Richard Nixon Assassination Conversation May 15 1972

A transcript for a conversation between President Richard Nixon and his advisers, H.R. Haldeman and Charles Colson.

Audio along with accompanying transcript is on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgKo5paoSho

Original audio taken from nixontapes.org: http://nixontapes.org/mp3/339-004.mp3

NIXON
Bob?

HALDEMAN
Yes sir?

NIXON
Put a call in immediately to Clawson [Ken Clawson, Deputy Director of White House Communications], or somebody. Somebody do something, to the effect that the first reports from the interrogation indicate that the McGovern / Kennedy person did this, you know what I mean? Everything's under control. Rumors are going to flow all over the place. Put it on the left, right away. Can you do that? Who can you put it to, and how can you get it out?

HALDEMAN
That's Chuck, he knows better than I do.

NIXON
Okay. Bust it out, fast, before they pin this on the right wing.

HALDEMAN
Chuck!

NIXON
Could either one do it?

HALDEMAN
Lukash [Dr. William Lukash, White House physician] says he's [George Wallace] still in surgery. That the one bullet, that's the problem. It went through both walls of the stomach...brushed by the kidney, hit no other vital organs, liver is okay. (unintelligble) It's lodged close to the spinal cord, they don't have it yet. The X-ray shows it close to the spinal cord, not in a vital area. According to the X-ray. He can't feel any pain when he's lying down. But Lukash says you can't assume anything, (unintelligible) it could be shock (unintelligible) more than anything else at this point. They don't really know if he's paralyzed.

NIXON
He's back.

HALDEMAN
He's taking five or six units of blood, he looked reasonably good, because there's nothing that isn't- there's nothing they can find that isn't reparable.

COLSON
He used a .38, pretty big gun.

HALDEMAN
Yeah, it's a .38, five shot .38. Just purchased.

NIXON
What about the idea, before the right wing gets it out, the left wing gets it out that the right did it...McGoven supporters, McGovern and Kennedy supporters-

COLSON
I said that. I just said to Mark Felt, he's got his man out there now, the FBI has taken over the case, he's looking- I said to Mark, that I had just heard from my office, that there was a rumor to this effet, would you check that first thing when they started questioning. He said he would, they would look into that, immediately.

HALDEMAN
What about getting Clawson or somebody to get somebody into over at the hospital- Get a report to Clawson that the guy was a left-wing political junkie.

NIXON
That he said he was a supporter of Kennedy, Kennedy and McGovern.

COLSON
Clawson is convinced that he's the one who called the university (unintelligible), independent freshman.

NIXON
In other words, let me say...they think that he's going to recover now, huh? Or they're not sure?

HALDEMAN
No, Lukash says we're still in surgery so they can't be sure, and they haven't actually got the bullet yet. So they don't know exactly where exactly the X-ray tells where it is in the spinal cord and not in the frontal area.

NIXON
It didn't hit the liver.

HALDEMAN
It did not hit the liver.

NIXON
But suppose he comes out of it, Chuck. How do you see him as a candidate from now on? He'll get a great emotional lift at home.

COLSON
But Bob is right. The more I think about it...it will scare people, that this man can be subject to an assassination attempt. He obviously...he'll get sympathy at first. But it will frighten people. After the first wave of sympathy.

NIXON
Be sure to pin the assassination, just like they tried to pin the assassin...Look. Why don't we play the game a bit smarter for a change. They pinned the assassination of Kennedy on the right wing, the Birchers. It was done by a Communist and it was the greatest hoax that has ever been perpetuated. And I respectfully suggest, can't we pin this on one of theirs?

COLSON
Sure.

NIXON
Don't you agree, Bob?

COLSON
You know what will move this story in a hurry. This one was a student radical revolutionary. That's easy. The wire says he was a twenty one years old, hell...the wire, says (unintelligible)

NIXON
I'm not saying he was a supporter. Just say he was a supporter of McGovern and Kennedy. Just put that out. Just say you have that on unmistakable evidence.

HALDEMAN
They got a previous arrest on him, right? So, there oughta be a record on him.

NIXON
Screw the record. Just say he was a supporter of that and that, and put it out. Just say that we have authenticated report, and Chuck: tell your man, Clawson, this is a hot tip, and give it to somebody who's a friend.

COLSON
Okay.

NIXON
Bob. You know when you get into the business of whether it's authenticated, you're dead. Just slip it in.

HALDEMAN
I'm just trying to get the record. (unintelligible)

NIXON
Don't worry too much about the record.

HALDEMAN
They got his identity now, so there oughta be a file on him somewhere.

NIXON
They oughta hang the sonofabitch.

HALDEMAN
The secret service agent is okay.

NIXON
Nobody else is hurt? (unintelligible) He's a helluva bad shot. Thirty eight's a pretty good gun. I know nothing about guns.

HALDEMAN
It's a big gun.

NIXON
A thirty eight can kill people, can't it?

HALDEMAN
Yeah it can. A twenty two can kill people.

NIXON
You gotta hit pretty straight.