a cautionary tale  part 3

II. VICKIE LYNN MARSHALL





Vickie dreamed of becoming the personification of her idol, Marilyn Monroe. Both became international superstars, traveling far from home under assumed names. Norma Jean's fame thrust her into the arms of an American baseball icon and a dashing young politician, while Vickie Lynn found herself in the company of a Texas oil baron. But her notoriety never reached the same heights or longevity. Her life is best described as that of a person who was rescued by her wealthy pursuer and taught to spend money at a breathtaking pace that most Americans cannot fathom. While she detested being thought of as a gold-digger, her actions leave little doubt that money was the central facet of her relationship with J. Howard. Her appetite for money, once developed, was incessant and outlandish by everyday standards.
Vickie appeared before the Court to testify for three days. Her communication skills were poor as she frequently had trouble engaging counsel. Her illiteracy is striking. Examples are too numerous to chronicle but include writing "25.00" meaning $2,500 and "4500,00" meaning $4,500--she testified that she has trouble with zeros. In fact, she has only recently started learning to pay her own bills after years of managers and relatives managing her money. Vickie also finds herself in *20 difficult times and is being treated for depression.
But education is no guarantor of integrity and a discredited profession does not mean a person lacks truthfulness. While Vickie certainly drew a more noble image of herself than the facts bear out, her testimony on the statements made by J. Howard are credible.
A. Background
Vickie Lynn Marshall was born in Houston, Texas in 1967. Her parents divorced shortly after she was born and her father moved away. She never saw him until she looked him up after she had become Playmate of the Year. In her teens she moved with her mother to Mexia, Texas, a small town in the eastern part of the state. She completed grade school, but failed her freshman year in high school, and never progressed past an eighth grade education.
Vickie worked as a waitress and morning cook at Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia where she met Billy Wade Smith, who was the cook at the restaurant. At the age of 17, she married Billy Smith, and at the age of 19, she gave birth to her son Daniel, her only child. The marriage ended shortly thereafter, and Vickie moved back to Houston with Daniel when he was a year old.
B. Career as a Dancer
At this point in her life, Vickie was estranged from her family. Her husband, Billy Wade Smith was not providing child support and made no effort to visit Daniel. Initially she found employment at Walmart and later as a waitress at the Red Lobster, but she could not make enough money to support herself and Daniel. Vickie testified that one day, while on the way home from work, she passed a neon sign that displayed a lady in high heels wearing a bikini. She was interested in becoming a dancer, but deferred at first when she found out it was a nude dance bar. She initially sought a job as a waitress but was quickly talked into dancing on stage. After a couple of drinks, humiliated but willing to dance, she overcame her inhibitions and continued as a dancer when she saw "all the money in her lap which paid the bills."
Vickie, however, was big-boned, and in the fashion trends of the late 1980's and early 1990's, her figure relegated her to the "B" team. Instead of working the lucrative night shifts, Vickie danced during the day, for less pay and fewer tips. But this apparent disadvantage would soon work in her favor.




