October 15 1974
John Ehrlichman dramatically broke with Richard Nixon in Washington yesterday when his lawyer charged that the ex-president “deceived, misled, lied and used John Ehrlichman to cover up his activities”.
The former president “did it to save his own neck”, lawyer William Frates told the jury in the Watergate cover-up trial.
Throughout the two-year Watergate crisis, Ehrlichman – Mr Nixon’s former domestic affairs adviser – had never accused his former chief of untoward activities.
Yesterday, however, his lawyer launched into a biting attack on Mr Nixon, now in retirement on the west coast. The ex-president has asked to be excused from testifying because of illness.
Mr Frates told the 12-member jury: “The problem is President Nixon, who knew the full story, withheld it from Ehrlichman and prevented Ehrlichman from full disclosures of the facts he recommended at the time over and over again.”
He said: “It is not easy for John Ehrlichman to make charges against a man he gave six years of his life to.”
But Mr Frates then went on to denounce Mr Nixon’s role in covering up White House involvement in the June 1972 break-in at the national headquarters of the Democratic Party in the Watergate office complex in Washington, the scandal that drove Mr Nixon from office.
The trial of five former White House aides, accused of involvement in the cover-up, began yesterday.
Mr Frates claimed that Mr Nixon forced Mr Ehrlichman to resign last year.
He quoted Mr Nixon as telling his aide at Camp David: “John, you have been my conscience. It I had only followed your advice we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Mr Frates stated: “The evidence will show John Ehrlichman repeatedly tried to get full disclosure of the facts.” He promised the jury that tape recorded conversations of White House strategy meetings would prove Ehrlichman was misled.
Mr Frates said the release of Mr Nixon’s June 23 1972 tape recording that finally showed the former president knew of the cover-up “makes it crystal clear Nixon was deceiving everyone”.
Ehrlichman’s lawyer said the president apologised to his lawyers, to Congress and to the American people when he resigned “but he didn’t apologise to John Ehrlichman because it was too late”.
Despite the defence blaming John Ehrlichman’s role in the Watergate cover-up on Richard Nixon, Ehrlichman was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury. He was imprisoned for 18 months.
