Richard Nixon Al Haig Watergate CIA May 11 1973

As the Watergate scandal gets worse, President Nixon and Vice Chief of Staff Al Haig talk about the memcoms of Vernon Walters, Deputy Director of the CIA, which are very damaging to the administration. They allege that the CIA was approached by Nixon's top aides, John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman, to say that any investigation of the Watergate burglars might lead to uncovering past CIA covert operations, and thereby stop the FBI inquiry. This video is a supplement to a future essay on Watergate.

Introduction and transcript are from Stanley Kutler's Abuse of Power.

Audio file can be found at the following URL, this fragment taken from 0:15-20:40:
http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/forresearchers/find/tapes/tape434/434-016.mp3

Audio with transcript is on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m74d38KHxDE

MAY 11, 1973: THE PRESIDENT AND HAIG, 2:26-2:47 P.M.,
EXECUTIVE OFFICE BUILDING

The President and Haig have a tense discussion about the use of the CIA for the cover-up in June 1972. Lurking in the background is Nixon's knowledge of what came to be known as the "smoking gun" conversation. Buzhardt apparently has convinced Haig that Haldeman and Ehrlichman have serious problems. Now, the President wants General Vernon Walters to contain the damage, not only to protect Haldeman and Ehrlichman, as he says here, but himself as well. Again, he lies about the events in June 1972 with the CIA and Pat Gray, but Haig, impassive and silent, may sense the truth. One week after firing his top aides, Nixon appears to be "back", ferociously fighting to defend his position. "[I am] the one person that's totally blameless in this," he says.

NIXON
Glass of Dubonnet?

HAIG
No no sir.

NIXON
The only thing I ever drink. Everything before lunch.

NIXON
Let me tell you why I wanted to see him [General Vernon Walters]. I would just as well not to, but you can get across to him I have no concern about the facts, but I want Walters particularly to reassure [the CIA's William] Colby and [James] Schlesinger, because I don't want them to have any idea. You see, Al, you can't have your top people, they can read a memcom like that and read all the most sinister implications, and even with regard to the President. Now if you read them all - you've read them all - there aren't any implications with regard to the President, particularly with regard to the [L. Patrick] Gray [matter].

HAIG
Yeah, Mr. President, it is very damaging to Bob and John...

NIXON
Because of what? They were trying to cover it up and put it on the CIA?

HAIG
Well, that's his [Buzhardt's] judgment. He's read them [Walters's memcoms] very carefully...

NIXON
Buzhardt must not feel that, by golly, it's not damaging to the President that Bob and John as my agents did something that I wanted them to do. Because, Goddamnit, I didn't want them to do anything like this. I'm not trying to blame them, but, for example, if Walters - Walters has got to be sure that on these memcoms, first Elliot Richardson will sure as hell ask - will sure as hell ask for them, won't he?

HAIG
No, not necessarily.

NIXON
Now, what I think that Walters should do is to make up a sanitized version, saying with all the national security stuff out, here is the recollection. Goddamnit, give it to Elliot Richardson at a later time, not now. When he asks.

HAIG
...I don't trust Walters to do that.

NIXON
You don't?

HAIG
These memcoms are so detailed, so precise, you know...

NIXON
Right. Oh, no, no, no. I don't mean that he gives anything to the Senate - I mean to the committee. Goddamnit, Al, I don't want my staff, I don't want Elliot, I don't want Colby, and I don't want Schlesinger to have any doubts about the President, Goddamnit...I'm not in this <i>Goddamn thing</i>. That's what burns me up.

HAIG
There's no way they could have.

NIXON
Jesus Christ. Well, they could have. I mean, the first paragraph of that bothered me, because, look, Bob and John were saying, well look, the President wants you to contain this sonofabitch. <i>Sure</i>, I may have wanted them to contain it, because I had heard the CIA was involved. That's why I had Helms - Helms here. But the point is be sure you tell Walters that he must lean very, very hard with Elliot, with Colby, with Schlesinger, and with Petersen on my conversation with Gray.

HAIG
That's right.

NIXON
Where I told Gray to get off his Goddamn ass and take it as high as was necessary. Now Walters has a photographic memory.

HAIG
He has?

NIXON
Yeah...[D]on't you agree that was a pretty strong statement, wasn't it?

HAIG
Very strong.

NIXON
Where I said, "however high it goes"...Now does Buzhardt realize this?

(4:04-4:42)

...Goddamnit, that's what I told Dean - I mean Gray, right on the phone. I was in this office at the time, and he called, and I called him. And I told him. I said, "take it as high as necessary." Al, that's the way I deal. You know that...And I do my best to try to get to the facts...And incidentally, I don't think Bob and John are guilty on this...I think what happened is that they were trying to sort of limit the damage, and they were-

HAIG
Buzhardt-

NIXON
Why? Does he think they're guilty?

HAIG
He thinks that they are guilty and they don't think they are...

