Nixon Colson Break-Ins CIA July 1 1972

A conversation between President Nixon and aide Charles Colson on a possible false flag burglary against Republican headquarters to shift focus from the Watergate scandal, as well as the CIA backgrounds of Watergate burglars Robert McCord and Howard Hunt.

Audio file used in this clip can be found at this URL (this fragment runs from 10:25 to 19:59):
http://nixon.archives.gov/forresearchers/find/tapes/tape746/746-003.mp3

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

Audio with transcript is on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_xmt6Sq6Ok

JULY 1, 1972: THE PRESIDENT AND COLSON, 8:50-9:05 A.M.,
OVAL OFFICE

Colson praises Howard Hunt's virtues and plans some retaliatory moves, including stealing Republican Committee files and blaming Democrats. Such talk was commonplace between the two men, but apparently was of no consequence.

NIXON
...It's interesting that the [<i>Washington</i>] <i>Daily News</i> would run with the story about [Howard Hunt's White House safe] that is so totally - I mean, it's an exaggeration. Almost, there must be somebody over there planning something like that.

COLSON
I think there is.

NIXON
That can't be right. I mean, after all, the map deal. There's no map there, frankly.

COLSON
No.

NIXON
Of course, the gun and the walkie-talkie, well, Christ, the guy just probably didn't put it in his briefcase. He's that kind of a guy...

COLSON
He carried a gun for years. Well, he kept it - he didn't keep it in his desk. He had it locked in a safe. He was wanted in a few Latin American countries. The tragedy of it, Mr. President, was that I never have been in his office, so I didn't know whether the story that ran in the <i>Daily News</i> was true or not, except that it said his office was in mine, which it isn't...But the point is if I had known that it was untrue, I'd have had Justice deny it early in the day, rather than let it run all day. It ran all day on the wires...

NIXON
It was not on any of the networks?

COLSON
No, no...They didn't even mention it in the <i>Post</i> this morning...[Television correspondent] Howard Smith...said, "I still think it's a seven-day wonder."

NIXON
Well, it may be, but you see, they're still investigating charges and the question is when they get finally to - they're going to find out that the money came from some Republican source, as you well know. Some Republicans felt very interested in the cause of these Cubans. I'd put in the fact that the Cubans, scared to death of McGovern, and sure, there were Republicans, there were eager beavers in the campaign committee that were-

COLSON
The Cubans, the Cubans, Mr. President, are very afraid of McGovern. You know he wrote what I would regard as a very innocuous letter about we'll treat all Latin American countries alike, and they took off on that...

NIXON
It may be that what they want to do is get in and sortof get files in retribution. I was thinking, if they make that error...I would consider it an error, anyhow...we don't have a security contract (unintelligible)...It does seem to me, Chuck, this looks to me like a (key feature?) of the Democrats, too. The blaming. But my point is we know they've been trying to bug us. Everybody knows that. That's why Mitchell hired these people. If they have, what would you think? What would you think if that happened?

COLSON
I think it would be very helpful if they came in one morning and found files strewn all over the floor.

NIXON
And some missing.

COLSON
Something missing. Of course, we have had some missing over here, and that was in the morning's paper.

NIXON
The campaign?

COLSON
They've had several campaign files missing. Of course, we know that to be true because we went through one day trying to track something back that we were concerned about in the ITT case, and something had been taken. This goes in to every campaign.

NIXON
Oh, my.

COLSON
It's just these fellows did it in a very-

NIXON
Stupid way...I mean, if something could be very open. But I mean demolished, do $3,000, $4,000 worth of damage, you know what I mean?

COLSON
That would have a very - that would have a good effect.

NIXON
Right during their convention.

COLSON
During theirs or during ours?

NIXON
Theirs...

COLSON
Then Dole is in a perfect position to say-

NIXON
Sue. They could sue the committee, sue the committee. They sued him about it.

COLSON
We have that one under control. It's being postponed and we think it will be dismissed.

NIXON
Well, I'd sue them...There should be a riffling or missing files, something where it's really torn up, where pictures could be taken. They'll charge it's been done by the Republicans, so what the hell. We'll say "For Christ's sake-"

COLSON
"We didn't charge that when your place got-"

NIXON
That's right.

COLSON
Financial files would be the kind of thing. Financial files would be the kind of thing they would want to get their hands on. There'd be a real motive for that.

NIXON
Yes, and some obvious one. You consider Hunt to be reliable don't you?

COLSON
Always has been.

NIXON
You've known him for years?

COLSON
Yes, sir. I've known him since-

NIXON
How about McCord? Is he reliable?

COLSON
Never met him or know anything about him. I would doubt it, from what I have heard.

NIXON
What do you think? Wasn't he in the CIA, too, with Hunt?

COLSON
Different areas, I believe.

NIXON
Why do you doubt him...?

COLSON
Just the way he was-

NIXON
(unintelligible)

COLSON
Yes, and the money arrangements. I mean, Hunt is not - you see, Hunt in all the things he did for us never cared about the money. He just wanted to help. He's an ideologue. You read his books and all of his books have a political message, which is pretty conservative. I always trust someone whose beliefs are-

NIXON
I agree.

COLSON
And not someone who's just in there for a buck.

NIXON
That's right.

COLSON
Howard would die for something he believes in; he damn near did several times.

NIXON
McCord you think may be-

COLSON
Just, I've never met him, but just the ring of it, the $4,000 a month contract, setting up an office.

NIXON
$4,000 with whom?

COLSON
With us, with the committee, the National Committee.

NIXON
To do what?

COLSON
Security.

NIXON
I think that's a stupid thing to do. I don't think security is worth that much. Do you?

COLSON
Well, it is if you - it is if you do it right.

NIXON
Oh, sure. The best security is for the individual himself to carry his own stuff and never have anything around.

COLSON
That's right.

NIXON
I even do it here, you know, I don't leave anything around that I really, really am concerned about. I don't do it.

COLSON
No. Memos that are very sensitive, I either carry them in here and lock them up at night in a safe. I agree. I totally agree. Hunt is a fellow who I would trust. I mean, he's a true believer, a real patriot. My God, the things he's done for his country. It's just a tragedy that he gets smeared with this. Of course, the other story that a lot of people have bought is that Howard Hunt was taken out of the country by the CIA. Well, he's certainly done a lot of hot stuff...Oh, Jesus. He pulled a lot of fancy stuff in the sixties.

NIXON
Well, I don't agree. If anything ever happens to him, be sure that he blows the whistle, the whole Bay of Pigs.

COLSON
He wrote the book.

NIXON
Blow their horn.

COLSON
He tells quite a story coming in here during that period crying and pleading with Kennedy to go back to (unintelligible)...