Butterfield/Colodny 1987 interview re: Bob Woodward

[Douglas Caddy]

Lyn Colodny on Facebook today posted this:

It was Woodward who twice in May and July of 1973 recommended that the Watergate Committee call Butterfield. I discussed this with Butterfield in this interview in March of 1987.
BUTTERFIELD/COLODNY INTERVIEW EXCERPT RE: WOODWARD 3/25/87

COLODNY: So that raised a question. In your case the question is why
did Bob Woodward bring you to the Watergate Committee's
attention, that's one of the things that we feel a great, do
a great deal on in the book.
BUTTERFIELD: Huh, huh.
COLODNY: Were you aware that he was the driving force before you,
about you being called?
BUTTERFIELD: Well, but, ah, no except that it made sense, yeah, I guess I
was. He was a good friend of, ah, I forget that .
. .
COLODNY: Scott Armstrong's.
BUTTERFIELD: . . .Armstrong.
COLODNY: Scott Armstrong.
BUTTERFIELD: Scott Armstrong and Scott was the chief briefer or the
debriefer and they were pals and I, you know, I had, I had
a, you know, I was not a functionary although, uh, Haldeman
and Nixon both would like to pretend I was. I was on the
senior staff and, and I was, uh, you know, on the senior
staff meetings in the morning. My office did adjoin the
Oval Office. I was, I was in and out more times every day
than anyone. I was the first guy to see the President every
morning and the last guy to see him at night. But it's not
unusual in, on the face of it, see.
COLODNY: So Woodward, Woodward. . .
BUTTERFIELD: I was in charge, but I was in charge of all administration.
COLODNY: Right.
BUTTERFIELD: So, so I was in a position to know relationships of one aide
to the other and each aide to the President as well as
anyone, save Haldeman.
COLODNY: Like. .
BUTTERFIELD: Maybe, and maybe Steve Bull.
COLODNY: Did you know about the Woodward - Armstrong relationship on
the day you went to the, to the Hill?
BUTTERFIELD: No, I did not.
COLODNY: No, and you did not know and you, when Armstrong was
questioning you with Don Sanders,. . .
BUTTERFIELD: Oh no, I did not know that, uh, uh.
COLODNY: You, you had no idea there was a relationship there?
BUTTERFIELD: No, no.
COLODNY: The boy, they were boyhood friends and so on. Woodward. . .
BUTTERFIELD: Sure, but, but, but I'm saying that may well be but on the
other hand it could be that, you know, have we really talked
to everybody over there, how about this guy Butterfield,
what the hell is that?
COLODNY: Yeah, but that isn't, that isn't what happened. And, and
that's, that's a, that's the problem. Woodward did
something that a good investigative reporter wouldn't have
done. You don't go turn your sources over to a committee.
You try and get the story yourself. And Woodward. . .
BUTTERFIELD: Your witness, your witness. . .
COLODNY: . . .and that, that, that waves a big red flag to our
readers saying wait a minute what is this guy on May 17th
and it wasn't like he showed up late, he was there the first
day the Committee met publicly to recommend you be called.
And he says why he, he uh, recommended you because he
believed that you had something to do with internal
security.

BUTTERFIELD: Yeah, I did.
COLODNY: Well but he interpreted that to mean . . .
BUTTERFIELD: Yes.
COLODNY: . . .that you were involved in wire tapping as . . .
BUTTERFIELD: Huh, huh.
COLODNY: . . .that, that's his version.
BUTTERFIELD: I see.
COLODNY: It had something to do, cause he knew that Mardian, who was
in charge of internal security at the Justice Department,
was handling the wire taps.
BUTTERFIELD: Yeah, I see.
COLODNY: In other words it wasn't cause you sat outside the
President's door that Woodward was interested in you, he
says you're, himself, that he put two and two together.
BUTTERFIELD: Yeah.
COLODNY: You follow me?
BUTTERFIELD: Yeah, sure I follow you.