(5:24-6:02)

NIXON
...Screw it. He's [Haldeman] a decent man, Al...Jesus Christ, I could have sunk Henry out a hundred times for the screwy things he's done, but I would never do it...[Y]ou know that. [Joint Chief of Staff Chairman] Admiral [Thomas] Moorer [who had spied on Nixon and Kissinger in 1971], I could have screwed him on that and been a big hero, you know. I could have screwed the whole Pentagon about that damn thing, and you know it. Why didn't I do it? Because I thought more of the Services. You know that. By golly, that's the way I deal. I want you to know that. There ain't going to be any of that. But Buzhardt is not thinking in those terms.

HAIG
No, he is not thinking in those terms...He senses that Bob is strong and John is not...

NIXON
But with regard to Walters, and Walters - I think Walters should be reassured, Colby should be assured, Schlesinger. Or do you think they need reassurance? Would they - but, God, if they do, I'm not going to appoint [Colby as CIA Director, Schlesinger as Secretary of Defense, both of whom were nominated the next month]. Believe me, I'll withdraw it in the morning...But they knew this before. Now Richardson is a horse of another color. How about having this fellow Walters go down and talk to him? Walters is a big weapon. Walters is very convincing. Walters is a total loyalist. He is a total believer in the President. Don't you agree?

HAIG
There's no question about that, none whatsoever.

NIXON
Well, then, Goddamnit, use him. You don't agree?

HAIG
Bob and John-

NIXON
-will be involved.

HAIG
[They must] pay the price here.

NIXON
All right. They're going to pay a price. I understand. How will they pay a price?

(8:18-8:58)

I am sure John Ehrlichman never approved any of those Goddamn meetings. I am sure that he would have told me if he had.

HAIG
But I'm also sure that-

NIXON
Dean did it.

HAIG
That Dean did it...

(9:10-9:38)

NIXON
All right. John and Bob both say it [sending Walters to Gray] involved national security and so forth. I'll bet they win on that issue...They may be indicted, but they'll never lose the case.

HAIG
No.

NIXON
I don't want to get in it with Buzhardt for reasons which you understand. I trust him and all the rest, but, Goddamnit, after the Dean episode I don't trust anybody. Do you understand?...

All right, Al. That's the way it's going to be....Jesus Christ, I can't trust Garment, Buzhardt, Price, anybody. Jesus Christ, I don't know who the hell we're talking to any more. But if there's one person that is totally blameless in this, I thought I Watergate was the stupidest goddamn thing I ever heard of. I heard of this crazy Cuban thing. I thought it was true. I really did. I really thought it was probably a CIA, because I couldn't think we could have done something that stupid. All this payoff crap. I thought, well, they're taking care of their fees and all this. Believe me, I knew nothing about it, no Goddamn thing. And I was busy with other things. But the point that I'm making is this. I'm not going to blame other people for my bad judgement in picking them.

(11:06-11:32)

NIXON
...It bothered the hell out of Henry. I hope State was bugging him too. And he ought to figure that he was bugging State. Don't you agree?...But how do you think we handle this? I want Walters particularly to hit the point that the President was totally in favor of an all-out investigation, particularly with Gray...

(12:02-12:30)

HAIG
Yeah.

NIXON
I told Gray to get off his Goddamn ass, and I said, Pat - because he said I think you're being misled by some of your top people. I said Pat, go after them. I don't care who they are, as high as you want. Now, Goddamnit, for a President to say that when some of his friends could be involved has never been heard of before.

HAIG
That's right. That's right.

(12:52-15:55)

NIXON
...You're right that I shouldn't see Walters,...but get his as down there. Believe me, I want you personally, or somebody to call Petersen, he's to see Walters this afternoon...Now, Walters has got to be sure Helms knows. Helms's ass is out here. His whole career is out here, and Helms knows that Walters's conversation is correct and, second, that Helms told me later the CIA was not involved. I mean, in a very brief meeting in the Oval Office, after the meeting he said I just want you to know the CIA's not involved. I said thank God. That's what I said. That's all there was to it. But he's got to be damned - Helms would never agree that to falsify cops and robbers things. He's never going to say that he participated in a cover-up...

Now who is going to have Colby in this...Goddamn him, I don't want him screwing around in this thing. He's either going to stand up or he's not going to be nominated. And I have very little other power, but, Goddamnit, I can nominate people...

(17:40-19:36)

Now, to the most important point of this thing. Richardson. Colby. Schlesinger. If they have any doubts about the President, let me tell you, I'll withdraw their Goddamn nominations in the next five minutes, believe me. I'm not going to have any screwing around (unintelligible). Elliot Richardson, they say, is very goosey. If he's goosey, screw him. Out, out, out.

HAIG
Who said he was goosey?...

NIXON
But he's got to be all the way with the President. No question. This is a time for strong men...Is Colby strong?

HAIG
Colby is a strong defender.

NIXON
Good. He's just got to know that - and I want Walters to go over and talk to him, because Walters is very persuasive, and say, for Christ's sakes, the President is trying to do his best to get to the bottom of this Goddamned thing, and this was led by a bunch of assholes below him.