III. J. HOWARD'S AND VICKIE'S TIME TOGETHER
J. Howard and Vickie began their relationship in October 1991, when they met at Gigi's in Houston, Texas. They married June 27, 1994 and their relationship continued until his death on August 4, 1995. They met when she was at the vibrant age of twenty-four, and he a sickly eighty-six year-old man. The issues of J. Howard's donative intent and Vickie's expectancy can only be understood by slowly unwinding their years together.
A. The Meeting of J. Howard and Vickie
After Lady Walker and Betty died in 1991, J. Howard entered a period of deep despondency. He appeared to his family and friends to have lost his zest for life. In 1991, J. Howard told his eldest son, J. Howard, III, that "he enjoyed having pretty women on his arm when he entered the River Oaks Country Club in Houston and that a great light had gone out of his life."
In October 1991, Vickie was dancing at Gigi's, a Houston strip club. Dan Manning *21 was J. Howard's driver who frequented Gigi's and had seen Vickie dance. Manning and J. Howard had talked about going to a burlesque bar and in October, Manning drove his boss to Gigi's to cheer him up. Because of J. Howard's age and physical condition, he did not go out at night, and thus they arrived during the day-shift, when Vickie worked. Manning approached Vickie and asked her to dance for J. Howard. According to Vickie, when she saw J. Howard, "he looked terrible, he looked like he had lost his will to live." While Vickie danced, J. Howard tried to grab her breasts. Thus began J. Howard's aggressive pursuit of Vickie's affection. He asked to her to have lunch with him the next day. A description of this lunch helps to understand the pattern that they followed for the years of courtship prior to their marriage.
B. The Courtship
J. Howard initially took Vickie to a restaurant hotel and ordered room service. He told Vickie about Betty and Lady Walker and funny stories about himself. When she became concerned about her job, he gave her an envelope with a thousand dollars in cash and told her not to go to work. The following day they had lunch at River Oaks Country Club, where once again she was given cash. On each occasion, money was given to her ranging in amounts of $1,000 to $5,000 in cash. Vickie "stopped dancing right after Howard met me that day." (Dep. of Vickie, Dec. 28, 1999, vol. 3, p. 600.) J. Howard was soon paying all of Vickie's bills. Shortly after they met, J. Howard purchased a white Toyota Celica as a gift for her after her own car had been repossessed.
She started receiving $2,000 checks twice a month. (Ex. 48.) These checks were recorded by J. Howard's assistant Eyvonne Scurlock for consulting, just as his previous "pins" to Lady Walker had been. Summaries prepared by Scurlock were then sent to J. Howard's accountant for tax purposes and 1099 Tax forms for Vickie were prepared. (AP 11462, Dep. of Eyvonne Scurlock, August 27, 1999. pp. 72, 576-577.) These $2,000 checks increased over time to $2,750.
Within a week of their meeting, J. Howard told Vickie that he was going to marry her. He had been re-invigorated by Vickie. While he had fallen into a state of deep despair after the deaths of Lady Walker and Betty, his relationship with Vickie brought him back to life. He called her "the light of his life." He told his attorney Harvey Sorensen numerous times that he wanted to marry Vickie.
According to Vickie, J. Howard asked her to marry him "tons of times." She contends that the proposals were usually accompanied by the same assurance that once they were married, she would have half of everything he had. His proposals occurred frequently, and are confirmed by numerous friends, employees and professional associates. He started buying her rings that increased in size and value. When he gave her rings, there was always the same conversation about marriage. "It seemed like every time he would buy me a bigger and bigger ring and he would ask me over and over and over and he was very pushy. He really loved me. He just really wanted to marry me." (Dep. of Vickie, December 28, 1999, p. 642.) During J. Howard's courtship of Vickie, he purchased at least three large engagement rings as well as numerous smaller rings. On each occasion, the giving of these rings was accompanied by the same incessant matrimonial proposals.
J. Howard's aggressive pursuit is illustrated by one instance where he purchased jewelry for Vickie from Nieman Marcus. On Christmas Eve 1993, David Watson, a *22 Nieman Marcus employee, delivered various pieces of jewelry to Vickie's home for her and J. Howard to review. Vickie looked at all the pieces, and commented that a particular yellow diamond ring was too expensive and should not be shown to J. Howard. When J. Howard arrived, he looked at the jewelry and commented: "this is better than the Home Shopping Network." J. Howard then asked if he had seen everything. Watson, forgetting Vickie's admonition, showed J. Howard the yellow diamond ring. When told that the price was, $107,000, J. Howard stated: "Oh, just a baquetta." J. Howard then completed the purchase. That purchase, and an earlier one by J. Howard in April 1993, were the two largest purchases in store history.
During their courtship, J. Howard made numerous other gifts to Vickie. On September 16, 1992, J. Howard purchased a ranch for Vickie in Tomball, Texas, outside of Houston (the Tomball Ranch). This ranch was purchased in the name of the J. Howard Marshall, II, Living Trust (the Living Trust), but was intended for Vickie's use and benefit. J. Howard later purchased a home on Rusington Street in Houston, which was held by the Houston Land Trust, with her as the beneficiary. J. Howard also rented the Los Angeles house that Marilyn Monroe had lived in. When the lease expired, he purchased a house on Ashdale street in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles for her. J. Howard also provided Vickie with an apartment in New York City when she spent time there. He bought her $10,000 gowns that could only be worn once because in "Hollywood you could never wear the same dress twice." Jewelry purchases from Harry Winston jewelers for Vickie exceeded $2 million. In 1992, J. Howard purchased a new Mercedes Benz for Vickie.
Vickie testified that J. Howard taught her to spend money, and that spending money was fun. She was the second of two women with little wealth and no experience whom J. Howard taught that there were no limits to the fun of spending money if they were with him.
J. Howard eventually introduced Vickie to Pierce. On one occasion in 1992, J. Howard took Vickie and Pierce to lunch at the Royal Oaks Country Club. From the outset, the relationship between Vickie and Pierce was tense. Vickie already believed that Pierce did not like her, and felt that during the entire lunch he was giving her "mean looks." According to Vickie, when J. Howard went to the restroom, Pierce told her "don't let J. Howard buy you anything else."
J. Howard nevertheless repeatedly proposed to Vickie. She had just started taking voice and modeling lessons when she met J. Howard, and although she was flattered by these proposals, she wanted to have a career first. Vickie put off J. Howard almost three years before she finally accepted his proposals.
Shortly after they met, Vickie saw an ad in the newspaper to audition for Playboy Magazine. After meeting with a scout, Vickie was quickly hired and two weeks later was doing a test shoot in California. In March 1992, Vickie made her Playboy debut, appearing on the cover. In May 1992, she was named Playboy Playmate of the Month.
Vickie was contacted by Guess Jeans to be part of its national advertising campaign. She became their top spokes-model for a one-year period from 1993-94. During this time, she appeared in numerous other magazines and in 1993 was named the Playboy Playmate of the Year. Vickie had achieved the level of international sex symbol, and was one of the most recognized print models in the world. Her stardom *23 only encouraged J. Howard to pursue her with a newfound vigor.
In Spring 1994, Vickie was on tour for Guess Jeans in Singapore. While there, she and the Guess Jeans entourage were mobbed by fans. The incident scared her, and the remainder of the tour stops in Japan and the Philippines were cancelled. When she returned home to Houston, J. Howard once again proposed to her. J. Howard repeated that she was the woman who had saved his life, that he would take care of her and her son, and that she would have half of everything he had. This time, Vickie accepted.
Vickie testified that his money was a factor in her decision to marry J. Howard, but contends that she would have married him anyway. Vickie sought security for her and her son, and what he might lack in youth, vigor, and looks, J. Howard made up for with his great wealth. Although she has often been portrayed to the Court as a gold-digger and predator, she did hold a certain regard for J. Howard, and was willing to compromise her prime modeling years for someone who showered her with gifts and offered financial security.


