By Mr. O'CONNOR: Q. Did you do any work for the committee to earn that $560? A. I was not assigned a particular job to do. I was in the office most of the time trying to get set. Q. In the office here in Washington? A. In the office here in Washington. Q. Did you report to the office every day? A. Not every day. Two or three times every week. Q. Who did you report to? A. I would report to Mr. Powell's office. Q. Who in Mr. Powell's office? What staff member, or what employee? A. Well, I was in his office there most of the time he was there. Chuck Stone was there. Q. Do you remember any other names in the office? A. There was a boy by the name of Warren, and two or three girls, like secretaries or clerks in the office. Q. But you were right in Mr. Powell's personal office? A. Not in his personal office. In the committee office. Sometimes I was there with Mr. Odell Clark, who used to be my boss in New York. Q. You would come down from New York and go back to New York after a couple of days? A. That is right. Q. That was done on airline travel tickets? A. Yes. Q. Who would give you these tickets? A. That was done on my own. I was never paid for those trips. Only one trip. Mr. TAYLER. There is no travel shown for him in April. Mr. O'CONNOR. I understand that. I don't understand the witness' testimony that he performs no services, yet he is in the office and receives $560 for apparently nothing and then he By Mr. O'CONNOR: Q. Let's take it from the time that you went down to arrange with your family to come up to Washington. How long did you stay in Puerto Rico at that time on that trip? A. About 4 or 5 days. Q. You then went back to New York? A. Yes. Q. You were back in New York during the month of March, shortly after you went down? A. Yes. Q. Do you know who gave you the ticket to go to Puerto Rico? A. Yes, Congressman Powell authorized that ticket. Q. I know he authorized it. Who did you receive it from, do you know? A. I think it was Miss Dargans. Q. Did you get that ticket in Washington or New York, do you know? A. I got this ticket in here in Washington, in the offices. Mr. DICKINSON. Tell me your last name, please. Mr. DICKINSON. Alfredo Vidal? The WITNESS. That is correct. Mr. DICKINSON. I have no questions. Mr. HAYS. Mr. Nedzi? Mr. NEDZI. Mr. Vidal, did you do any work in New York for the committee during this period of March and April 1965? The WITNESS. No. Mr. NEDZI. Why were you going back and forth to New York so frequently? The WITNESS. I had some political activities going on with the Puerto Rican leaders there. Mr. DEVINE. Mr. Vidal, you indicated in your testimony earlier that this air travel from New York to Washington and return and the trip to San Juan was on the basis that you did not have any money and you weren't able to afford The WITNESS. Right, sir. Mr. DEVINE. Yet you say you traveled between San Juan and New York two or three times during that month? The WITNESS. Yes. Mr. DEVINE. You figure you did use that portion of the ticket, the return portion? The WITNESS. I think I used it, but I couldn't recall exactly. Mr. DEVINE. You said you made a couple more trips from San Juan to New York. Who paid for those? The WITNESS. I have a political committee in Puerto Rico and New York and sometimes they paid for these trips when they were political trips. Mr. DEVINE. You think during the month of March those were paid for through that source? The WITNESS. I think so, sir. Mr. DEVINE. And you think you used the other portion of this ticket on those occasions? The WITNESS. I don't know. Mr. TAYLER. Mr. Chairman, may the two tickets be admitted into the record at the appropriate place as Vidal exhibits 1 and 2? Mr. HAYS. Without objection. (The documents previously marked "Vidal exhibits 1 and 2 were received in evidence.) By Mr. TAYLER: Q. Do you know Mrs. Adam Clayton Powell, whose maiden name is Flores? A. Yes; I know her. Q. How long have you known her? A.. Five or six years. Q. Do you see her in Puerto Rico from time to time? A. I saw her many times in Mr. Powell's house in Puerto Rico. Q. Have you ever seen Miss Flores in Mr. Powell's Washington congressional office or the committee office? A. When I came to work for the committee, she was not in the committee. Q. Where was she working then, if you know? A. She was working in the Washington office for some time. A. In April I don't know where she worked. I didn't see her here in Washington. Q. Did you go to Mr. Powell's congressional office frequently during March and April of 1965? A. In the Washington office? Q. Yes. A. Yes; many times. Q. Did you ever see Miss Flores there? A. No; I never did. Q. Have you been in Mr. Powell's New York office or the committee's New York office during the past 2 years? A. When the office was there, I was there always. Q. Did you ever see Miss Flores there? A. No; I never did. Q. Do you know whether or not Miss Flores has ever done any work in Mr. Powell's offices in Washington or his offices in New York during the past 2 years? A. No; I don't know, sir. Q. Have you had any conversations with Miss Flores about what services she does for Mr. Powell? A. No; I visited them socially in Puerto Rico. I never got involved into what she was doing or not doing for the committee. Q. Do you know if she has any employment