Word: psychiatrists
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...September 1971 burglary attempt on Psychiatrist Lewis Fielding's office was entirely "within the President's inherent constitutional powers," said Ehrlichman. He added that after discussing "this with the President, he expressed essentially the view that this was an important, a vital national security inquiry and that he considered it to be well within the constitutional obligation and function of the presidency." That not only made Ehrlichman's claim sensational, but put him in apparent conflict with the President, who in his May 22 statement implied that the burglary was illegal...
There has been no Supreme Court ruling on the permissibility of the Government's invading the privacy of individuals for foreign security purposes. Therefore, said Wilson, "it is not a silly proposition for us to contend that an entry into the psychiatrist's office" was not illegal in the circumstances. Those circumstances, Ehrlichman maintained, included rumored but unsubstantiated leaks to the Russian embassy of parts of the Pentagon papers and other materials (see story page...
There, exactly, was the rub. The Fourth Amendment bans only "unreasonable" searches and seizures, and the reasonableness of actions connected with impending nuclear attack can scarcely be compared with the reasonableness of a burglary of a psychiatrist's office more than two months after the Pentagon papers had leaked...
...chilling concept, it does not matter that there is both a law and an ethic to protect every man's conversations with his psychiatrist. Nor does it matter whether such information serves any legitimate purpose; Ehrlichman expressed doubts about psychiatry. If Government wants it, there ought to be a way to get it. After all, insurance adjusters, any private detective, seem to find a way to bribe a nurse or pose as a doctor. Why not the White House...
Strangely, Ehrlichman got into his greatest difficulty and the committee became most intrigued by a matter not directly related to Watergate, though it involved some of the same personnel and tactics. That was the burglary of the office of a Los Angeles psychiatrist who had been consulted by Pentagon Papers Defendant Daniel Ellsberg. The burglary was directed by White House Plumbers Hunt and Liddy. They reported to White House Supervisors Egil Krogh and David Young, both of whom reported to Ehrlichman. Ehrlichman's contention that the operation was legal touched off a long constitutional debate before the cameras...