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Nixon Buzhardt on Huston Plan May 16 1973

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Nov 13th, 2014
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  1. Audio file is from nixonlibrary.gov:
  2. http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/forresearchers/find/tapes/tape046/046-075.mp3
  3.  
  4. Clip of audio accompanied by transcript is on youtube:
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvfTf63y_WU
  6.  
  7. May 16 1973 9:48 am - 9:54 am
  8.  
  9. The President's counsel, Fred Buzhardt, tells President Nixon about his attempts to discover the nature of some mysterious documents that are in the possession of the Committee investigating the Watergate scandal.
  10.  
  11. PRESIDENT NIXON: Hello?
  12.  
  13. BUZHARDT: Good morning, Mr. President.
  14.  
  15. PRESIDENT NIXON: Still no report?
  17. BUZHARDT: Well sir, the court hadn't turned it over to us, but I did a little snooping last night, and I think I've identified the documents. What he has, Mr. President...there was a plan for intelligence gathering primarily in the domestic area.
  18.  
  19. PRESIDENT NIXON: Yeah.
  20.  
  21. BUZHARDT: It was- The Bureau had the primary task...It was participated in by NSA and CIA. It described our capabilities and limitations.
  22.  
  23. PRESIDENT NIXON: What the hell is this? Oh, it's in the domestic area, so he thinks it's embarrassing.
  24.  
  25. BUZHARDT: It doesn't relate to the Watergate case in any way.
  26.  
  27. PRESIDENT NIXON: That part doesn't.
  28.  
  29. BUZHARDT: It's all of it, Mr. President. All of it is related to this. The forty three page document plus eight supplementary documents that go with it, they're all related to the same thing.
  30.  
  31. PRESIDENT NIXON: It's not related to Watergate?
  32.  
  33. BUZHARDT: No sir.
  34.  
  35. PRESIDENT NIXON: Are you sure?
  36.  
  37. BUZHARDT: It's in no way related to Watergate.
  38.  
  39. PRESIDENT NIXON: What in the name of God is this? Well, why do you think he's played this game then?
  40.  
  41. BUZHARDT: I have no idea, Mr. President. But we have managed to identify from his remarks...I have found a copy of the thing. At NSA. I just talked to Lou Tordella [Deputy Director of the NSA].
  42.  
  43. PRESIDENT NIXON: You mean a copy of what...the forty three page-
  44.  
  45. BUZHARDT: Document, yes sir.
  46.  
  47. PRESIDENT NIXON: All the documents.
  48.  
  49. BUZHARDT: No sir, the forty three- By his own statement, are related and semi-classified.
  50.  
  51. PRESIDENT NIXON: What have you found at NSA, the forty-three pager?
  52.  
  53. BUZHARDT: Yes sir, I found the forty-three pager.
  54.  
  55. PRESIDENT NIXON: What is it? This is something the President has done, something, or this isn't what it is?
  56.  
  57. BUZHARDT: It is an intelligence summary. Of our own collection capabilities and limitations and a plan for overcoming our shortfalls.
  58.  
  59. PRESIDENT NIXON: Hmmmph.
  60.  
  61. BUZHARDT: Now as you know...I frankly think, as there is mention of the intelligence people, this is quite a hot document. In the first place, it gives a lot of foreign countries the clear indication of what our capabilities and limitations and what we proposed to do about it.
  62.  
  63. PRESIDENT NIXON: You mean, this is in the United States?
  64.  
  65. BUZHARDT: Well sir, it's just how these things operate, flows over into the United States.
  66.  
  67. PRESIDENT NIXON: So, this basically is a U.S., is domestic intelligence?
  68.  
  69. BUZHARDT: Well, it's to get information related to domestic intelligence.
  70.  
  71. (natsec redacted)
  72.  
  73. PRESIDENT NIXON: I see I see I see (unintelligible)
  74.  
  75. BUZHARDT: And as you well know-
  76.  
  77. PRESIDENT NIXON: Oh hell, listen I remember there was a meeting held at one point, where I sat in with the NSA and all the rest...and Hoover was there.
