Nixon Haig Watergate Investigation May 11 1973

Transcript is by the uploader.

Audio file of this conversation can be found at:
http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/forresearchers/find/tapes/tape165/165-008.mp3

Clip with audio accompanied by transcript is on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIlTuKpA11Q

MAY 11, 1973: NIXON AND HAIG, 7:08-7:27 P.M., CAMP DAVID TELEPHONE

A conversation between President Nixon and his Chief of Staff, Al Haig, about a recent revelation that has emerged from the Watergate investigation: that a number of White House staff and journalists were wiretapped. Nixon takes a hard line here, as he does elsewhere, that if something is done in the name of national security, it's legal. This is the line he believes Henry Kissinger should take in an upcoming public statement. However, Nixon believes that it's crucial that these measures were taken through the official apparatus, and this accounts for Nixon's early focus on who did the wiretapping of National Security Council member Anthony Lake, a point to which he will return in the conversation. If the wiretapping wasn't done by the FBI, but by Watergate burglar E. Howard Hunt, there's a problem: it appears less a question of national security, and more a private security detail for the President. Other points touched on are the duplicity of Mark Felt (the Deputy Director of the FBI known by the alias of "Deep Throat") who is actively working against them, John Mitchell's unwillingness to admit that he signed off on the wiretaps, and a casual reference to J. Edgar Hoover wanting to blackmail the White House.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hello?

HAIG: Mr. President?

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hi Al.

HAIG: Yes sir. We've just gone through this thing. And it's really very clean.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Dear God.

HAIG: Six newsmen. Ten [White House] staff. The cut off date, the last one, was done on February 9, 1971.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Yeah, but what about Lake [Anthony Lake, member of the National Security Council]?

HAIG: Lake is the same.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Was it done by the FBI?

HAIG: Yes. And everyone-

PRESIDENT NIXON: No, but wait a minute. Lake was in '71 late. Wasn't it?

HAIG: We have February 9 '71 cut off. On every one of these cases.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Including Lake?

HAIG: Yes sir.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Yeah, but Lake retired in late '71, didn't he? Oh nonono, after Cambodia.

HAIG: That's right. That spring. In '71.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Well, the spring, but what about Lake's stuff? Was it done by the FBI or by- ?

HAIG: All by the FBI. Now. What this could mean, is that there could have been some other taps, but they would have been done outside of this framework and they're not with this material.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Alright, that's the main thing. We don't have anything in the White House on it?

HAIG: We have nothing here in the White House on it, and for that reason, we can take a very strong stand.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Good.

HAIG: Now, we've been with Ruckelshaus [William Ruckelshaus, Deputy Attorney General], and what I've found out is what's really happened here.

PRESIDENT NIXON: What is it?

HAIG: Stuff was sent to the White House by Bill Sullivan-

PRESIDENT NIXON: Right.

HAIG: Because J. Edgar Hoover told him...conferred that he was going to use it to blackmail the White House.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hoover said that?

HAIG: That's right.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Blackmail- what the hell- why?

HAIG: Well, there's an awful lot of juicy stuff in here.

PRESIDENT NIXON: You mean about...what?

HAIG: Well, there's some people-

PRESIDENT NIXON: Oh, in the White House. Yeah.

HAIG: In the White House. And Sullivan just felt Hoover had reached a point in his dotage, at which he couldn't afford this. Now, this is all wrapped up in this...terrible gutfight that's been going on within the FBI, and between the FBI and Justice.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Right.

HAIG: Where there's even been threats on people's lives, and everything else.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Is that right?

HAIG: That's right. Now, Ruckelshaus says that he's got to finish his investigation, of which, the last interview will be tonight. And that's me! (laughs)

PRESIDENT NIXON: Good.

HAIG: So, I'm ready to give some juicy ones on the...now, he doesn't think he can go to Monday. With his announcement. Because of all of this...problem. What Henry [Kissinger] can do tomorrow, is just bridge off. Understand? "The Director of the FBI has completed an investigation, and we'll have something to say about this the first of next week, but I want to emphasize, every report we have, was received by a duly authorized director of a department concerned, CIA or Federal Bureau of Investigation, and they were-"

PRESIDENT NIXON: Now, in this respect, though, be sure that you get in the facts that I pointed out earlier, Al. I mean, how many were done, in the Kennedy administration, how many were done-

HAIG: That's what we're putting in Ruckelshaus' overall statement.