C. The Marriage of J. Howard and Vickie
J. Howard and Vickie were married on June 27, 1994 at the White Dove Wedding Chapel in Houston, Texas. Although numerous prenuptial agreements had been prepared, beginning as early as 1992, none were signed, nor was any such agreement ever discussed with Vickie.
The wedding was not widely announced, and Pierce did not learn of the wedding until after it occurred. Only a few close confidantes attended, including J. Howard's assistant Eyvonne Scurlock, his new driver Arnold Wyche, his nurse Charlotte Fade, and Vickie's aunt and uncle, Elaine and Melvin Tabers. Henry Schlesinger, one of the MPI executives was invited, but did not attend.
The night of the marriage, Vickie flew to New York on an assignment, leaving J. Howard in Texas. On July 6, 1994, J. Howard left for California to visit his new wife.
During their marriage, J. Howard continued to give extravagant gifts to Vickie. J. Howard also considered adopting Vickie's son Daniel. One of J. Howard's lawyers, Jeff Townsend began seriously investigating the issue. He contacted counsel in California about possible adoption proceedings and traveled to California to meet with attorney Lawrence Leone. (Ex. 143.) The adoption, however, never took place because Townsend determined that he would not be able to obtain consent from Daniel's natural father, Billy Wade Smith. The steps taken to begin an adoption proceeding demonstrate that J. Howard was prepared to undertake a greater commitment to Vickie and her son, not only during his lifetime, but long afterward.
Vickie and J. Howard also tried to have children of their own. Initially, they tried to have children in what Vickie described as "the normal way." When that did not work, J. Howard went to a fertility doctor to seek advice and treatment.

a comment on the English class system........