in Puerto Rico at this time? A. Not that I know. Q. Do you know whether she has had any employment in Puerto Rico other than working for Mr. Powell during the past 2 years? A. Not that I know, sir. Mr. TAYLOR. That is all that I have. By Mr. O'CONNOR: Q. Would you have talked to Miss Flores within the last week? A. No; I haven't seen her in the last 4 or 5 months. Q. You had no conversation about your coming up here or her coming up here? A. I only spoke to Mr. Hoover who went to see me at my home a few days before on this committee affair and he asked me many questions. So I told him I was ready to sign an affidavit if that would prevent me from coming to Washington because I am very much involved in a political party there. He said, "I will talk to the Washington office and if they will permit it, I will let you know." He never called me back. Q. Mr. Vidal, would you care to identify the political party or whoever it was you were working with in New York? A. In New York I was, in 1960 Q. 1965 when you made this trip to Puerto Rico and the trips down there. A. This is a party that the Puerto Ricans want to found in New York. It is going to be the People's Party. It will be a new registered Puerto Rican party in New York. We have been working with the leaders of the Puerto Rican section for the raising of their political party. Q. This is who you were working with in New York in March 1965? A. This was part of my activities. Q. Did you have other activities? A. Well, I was heading a John V. Lindsay campaign in the foreign service. I was his campaign manager in the last election for the Spanish areas. Mr. HAYS. You are not a registered voter in New York, are you, Mr. Vidal? The WITNESS. I was. Mr. HAYS. Where would you be considered now a voter? The WITNESS. In Puerto Rico. Mr. HAYS. When you managed Mr. Lindsay's campaign The WITNESS. I was living in New York and Puerto Rico, moving back and forth. Mr. HAYS. But you could vote in New York? The WITNESS. Yes. Mr. HAYS. Did you vote in that election? The WITNESS. I did vote. Mr. HAYS. Thank you very much, Mr. Vidal. In my judgment you have been a very cooperative witness. We appreciate your cooperation and if you can find the other half of that ticket, we would like to have you send it up here to the committee so that it can be turned in. Mr. TAYLER. May he be excused finally, Mr. Chairman? (Witness excused.) Whereupon, DOROTHY W. HIMES, having been duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows: By Mr. TAYLER: Q. What is your name? Your Mr. HAYS. Mrs. Himes, your appearance before this committee will be in executive session, unless you request that it be in public session. If your appearance is in executive session, I am sure you know the public and press will not be admitted to the hearing room pursuant to paragraph 22, House of Representatives rule 11. testimony may not be released or used in a public session without the consent of this committee. If your appearance is in public session, the public and news reporters will be admitted but not television and news photographers. I now ask you whether you choose to appear in executive or public session. The WITNESS. In executive session. Mr. HAYS. You are aware that you could have been accompanied by counsel if you so desired? The WITNESS. Yes, sir. Mr. HAYS. You did get a copy of paragraph 22, rule 11? Mr. HAYS. You understand that your constitutional rights will be recognized by the committee and if you should make a proper claim of privilege against self-incrimination under the fifth amendment, that will be recognized. If you feel an answer might tend to incriminate you, you may say So. If you do, the committee will consider the claim and pass on its validity. You were here yesterday, I believe, when I read my opening statement? The WITNESS. Yes. Mr. HAYS. You have a copy of it? Did you get a copy? Tayler. By Mr. TAYLER: I am There is no reason for it. Mr. Q. Have you read the copy of the opening statement that was furnished you, Mrs. Himes? A. Yes. I read it while I was sitting in the room. Q. Will you look on the face page and see what it is? A. It says the "Opening Hearings, December 19, Statement of the Chairman." That is what I have. Q. Have you read it and do you understand the opening statement? A. Yes, sir. Q. Where do you live?. A. I live in Arlington. Q. Would you give us your street address, please? A. 1300 Army-Navy Drive. Q. What is your occupation? A. I am a secretary. Q Where? A. In the chairman's congressional office. Q. Are you referring A. Chairman Powell. Q. How long have you been a secretary in Mr. Powell's congressional office? A. In February it will be 2 years. Q. Were you employed in any other congressional capacity prior to that? A. Yes, sir; for 12 years. Q. Would you tell us who your previous employer was? A. Yes, sir. Do you want all of them? Q. Just the one previous to Mr. Powell. A. Congressman John Dent for 5 years. Q. You are on Mr. Powell's clerk-hire roll; is that right? You work in his congressional office? A. I work in his congressional office. Q. Do you work there with Mrs. Powell who appears on the payroll as Marjorie Flores? A. I do not work with Mrs. Powell. Q. Does she work in that office at all? A. Not to my knowledge. Q. You have been there for 2 years? |