" file which contained items that G. Gordon Liddy gave to Magruder. Odle took home files which Magruder asked him to keep over the weekend when the Watergate arrests were made. Bruce Kehrli, a special presidential assistant, will be questioned later regarding the drilling and opening of E. Howard Hunt's safe. Kehrli was questioned today about the White House chain of command. Sergeant Paul Leeper testified regarding the arrests of Watergate burglars James McCord and the "Miami 4".
President Nixon is reportedly not watching the Watergate hearings.
[CBS] - John Dean talked with CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite. Dean stated that President Nixon could have revealed much more in his April 30 speech about Watergate, and doing so would have made him look better. Dean said that he has no knowledge that the President knew about the Watergate burglary in advance, and he reported that Pat Buchanan's daily news briefing for the President contains just the basic facts of the Watergate investigation by the Washington Post and other newspapers. Dean says that he wants the facts regarding Watergate to come out.
CBS will air the full interview with Dean at 11:30 p.m. tonight and will cover the Senate hearings beginning tomorrow at 10 a.m.
[CBS] - Attorney General-designate Elliot Richardson continues to search for an independent Watergate prosecutor. Richardson indicated in a letter to Senator Adlai Stevenson III that he will give the special prosecutor total independence in his investigation. [CBS]
- Former deputy CIA director Robert Cushman testified today regarding the CIA's involvement in Watergate. Cushman confirmed that it was John Ehrlichman who requested CIA help for E. Howard Hunt. Cushman said that he trusted the White House staff at the time the request was made. Senator Stuart Symington said that it is difficult to believe President Nixon knew nothing of what was going on with the CIA, because the CIA reports directly to the President.
Reports say that Marvin Kalb was one reporter whose telephone was tapped under orders from Henry Kissinger. CBS News president Richard Salant said that if reporters' phones were tapped, it shows the administration's contempt for freedom of the press.
[CBS] - Donald Segretti, the accused Republican political spy, was arraigned today in Tampa, Florida. Segretti is accused of distributing a phony letter which was damaging to Senators Edmund Muskie, Henry Jackson and Hubert Humphrey in last year's Florida presidential primary. Prosecutor John Briggs stated that the letter appeared on Muskie stationery and accused Humphrey and Jackson of sexual misconduct. George Hearing, who was also named in the indictment, has already pleaded guilty. [CBS]
- Senators Mike Mansfield and Hugh Scott said that they resent CBS' descriptions of members of the Senate Watergate committee. [CBS]
- Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho are meeting in Paris, France, to discuss ways to salvage the Vietnam truce. [CBS]
- NASA has postponed launching astronauts Conrad, Kerwin and Weitz until a week from Friday. The crew will try to attach a shade to Skylab to bring down temperatures inside the craft. [CBS]
- The nuclear blast for the purpose of releasing underground supplies of natural gas took place in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. The underground nuclear blast caused the ground to shake and some rock and dirt slides occurred. Environmentalists fear that the blast may contaminate underground water sources. [CBS]
- The Ypsilanti, Michigan, little league team has been expelled from the national little league organization because it allowed Carolyn King to play in one game. The league prohibits girls from playing. [CBS]
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Dow Jones Industrial Average: 911.72 (-5.42, -0.59%)
Arms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish. | |||||||||||||||
| Market Index Trends | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | DJIA | S&P | Volume* |
| May 16, 1973 | 917.14 | 106.43 | 13.80 |
| May 15, 1973 | 917.44 | 106.57 | 18.53 |
| May 14, 1973 | 909.69 | 105.90 | 13.52 |
| May 11, 1973 | 927.98 | 108.17 | 12.98 |
| May 10, 1973 | 939.34 | 109.54 | 13.52 |
| May 9, 1973 | 949.05 | 110.44 | 16.05 |
| May 8, 1973 | 956.58 | 111.25 | 13.73 |
| May 7, 1973 | 950.71 | 110.53 | 12.50 |
| May 4, 1973 | 953.97 | 111.00 | 19.51 |
| May 3, 1973 | 945.67 | 110.22 | 17.76 |