  78.  
  79. BUZHARDT: Yes sir, Hoover took the lead in this.
  80.  
  81. PRESIDENT NIXON: Hoover and the rest, and I said look, you gotta pull it all together and get this stuff- Now look, Fred. Goddamnit, that's not improper.
  82.  
  83. BUZHARDT: It is not improper. But it would be-
  84.  
  85. (natsec redacted)
  86.  
  87. BUZHARDT: -alright sir, but you don't have a worry about the Watergate.
  88.  
  89. PRESIDENT NIXON: Yeah. Well, thank god.
  90.  
  91. BUZHARDT: Henry Petersen is all worried about giving us a copy of this sortof stuff and he was last night, so I just got out and started my own snooping.
  92.  
  93. PRESIDENT NIXON: Why shouldn't he give us this, for Christ's sakes, if this is a, on what grounds?
  94.  
  95. BUZHARDT: He's worried that it'll get back to the defendants, if he's related, he doesn't know what it is. I haven't told him, Mr. President, because I-
  96.  
  97. PRESIDENT NIXON: Are you sure this is what it is?
  98.  
  99. BUZHARDT: Yes sir. The physical description fits precisely. I just gotten Tordella to get out his copy, and we went through the precise-
  100.  
  101. PRESIDENT NIXON: But you don't know what the eight supplementals are.
  102.  
  103. BUZHARDT: No, but I know they're all related, and some of them are classified. They were apparently - and we don't know this - after action reports on how they were doing to make up the difference in our capabilities and what we were trying to do.
  104.  
  105. PRESIDENT NIXON: What kind of capabilities?
  106.  
  107. BUZHARDT: Intelligence collection capabilities.
  108.  
  109. PRESIDENT NIXON: In the United States.
  110.  
  111. BUZHARDT: Well, for activities in the United States.
  112.  
  113. (natsec redacted)
  114.  
  115. PRESIDENT NIXON: But the purpose was intelligence in what,the national security area-
  116.  
  117. BUZHARDT: In the national security area.
  118.  
  119. PRESIDENT NIXON: Sure. If we hadn'd done it, we'd have been out of our minds.
  120.  
  121. BUZHARDT: That's true, that's true. But it's inconceivable that some guy would carry this thing out. You know?
  122.  
  123. PRESIDENT NIXON: I know, I know. Well, if he thought it would be inconceivable-
  124.  
  125. BUZHARDT: He thought it would be embarrassing- It would give him a little leverage.
  126.  
  127. PRESIDENT NIXON: It's inconceivable that the judge would not turn it over-
  128.  
  129. BUZHARDT: Well, the judge is giving it to my man Bartimo [Frank A. Bartimo], and we'll move in on it and try to suppress the document. But I suspect we'll have to anticipate and so I've told NSA and also the CIA that the document will be compromised. If it goes up to Ervin, with all the pressure on him, we have to assume that there'll be leaks on it.
  130.  
  131. PRESIDENT NIXON: Well, that's a good job Fred. A good job. At least all of our concerns of Watergate- I'd much rather it be this than Watergate, wouldn't you?
  132.  
  133. BUZHARDT: Yes sir, quite frankly. But at least we're-
  134.  
  135. PRESIDENT NIXON: You wanna come down...you say you're almost certain it's this?
  136.  
  137. BUZHARDT: I will know in just a few minutes. They've taken their usual time putting this stuff together, so they can give it to us (unintelligible) information- But we should have-
  138.  
  139. PRESIDENT NIXON: Yeah. Have you reported to Haig yet?
  140.  
  141. BUZHARDT: No sir, I-
  142.  
  143. PRESIDENT NIXON: I'll give him a report. Or do you want to come down now?
  144.  
  145. BUZHARDT: I'll be glad to come down.
  146.  
  147. PRESIDENT NIXON: They're going to call you in your office, anyway? Well, you can come down to the Oval Office, Haig will be here.
  148.  
  149. BUZHARDT: Alright sir.
  150.  
  151. PRESIDENT NIXON: Good.
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