Ohio University - Athena Yearbook (Athens, OH)

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UPI Wirephoto courtesy of Ihe Athens Messenger ABOVE: John Ehrlichman. former advisor of domestic affairs, found guilty and sen- tenced to two and one-half to eight years in prison. UPI Wirephoto. courtesy of the Athens Messenger ABOVE: H.R Bob Haldeman, former White House chief of staff found guilty and sentenced to two and one-half to eight years in prison. UPI Wirephoto courtesy of the Athens Messenger ABOVE: John Mitchell, former attorney general, found guilty and sentenced to two and one-half to eight years in prison. Mitchell told newsmen, It could have been worse — they could have sentenced me to live with Martha. H.R. Bob Haldeman. John Ehrlichman. John Mitchell. Robert Mardian. Kenneth Parkinson. By the time they went on trial in Judge John Sirica ' s courtroom September 30, 1974, their names had been in the news for nearly two years. Most Americans were sick of Watergate by the time Richard Nixon ' s associates faced prosecution for conspiracy to obstruct justice. Though they wanted to hear the truth, for once and for all, they also wanted the whole episode to end. The Watergate trials, it seemed, were the culmination of the long, painful drama that had rocked the nation and caused the resignation of the President of the United States. Richard Nixon was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, and thus saved from being tried for any crimes he may have committed during his stay in office. His closest advisors, however, had been indicted by a federal grand jury, and ironically enough, the pardon of their former boss was the biggest issue at stake when the trial began. Since they claimed to have been acting on Nixon ' s orders, the defendants hoped to be pardoned too. Though they formally requested pardons from Ford, they were not granted them. The defendants, however, also hoped that Nixon ' s pardon would force him to testify, since he could not claim self-incrimination on the stand. Some of them based their plans on his testimony, but as the former president ' s health deteriorated that fall, and it began to look like he might be unable to appear, their strategy shifted. They began to turn on one another, each desperately trying to save himself. The defendants made no attempt to deny the existence of a complex coverup, but each of them claimed either to have played a minor role, or to have been duped by the others. The actual courtroom proceedings were unusual, to say the least. Often there were long periods of silence, when judge, jury, defendants and spectators alike donned earphones to listen to the famous Watergate tapes, in their unedited version. The tapes gave an even more shocking picture of the coverup and apparently had a great impact on the jury. Some of the most damaging comments had been edited in the written transcripts, and Nixon, particularly, lost credibility. According to the tapes, Nixon, Haldeman and Ehrlichman had tried to frame Mitchell. Haldeman appeared as the real bad guy. Ehrlichman also seemed to have been misled by Nixon and Haldeman in some instances, but the testimony of Herbert Kalmbach severly damaged Ehrlichman ' s chances for acquittal. Though Robert Mardian was not a central figure, several witnesses testified that he had cooperated in the coverup. It also seemed that Kenneth Parkinson, the last of the five defendants, was linked with payments of hush money. Sirica was outspoken and sometimes sharp with the attorneys who argued the case for the defense. John J. Wilson, Haldeman ' s lawyer, particularly tested the judge ' s patience, and the two men had some stinging exchanges before the startled courtroom spectators. Sirica ' s outspokenness created much controversy throughout the proceedings, and some heavy criticism from legal circles. Several lawyers felt his actions could be grounds for mistrial. However, since he usually confined his comments to times when the jury was not present, mistrial action would have been difficult. The lawyers of the defendants often seemed to be baiting the judge, in hopes that an outrageous comment in rebuttal would increase their clients ' chances for a new trial. Two months after the trial began, three physicians, who had been appointed by the court, presented their evaluation of former President Nixon ' s condition to Sirica. He might not be able to appear in Washington until February 16, they 22

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UPI Wirephotocourtesy of the Athens Messenger UPI Wirephoto courtesy of the Athens Messenger ABOVE LEFT: A portrait of Nixon is being removed and replaced with Ford ' s portrait in the U.S. Embassy in Bonn, West Germany. ABOVE: Nixon confers with Ford in the Oval Office and informs him of his coming resignation. 21

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The Watergate Gang On Trial AP Wirephoto. courtesy of the Athens Messenger ABOVE: John W Dean III. former White House aide. UPI Wirephoto courtesy of the Athens Messenger ABOVE: US District Judge John Sirica said, and definitely couldn ' t leave his home before the first of the year. Sirica, who had hoped to end the trial by Christmas, realized that waiting for Nixon to regain enough strength to testify would force the trial into the spring. He ordered the trial to continue without Nixon ' s appearance. I can ' t recall. I don ' t have the slightest idea, your Honor. I have no recollection. On the stand Mitchell seemed listless and weak. Haldeman responded, I don ' t recollect, 18 times in one hour. Ehrlichman was defensive and arrogant and Mardian made petty attempts at discrediting government lawyer Jill Vollner during his questioning. Parkinson claimed to have been just a gullible go-between. John Dean, summoned as a government witness from prison where he was serving a one to four year term for his part in the scandal, displayed the same calm self assuredness he had at the Senate Watergate hearings the previous summer. The members of the jury later recalled that his incredible memory for detail and conversation had a great impact on them. After eight weeks, lawyer James Neal rested the prosecution ' s case. He, Richard Ben-Veniste and Vollner had presented what most legal experts considered a devastating case against the five men on trial. They had called 30 witnesses, played 20 hours of tapes, and presented 130 documents. It began to seem that the only hope the defendants might have would be a hung jury. The jurors were a mixed lot. Their average age was 52, and there were eight blacks and four whites. Occupations ranged from hotel doorman to Department of Agriculture official. There were nine women and three men. Since the trial lasted through the holiday season, jurors Christmas shopped accompanied by federal marshals. During the fourth quarter of a tense Rose Bowl game on New Year ' s Day, the bulletin flashed on the screen — the Watergate jury had reached its verdicts. H.R. Haldeman, former White House chief of staff — guilty; John Ehrlichman, former domestic affairs advisor — guilty; John Mitchell, former attorney general — guilty; Robert Mardian, former internal security chief of the Justice Department — guilty; Kenneth Parkinson, former Nixon re-election committee lawyer — not quilty. Haldeman and Mitchell faced the stiffest sentences — possible maximums of 25 years each. The guilty verdicts returned for all of his associates seemed to declare former President Nixon guilty as well. His health, which had prevented his testimony, had saved him from what no doublt would have been a grueling, humiliating examination during the trial. His pardon had saved him from prison. Lawyers for each of the guilty men immediately began taking the initial steps in the appeal process. The defendants still stubbornly protested their innocence. They claimed that pre-trial publicity prejudiced the jury and the defendants apparently hoped that the appeal process would keep them out of prison for at least the next two years. Two months after the initial verdict, Sirica sentenced the four guilty men. Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Haldeman each got two and one-half to eight years, while Mardian received a lighter sentence of 10 months to three years. Shortly after the trial ended, Sirica freed three of the witnesses, John Dean, Jeb Magruder and Herbert Kalmbach from serving out the rest of their prison terms. Though he would not elaborate on the reason for this action, the assumption was that Sirica felt the men had been manipulated by the top three (Haldeman, Ehrlichman and Mitchell) and had suffered enough for their transgressions. 23