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Watergate Vs. VVAW

By VVAW

Caught with it's pants down last June 17 at the Watergate, the Nixon administration moved rapidly to concoct a dense to justify the break-in, not caring how many more lies and illegal acts it took. The defense they finally dreamed up was that the VietNam Veterans Against the War was a violent organization and was preparing to violently disrupt the Republican Convention in Miami. People on all levels of the Nixon administration and the Committee to Re-Elect the President, including the principals involved with Watergate and other related activities, took part in the plot to attempt to subvert and discredit VVAW/WSO.

Convicted Watergate burglar James McCord testified before the Senate Select Committee on Watergate that he was receiving daily intelligence reports from the Internal Security Division of the Justice Dept. (sic) regarding VVAW and that these reports were the basis for the two break-ins at Watergate. These reports to McCord were authorized by Robert Mardian, asst. Attorney General under John Mitchell, and were compiled by both Mardian and Guy T. Goodwin, the division's special grand-jury prosecutor. These reports were deliberately falsified by Mardian and Goodwin and have been disputed by virtually every law enforcement agency that was involved in security in Miami. Goodwin, by the way, is the same man responsible for the grand-jury witch-hunts held in Chicago, Seattle, Detroit, New Haven, New York, Harrisburg, Camden, all of which ended in complete acquittals, and now the VVAW 8 in Gainesville Florida.

Alfred Baldwin, McCord's chief assistant and un-indicted member of the Watergate team, testified last fall that he "was assigned by McCord to infiltrate the Vietnam Veterans Against the War for the purpose of embarrassing the Democratic Part" if VVAW demonstrated against the Republicans in Miami.

On May 23rd of this year, Pablo Fernandez told reporters in Miami that a year ago he was offered $700 a week by long-time friend team) and convicted Watergate burglar, Eugenio Martinez, to infiltrate protest groups in Miami also to embarrass George McGovern and the Democrats. Fernandez said he had to decline the offer tho, as he was already engaged in infiltrating and spying on the Vietnam Veterans Against the War for the FBI and the Miami Police Department. One week after the Watergate break-in, Fernandez offered to sell fifty machine guns to VVAW members. Fernandez' boss, Major Adam Klimkowski of the Miami P.D. Special Investigations Section, said, "We did not want them to actually acquire the weapons.....we wanted to find out what was in the back of their minds. Pablo's involvement with the VVAW was with our knowledge and approval." Klimkowski later admitted that VVAW did not respond to the weapons offer, and that for all his efforts, Fernandez never brought back anything damaging on VVAW. "In fact, I guess that he (Fernandez) might make a good defense witness," he added.

Another friend of both Martinez and Fernandez is Felipe De Diego, self-confessed member of the team which burglarized the office of Daniel Ellsburg's psychiatrist. De Diego has recently admitted there were numerous other break-ins committed by the "plumbers" (CREEP's security team), but says he won't talk about specifics until he is granted immunity. De Diego being given immunity by the federal government is highly unlikely since it is the federal government that he will be testifying against. His testimony is extremely crucial to the defense of the VVAW Gainesville 8 because on July 8, 1972, the office of attorney Carol Wild Scott was burglarized and the file on VVAW Gainesville 8 defendant Scott Camil was the only item stolen.

The conspiracy by the Nixon administration against the Vietnam Veterans Against the War is so deep, so wide-spread, and so desperate that even John Mitchell had to put his head on the chopping block. Mitchell, former Attorney General and Campaign Director for CREEP, perjured himself in testimony he gave at a pre-trial hearing for the VVAW Gainesville 8 in Pensacola Florida in April. He stated that James McCord was not part of any intelligence-gathering group at CREEP. McCord's testimony before the Senate completely contradicts this statement. Mitchell also stated that he knew of no electronic surveillance against VVAW against VVAW and the Defendants. Btu Guy Goodwin, himself, told the presiding judge, Winslow Arno, that indeed there was information gathered thru electronic surveillance but that it would not be presented as evidence by the government. Mitchell's lying is not surprising since he is already under indictment for perjury in the Vesco fraud case in New York.

One thing has become perfectly clear. The Nixon administration desperately needs a conviction of the Gainesville 8 to give some credibility to their reasons for breaking into Watergate, and will go to any lengths to achieve this.

But one other thing is perfectly clear. The Nixon Empire is rapidly crumbling into dust. Like his early Roman predecessor, Nixon will continue to play his fiddle as he too sinks into oblivion, all the while muttering, "My game plan.....my game plan........my game plan.....