Watergate conspirator reflects on former president, political scandal
By Teresa Watanabe
Staff Writer
Watergate is dead. But its battle-scarred survivors are coining forward to give their own analysis of the national scandal. One such survivor, John W. Dean, former White House counsel, said Watergate resulted from an ill-designed attempt to get political intelligence for Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign.
"It w’as a fishing expedition — stupid, illegal. Historians are having trouble believing it was really this dumb,” Dean said.
Dean, a convicted conspirator who spent four months in prison, said political intellience — derogatory information about an opponent that could be used to neutralize him — gave Nixon a feeling of control.
"Nixon felt more comfortable and able to deal w-ith the situation w'hen he had this tvpe of information," Dean said.
"I don't think they (the conspirators) were inherently evil or bent on destroying the process. I think they felt above and beyond the normal sphere of reality,” he said.
Dean, looking older and less self-assured than in his pre-Watergate days when his youthful appearance popularized him with public relations people, spoke before a capacity crowd at Hancock Auditorium Wednesday.
He spoke extensively on the excesses of Gordon Liddy, a former counsel to the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, and mastermind of the intelligence gathing plans. Dean said Liddy had little touch with reality.
Liddy's proposed method of dealing with antiwar demonstrators w as to drug, kidnap and spirit them past the Mexican border, Dean said.
To gather political intelligence for Nixon, Liddy proposed to rent a Chinese motif houseboat, hire
prostitutes to seduce Democratic party officials there and film the scene. The film could later be used to blackmail the officials, Dean said.
Although the plans amazed John Mitchell, he approved some version of Liddy's plan, Dean said. "But I'm not sure to this day if he knew what he approved,” he added.
Dean said the attitude at the White House was one of ' don't tell me how you do it, just do it."
"It was incredibly embarrassing — I never thought I'd go from the White House to prison," Dean said.
Dean believed he knew w'ho "Deep Throat” was but did not reveal it to the audience. He said Deep Throat might reveal his identity in the future.
"He may be mad that Woodw'ard and Bernstein are making a lot of money on the mystery of Deep Throat — and he's not getting a cent," Dean said.
He claimed that because he had little access to the Oval Office, he could not warn Nixon of the ramifications of Watergate. "The President was very insulated — he set it up so he could ha ve a barrier, ” Dean said.
However, a Time magazine article said that Dean had "easy, frequent and direct access to the boss.”
Dean's first government job w-as as minority counsel for the House Judiciary Committee. In 1969 he was appointed legislative liaison for the Justice Department, where he was in charge of lobbying for the Clement Haynsworth and G. Harrold Carswell nominations to the Supreme Court. He succeeded John Erlichman as presidential counsel in 1970.
Dean conducted the White House investigation of Watergate, reporting falsely that no White House aides were involved. Since leaving prison, Dean said he has been writing and making speeches. He is the author of Blind Ambition, a novel to be aired on Sunday as a CBS mini-series.
JOHN DEAN
trojan
Volume LXXVI, Number 62
University of Southern California
Thursday, May 17, 1979
Committee releases final proposal on Mideast center
Constituencies to advise	Separation of university, on academic unit criteria	foundation recommended
By Sean Dunnahoo
Staff Writer
A special ad hoc committee has submitted guidelines to university constituencies for the establishment of new academic units.
The basic purpose of the guidelines is insure proper consultation with the vari-
Under the guidelines, such a review' would not be on the merits of the unit. It would be used only to ensure adequate consultation by the constituencies.
The committee has also said the university should have total control over the granting of degrees, establishing curricula, admitting students, appointing fa-
'Reviews would still be made by the curriculum committee and the graduate and professional schools committee.'
culty and awarding tenure.
Should a proposal be uncharacteristic of a typical new unit, its review would be instituted by the constituencies themselves.
ous constituencies before a new unit is established at the university, said Donald J. Lewis, chairman and professor of psychology.
Under the guidelines, the merits of a new unit will not be reviewed by constituencies. People involved in the unit, however, will have the chance to give their opinions of the unit before it is established, he said.
Reviews would still be made by the curriculum committee and the graduate and professional schools committee.
The committee has asked that approp-nate deans and vice-presidents have the responsibility of assuring that recommended review procedures be followed.
Requests for a review of a new unit will be initiated by the appropriate dean or vice-president. The review would go to the chairman of the council, the president of the Faculty Senate and the chairman of the Council of Deans.
Leaders of the constituencies would have responsibility of ensuring that appropriate groups review the proposed unit.
The committee has made several drafts of the document since the committee was established at the October 1978 meeting of the President's Advisory Council.
The draft presently before the university constituencies will be reviewed at a meeting of the executive committee of the council May 29.
Unless additional changes are proposed the document will be brought before the council at its meeting June 1.
Lewis' committee and the committee on the Middle East Center were both established because of the controversy surrounding the proposed adoption of a Middle East Center at the university.
"There has been no coordination for new units at any time, but it came to a head because of the Middle East Center problem," Lewis said.
There had been a request from the administration that the committees be established to insure that the trouble w ith the Middle East Center doesn't happen again, said John Griffith, executive assistant to the chairman of the President's Advisory Council	(conhnueii on ;wtv 2)
By Brandon Bailey
Staff Writer
After six months of deliberation, the special committee on the Middle East Center has issued its final report recommending that all ties be severed between the university and the foundation formed to raise funds for the center.
The committee still recommends, however, that the center be established by following specific procedures designed to avoid any doubts about the academic integrity of the center and the university.
The report concludes that any connections between the university and an outside foundation raising funds for the center would interfere with the university's other fundraising efforts and would attract further bad publicity.
The center became controversial because it had been planned by a small group of people, among them Willard Beling, a professor in international relations, and Zohrab Kaprielian, executive vice-president, without consultation with PAC or other groups.
Beling reportedly established the foundation for the center and was proposed to be the director of the center.
The center also drew fire because it was to be funded by an independent foundation.
Concern was expressed by members of the faculty and outside groups that the university would not be able to maintain control over the academic work done for the center.
versity and the foundation. However, members of the faculty and others contended that the memorandum was not satisfactory as a legal control over the independent foundation's influence.
These matters led Hubbard to appoint a special committee to advise on the organizational structure, funding, academic standards and legal standing of the center.
The committee recommends a new name for the center. Carl Q. Christol, chairman of the committee, said the proposed name change from "Middle East Center at the University of Southern California" to the "University of Southern California Middle East Center" is important.
"By giving it a new’ title, we are defining a new relationship between the center and the university," Christol said.
With the dissolution of ties between the center and the outside foundation, and with the recommendation that the center be kept under the academic and administrative domain of the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, the previous controversies should be resolved, Christol said.
'Beling reportedly established the foundation for the center and was proposed to be the director of the center. ’
Legal arrangements to ensure the university's control were not made public until adverse publicity prompted Hubbard to issue a memorandum of understanding.
Hubbard said the memorandum was a legally binding contract between the uni-
The committee examined the contract for the proposed center and interviewed interested parties to obtain their opinions about its establishment.
Christol said Wednesday that the com (continual on Ji