"By their writ the plaintiff executors claimed an order that a 99-year lease of shooting rights over the Swythamley estate which the late Sir Philip Brocklehurst had granted to the defendant should be set aside:
"as having been entered into by... the... deceased as a result of the undue influence of the defendant exerted whilst in a position of confidence and trust."
At the very beginning of his judgment Blackett-Ord V.-C. announced his finding about the defendant's conduct. He did so in these terms:
"I say at once that I find no evidence of any consciously improper conduct on the part of Mr. Roberts. He did a great deal for Sir Philip in his latter years, and I am satisfied that when he obtained the confidence of Sir Philip to the extent which he did, he only accepted from him benefits which he genuinely thought Sir Philip intended him to have. The plaintiffs, through their counsel, have expressly disclaimed any suggestion that Mr. Roberts improperly influenced Sir Philip."
Many common lawyers would expect that finding to result in judgment for the defendant. Yet the court ordered the lease to be set aside for the reason alleged in the writ. I found this an unexpected result.
Mr. Francis, on behalf of the plaintiffs, submitted that it was a result that would have been expected in a court of equity once the evidence established, as he said it did, a relationship of confidence and trust between Sir Philip and the defendant. The reason for this was that there was no evidence to prove that before executing the lease Sir Philip had had any independent advice. The lack of such evidence, as a matter of law, submitted Mr. Francis, made it impossible for the defendant to rely upon the facts (as the Vice-Chancellor found them) that his conduct towards Sir Philip had not been improper and that he had not intended to influence him in any improper way. For my part I find such a rule of law, if there be one, unattractive; but if that be the law, I must apply it.
I have no difficulty in accepting that a plaintiff's evidence may prove the existence of a relationship resulting in large gifts being made which calls for an explanation from a defendant recipient. If no explanation is given, or if given, is unsatisfactory, a court should infer that the gifts were obtained by the exercise of undue influence. Some common lawyers refer to this as the shifting of the evidential burden of proof. In the courts of equity it has been the practice to say that such situations raise a presumption of undue influence which a defendant recipient has to rebut. What I found a difficult concept was the notion that such a presumption could only be rebutted by one kind of evidence.
In my judgment the issues in this case are these: did the plaintiffs prove that there existed between Sir Philip and the defendant such a confidence as to enable the defendant to exercise influence over him? If yes, did the defendant prove that the granting of the lease by Sir Philip came about by a free and independent exercise of his will?
In the last months of his life Sir Philip came to depend heavily upon the defendant for easing the burden of day to day living. The attraction *34 for Sir Philip was that the defendant would do whatever he was told to do. But the defendant was no obsequious crony. Still less was he a dominating factotum. Each knew his place in the world. Sir Philip's was much higher than the defendant's. Sir Philip was the son of a Victorian squire and had himself become the Squire of Swythamley Park when he was 17. He was autocratic and self-willed. The defendant had been a butcher's apprentice and a lorry driver. When he first met Sir Philip in the mid 1960's he was running a small garage. What brought them together was their common interest in shooting. They liked each other; but from the beginning of their friendship until Sir Philip's death the defendant never crossed the social gap which lay between them. Sir Philip addressed him, and referred to him, as John, but the defendant always addressed, and referred to the other as Sir Philip. In cross-examination, the defendant, who had been a rating in the Royal Navy for 18 months during the second world war, in a few words set the scene:
"I never had any disagreement with Sir Philip all the time I knew him, but it did not alter the fact that he had still got that army atmosphere behind him."
That atmosphere had been acquired by service as an officer in the Life Guards and the Arab Legion - a daunting combination for a former rating. One witness, Mr. Fane Murray, who seems to have had a keen appreciation of the niceties of the social gradations in English life, described the defendant's attitude towards Sir Philip as "slightly subservient in the nicest possible way." That is what I would have expected it to be. There are details in the evidence which for me illuminate the relationship. Until Lady Brocklehurst left in 1972 the defendant was never,invited into the house. After she had left he did go in but by the back door. He only went in when he was asked to call or had a specific reason for doing so. He was never invited to stay. He helped Sir Philip in most intimate ways, as, for example, when accidents happened with his colostomy equipment; but Sir Philip never discussed his financial and family affairs with him, although he was not reluctant to do so with his friend and neighbour, Mrs. Knight, whom he regarded as a social equal.
In the last two years of his life, Sir Philip probably was in need of some protection from himself, mostly because of his impulsive generosity. His gift of £5,000 to his bank manager is an example of such generosity. Strange though such behaviour was, it was not wholly irrational. He was a wealthy man without a male heir. His wife had left him and anyway she was wealthy in her own right. Both his daughters were married and he had settled money on them years before. His sister was about the same age as he was and not in need. His only male blood relation was a great-nephew with whom he had had little contact and to whom he was not attracted. After his wife left him he often thought and talked, but not to the defendant, about what he should do with his wealth. He had difficulty in deciding. He did not hold the opinion, as many of his social kind and generation might have done, that to break up, or impoverish, an estate such as Swythamley would be an act of treachery to his family, his class and even his country. He saw his estate as an asset which he could dispose of as he liked. He had barred the entail. Swythamley had *35 not been in his family all that long. He was a grandchild of the Industrial Revolution. His parents' marriage had brought together two of the leading families in the cotton and silk trades. He clearly lacked that desire to maintain intact a family estate which is often to be found among families which have been landowning for generations. Our law in the past has done little to encourage (but much to discourage) families to keep a grip on estates and in this century legislation has made it difficult for them to do so. A disposition of rights over an estate may be most stupid estate management; but if it is good in law I can see no reason why the courts should interfere. It is no part of our function to maintain the integrity and value of landed estates any more than it is to curb generosity amounting to folly"

