Historians Urge Court to Unseal Nixon's
1975 Grand Jury Testimony
A key piece of Watergate history remains shrouded in secrecy - the 1975 grand jury testimony of President Richard Nixon. Representing renowned Watergate historian Stanley Kutler and four organizations of historians and archivists, Public Citizen has filed a petition asking the court to unseal the testimony.
In 11 hours of testimony taken over two days in June 1975, Nixon answered questions about: the infamous 18.5-minute gap in the tape recording of his conversation with H.R. Haldeman three days after the Watergate break-in; the extent of his involvement in altering transcripts of tape recordings that were turned over to the House Judiciary Committee during its impeachment inquiry; his use of the IRS to harass political enemies; and a $100,000 contribution from Howard Hughes.
In addition to Mr. Kutler, the petition to unseal the testimony was filed on behalf of the American Historical Association, the American Society for Legal History, the Organization of American Historians, and the Society of American Archivists. The petition is supported by declarations from a range of people, including John W. Dean III, former White House Counsel; David Dorsen, former assistant chief counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee; Barry Sussman, former D.C. editor of The Washington Post; Raymond Smock, former historian of the U.S. House of Representatives; Richard J. Davis, former assistant special prosecutor with the Watergate Special Prosecution Force; and several prominent historians.
Although grand jury records are routinely sealed, the court papers explain that Mr. Nixon's testimony should be unsealed because of the extraordinary historical interest in Watergate and the former president's legacy.
The petition, memorandum, and declarations are available at http://www.citizen.org/litigation/forms/cases/getlinkforcase.cfm?cID=616.