Remember "Tricky Dick's" 18-1/2 minute gap?

Remember that? The 18-1/2 minutes of tape that was somehow magically erased by his secretary in some cockamamey contortion she showed us, later, in a picture for the magazines and newspapers at the time? Remember? Well, good news history buffs. It seems we may find out what was in those missing minutes after all. According to Tricky Dick's now-famous former White House Counsel, John Dean yesterday: "A key piece of Watergate history that remains shrouded in secrecy -- former President Richard Nixon's grand jury testimony of 1975 -- should be made public, historical experts have told a court," the press release from Public Citizen stated earlier this week. Public Citizen's Litigation Group, representing a number of prominent American historians and archivists, is seeking this information under a developing body of law that has led to the release of historically-important information, freeing the material from the bonds of traditional grand-jury secrecy when its significance outweighs the reasons for secrecy. And here's the juicy part: While the content of the testimony is not known precisely, news reports from that time suggested the general areas explored: what was said during the infamous 18.5 minute gap in the first recorded conversation Nixon had with his chief of staff following the arrests at the Watergate and whether Nixon was involved in erasing the material; Nixon's role, if any, in the alterations of the White House transcripts of the recorded conversations that were submitted to the House Judiciary Committee during its impeachment inquiry; the extent to which Nixon used the IRS to harass his political enemies; and the $100,000 campaign contribution from Howard Hughes to Nixon's friend Bebe Rebozo, which was never received by the campaign, but purportedly instead went to Nixon's brothers and his secretary Rose Mary Woods. This could be very enlightening, even if it is about 40 years late. Link to original post: http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20100917.html