April 2013 Auction Ends Tuesday, April 2nd, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/2/2013
Historically important 80-page notebook filled with densely handwritten notes by John Ehrlichman about the Watergate break-in and cover-up, used contemporaneously by Ehrlichman while he was testifying before the U.S. Senate Watergate Committee. Notebook is an embarrassment of riches, with handwritten pages revealing the secret thoughts of Nixon's top aide while he was on the hot seat, testifying about his role in the Watergate scandal. As Nixon's Assistant for Domestic Affairs and creator of the ''Plumbers,'' Ehrlichman was in the eye of the Watergate storm and eventually served a year and a half in prison for his criminal involvement. In this detailed handwritten notebook, Ehrlichman organizes his notes in two sections: the first is a timeline, starting 19 June 1972 (2 days after the Watergate break-in) and ending 30 April 1973, the day he tendered his resignation to Nixon. The second part includes Ehrlichman's notes on the key Watergate players, with a tabulated section for each of them and disclosures about their involvement in illegal activities. Sections include: ''Mitchell'', ''Kleindienst'', ''Colson'', ''Kalmbach'', ''Dean'', ''Krogh'', ''Plumbers'', ''Caulfield'', ''Gray'' and ''Young''. Notebook also includes Ehrlichman's notes for his closing statement to the committee (''...Don't abandon the nation's govt to...the hacks...''). The very first page of the notebook (shown here) begins with a statement outlined in red, ''the W/G break-in was a campaign issue from the first'', and then goes on to list key characters in the scandal, including John Dean, Ron Ziegler, Charles Colson, Jeb Magruder, G. Gordon Liddy, Howard Hunt, John Mitchell, Herbert Kalmbach, L. Patrick Gray, Hugh Sloan and even Richard Nixon through the use of the Greek letter Pi. These names and more are written about extensively throughout the book. Notes also include mention of the FBI, CIA, the Plumbers and CREP (Committee to Re-Elect the President) and key landmarks in the scandal including Watergate, the Howard Johnson motel and Camp David. Sample notes from early in the investigation include, ''Sloan: Jeb said to lie'' and ''[Pi] > Only named defs [defendants] are involved - No one at WH, no others at CREP''. Then, on 10 October, the White House defense begins to soften with the publication of an important Woodward-Bernstein article. Ehrlichman writes, ''revised strategy'', '''Sabotage'-Segretti story'' and ''DEAN LEAVES ON HONEYMOON!'' Slowly, it's clear that the noose is tightening around the White House, which can't seem to stay ahead of the story. Notes from right before the 1972 election read in part, ''H tied to secret fund...WH denies - angry rebuke''. Soon thereafter the scandal explodes and there are changes to the official story, guilty pleas, scapegoating, resignations and firings, all detailed by Ehrlichman, ultimately ending with his own resignation. Lot is also accompanied by Ehrlichman's later handwritten notes about a Watergate documentary, as well as several hundred letters, both copies and originals, to Judge John Sirica, appealing for leniency on Ehrlichman's behalf. An amazing, unpublished record from the only scandal resulting in the resignation of a U.S. President. Also incredibly scarce, with no such record by a key Watergate insider existing in private hands.
John Ehrlichman's Unpublished Watergate Notebook Used by Ehrlichman During the Hearings -- Fantastic, Museum-Worthy Item -- ''...the W/G break-in was a campaign issue from the first...''
Click above for larger image.