Another cautionary tale... but your Honour she said she was on the pill.....

so now you know what biofeedback therapy is......




From April, 1983 to August 10, 1983, defendant treated plaintiff by using biofeedback therapy, hypnotherapy, and psychotherapy. During the course of his treatment of plaintiff, defendant began to make sexual advances toward plaintiff. Defendant planned a trip to Alaska and asked plaintiff to accompany him as part of her therapy. During the trip defendant and plaintiff began to have sexual relations.

WHEN A CHILD IS CONCEIVED AS A RESULT OF A TORTIOUS SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A THERAPIST AND HIS CLIENT, MAY THE CLIENT RECOVER FROM THE THERAPIST THE FINANCIAL EXPENSE OF RAISING THE CHILD?

To assess damages against the mother for false representations about birth control would have the practical effect of reducing or eliminating support from the father by way of offset. Erasing much or all of the father's financial support, to the detriment of the child, is clearly against public policy and the statutory mandate.

we think it is not sound policy to allow one parent to sue the other over *1008 the wrongful birth of their child. Using the child as a damage element in a tortious claim of one parent against the other could seldom, if ever, result in benefit to a child. Such a lawsuit would indeed be strong evidence of parental rejection, which could only be emotionally detrimental to the child.
We agree with these policies, and hold that in the circumstances presented by this record, P may not recover as damages from Moore the costs of raising her son. Again, assuming M committed professional malpractice in seducing Poor, Poor is entitled to recover tort damages for any injury to Poor proximately resulting from Moore's conduct. Thus, Poor may recover medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages resulting from the tort. Poor may also recover any damages which a client under like circumstances who did not become pregnant, could recover, including damages for emotional distress

a blast from the past for conspiracy buffs....


A. The Gemstone Plan
In the early morning hours of June 17, 1972, roughly four and a half months before the presidential election, police discovered five men inside the DNC offices carrying electronic equipment, cameras, and large sums of cash. These were no ordinary burglars. They were operating as part of a larger CRP intelligence gathering plan code-named Gemstone, and they had been in the DNC offices once before, in late May. Their mission this time was to fix a defective bugging device placed during the prior entry on the telephone of the DNC chairman; these orders had come after high officials at CRP expressed dissatisfaction with the information theretofore produced by the expensive Gemstone. Tr. 2649, 4143-4147, 4519-4521.
FN9. The burglars were James McCord, Bernard Barker, Eugenio Martinez, Virgilio Gonzalez, and Frank Sturgis. Tr. 4143. They, along with E. Howard Hunt, Jr. and G. Gordon Liddy, were convicted of burglary, conspiracy, and unlawful endeavor to intercept oral and wire communications. All but McCord and Liddy were convicted on pleas of guilty. See United States v. Liddy, 166 U.S.App.D.C. 95, 509 F.2d 428 (1974).


