October 28, 1971

The summer of the Plumbers and the Pentagon Papers wound down, and turned into the beginnings of the election year -- and the two bled into each other. It did so through Sandwedge -- the code name (code name???) for security in the then-new campaign. As usual, my source here is Fred Emery.

Jack Caulfield, a former NYC cop who had worked security during Nixon campaigns and then was retained to do things such as arrange spying on Teddy Kennedy, proposed Sandwedge, which would consist of such things as "black bag capability," surveillance of Democrats, and other such adventures. Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman supported the idea, although the president's men didn't believe Caulfield was the right person. On October 28, Haldeman met with Attorney General John Mitchell, who was scheduled to soon leave Justice to head up the campaign. Here's Emery:

For the October 28 meeting with Mitchell, [Haldeman aid Gordon] Strachan's so-called talking paper of points for Haldeman to raise directly in discussions with the attorney general included: "Intelligence: Sandwedge has received an initial 50[,000 dollars], but are we really developing the capability needed? [White House Counsel] John Dean reports that nothing is happening right now. Should his involvement be expanded to something more than mere White House contact...or [Herbert] Kalmach [Nixon's personal lawyer] become more involved?" And on the key question of funding, Haldeman was to ask Mitchell: "From the campaign funds I need $800,000 -- 300 for surveillance, 300 for polls, and 200 for miscellaneous. Will you direct?" Here is the first documented beginning of a budget for surveillance and a Haldeman fund that within a year would plague first him and then the whole Nixon White House.

Caulfield wouldn't get the job, however, of running all of that. For security at the new Committee to Reelect the President, they would hire retired CIA man James McCord. And to run what started as Sandwedge, the man for the job was already on the White House payroll: G. Gordon Liddy.