Gemstone was the brainchild of G. Gordon Liddy, CRP's general counsel, who had been hired in late 1971 with the expectation that he would develop plans for gathering political intelligence and for countering demonstrations. Tr. 2625- 2628, 4507. That expectation was abundantly fulfilled. Collaborating with E. Howard Hunt, Jr., a former CIA agent whom Liddy knew well from previous ventures undertaken at White House behest, Liddy went to work on his assignment. In two meetings held during January and February 1972 he presented his initial Gemstone plan and budget to Mitchell, at that time Attorney General but even then the functional head of the Nixon re-election effort. These meetings were attended by Jeb Stuart Magruder, Deputy Director of CRP and later an important Government witness, and John W. Dean, III, counsel to the President and eventually the Government's prime witness at trial. At these first meetings Liddy failed to win approval. Mitchell indicating that the original million-dollar budget had to be scaled down. Tr. 2628-2634, 4507-4513. By March 30, however, Liddy had pared his budget to $250,000, and Mitchell had resigned his duties as Attorney General to become head of CRP in title as well as function. On that date, in Key *53 **276 Biscayne, Florida, Magruder obtained Mitchell's approval for Gemstone in a meeting attended only by Mitchell, Magruder, and Fred LaRue, a close personal friend to Mitchell then serving as a top campaign aide. Tr. 3276-3277, 4514- 4517, 4638-4639.
FN10. Tr. 7662-7664. Hunt still maintained an office in the Executive Office Building next door to the White House.

FN11. Both Dean and Magruder were convicted of conspiracy on pleas of guilty entered before the instant trial began. Both served prison terms for their roles in the cover-up. Tr. 3330-3331, 4503.

FN12. These early proposals included plans to kidnap demonstration leaders and to plant call girls with Democratic officials. Tr. 4117-4120.

FN13. LaRue, like Dean and Magruder, became an important Government witness. He too entered a plea of guilty to conspiracy and was awaiting sentencing at the time of this trial. Tr. 6733-6734, 6743-6746.


Magruder, who had once served on Haldeman's staff, was keeping the White House informed of campaign developments, including Gemstone plans and operations, by regularly transmitting documents and information on to Strachan, Haldeman's assistant. Tr. 4511-4513, 4518, 6612-6613. Haldeman himself had learned directly about an early version of the Liddy plan when Dean reported to him shortly after the February meeting. Tr. 2635-2636.
B. The Early Stages of the Conspiracy
The five burglars arrested inside the DNC gave aliases to the D.C. police, but within hours of the break-in Liddy, who had been monitoring the operation from a safe vantage point in a nearby building, reported the capture to CRP's highest officials, then in California. He told them that one of the captured burglars was James McCord, on CRP's payroll as chief of security. In an apparent effort to avoid the appearance of any link between CRP and the burglars, Mitchell, Mardian, LaRue, and Magruder met and decided to contact the new Attorney General, Richard Kleindienst, urging him to have McCord released from jail before the police penetrated his alias. Mardian placed the call, but ultimately sent Liddy to find the Attorney General when Kleindienst could not be reached directly. Tr. 4530-4536, 6563-6565. This fitful effort foundered, however, on Kleindienst's insistence that the burglars receive no special treatment. If Mitchell wanted to talk to him about it, Kleindienst said, Mitchell should contact him directly. Tr. 5898-5909.
Aware that McCord's true identity would come to light. Mardian, Magruder, and LaRue the next day worked on a press release that would deny any CRP tie to the break-in. Tr. 4537-4540, 6565-6569. It suggested instead that McCord might have been working for clients of his private security firm. Haldeman, contacted by long-distance telephone, approved the statement and urged that the release issue as soon as possible, even though Magruder had already informed him that the break-in was "Liddy's operation." Tr. 4542-4544. The release appeared on June 18 under Mitchell's name and with his approval. J.A. 912.
Meanwhile, in Washington, White House and CRP files were being cleansed of sensitive materials relating to Gemstone. Strachan performed this function at the White House, under orders from Haldeman to remove anything embarrassing. Among the items destroyed were DNC wiretap reports and a memorandum from Haldeman to Magruder urging that the intelligence operation shift from Senator Muskie to Senator McGovern, the emerging Democratic front-runner. Tr. 2651- 2653, 4547-4548. Magruder immediately ordered removal of all Gemstone materials from the files at CRP; he took them to his home upon his return from California on June 19. At a meeting that night, attended by Mitchell, Magruder, LaRue, Dean, and possibly Mardian, Magruder asked Mitchell what to do with the papers. Mitchell suggested that he "have a fire," and he did destroying the Gemstone documents in his home fireplace. Tr. 4540-4550, 4823, 6570-6573.