PRESIDENT NIXON: That's right.

HAIG: Yes sir. Absolutely.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hmmmhmmm.

HAIG: So, we're going to have a good zapping statement from him.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Everything is, oh....and I want him to feel very comfortable with this, you know. He's got to believe it.

HAIG: Well, he's coming over here tomorrow. These things are so clean, he oughta look at them.

PRESIDENT NIXON: I want him to look at them. And I want Buzhardt to look at it well. Buzhardt and you. Buzhardt has?

HAIG: Yes, and in fact, each, almost every package, has a memo on it, signed by Mitchell. Approved by Mitchell.

PRESIDENT NIXON: What about the Lake one?

HAIG: Yes. Well, I don't mean each man's name, but there are several memos here-

PRESIDENT NIXON: Lake is the one that I'm concerned about, because of the fact that...

HAIG: Well, yeah, I know, after he was in the other camp. And, but if that was done by Hunt, God knows where it is.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hmmmhmmm.

HAIG: And it was not done within this framework.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hmmmhmmm. It's not in the White House files?

HAIG: No.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hmmmhmmm. Okay. Have Ruck look it over. When does Ruck want to make a statement then?

HAIG: He wants to do it Monday, he said he'd need all weekend to sort through these things, because of all this internal sabotage of Baldwin [Al Baldwin, member of the Watergate burglary team]-

PRESIDENT NIXON: What's his feeling about Felt?

HAIG: Well, I think Felt will be a victim of this thing. But he-

PRESIDENT NIXON: I wouldn't, uh, my mind isn't sure- (inaudible) Why push him at a time when he can then go out and babble around?

HAIG: Well, it may be at the point where he can't even...

PRESIDENT NIXON: Yeah.

HAIG: ...risk not doing it. He's not willing to discuss these internal investigations.

PRESIDENT NIXON: I know.

HAIG: But uh-

PRESIDENT NIXON: But, see, Sullivan is against Felt, you know.

HAIG: Very much. Very much.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Sullivan's our man.

HAIG: That's right.

HAIG: If this thing comes out clean, and there's a housecleaning over there, well, I don't know, we'll just see.

PRESIDENT NIXON: We better be in a position where we put it all out. Everything.

HAIG: Well, that's right.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Say: there were a number of...we conducted these investigations, there have been less than have been done previously, they were for national security purposes, period.

HAIG: Well, you look at this operation, it was so modest, such teeney people. Ten staff, six newsmen.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hmmmhmmm.

HAIG: That's- Christ, that's nothing.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Yeah, but does that include Lake?

HAIG: That includes Lake.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hmmmhmmm. And the purpose was, to check leaks.

HAIG: Exactly right.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Well, good. And just be sure Ruckelshaus knows we're not holding anything back. He can look at anything he wants to look at.

HAIG: That's right.

PRESIDENT NIXON: And we want the whole thing out. Let him- Because he's Mr. Clean, you see. Let him hang it out.

HAIG: That's exactly right.

PRESIDENT NIXON: He's not disloyal, you know.

HAIG: Nonono.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Ruck'll play the game.

HAIG: Oh, he's a good man, I'm just not sure he wants to do that job. Or that he's the best guy for that job. Maybe he is. Maybe we oughta leave him there, if he gets worked into it-

PRESIDENT NIXON: Right.

HAIG: -clean it out.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Well, good. I'm glad you've gone through it. You feel a little more comfortable then.

HAIG: I feel like we're all set, sir. And Henry's well prepared, and we'll go over it again.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Henry's going to be briefing them?

HAIG: Yes. I think we oughta have it-

PRESIDENT NIXON: I tell you, what the hell. Face up to it....and he should just go out and say, look, I'm not going to discuss these...whatever was done. There was a modest number done, the smallest number of any administration...for purposes of leaks.

HAIG: Alright. And every one signed by the agency concerned.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hmmmhmmm.

HAIG: So they were all legitimate.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Mitchell's done a lot of those?

HAIG: Yeah, hell he knew.

PRESIDENT NIXON: At first, he started playing the game, said he didn't know about any of these-

HAIG: Yeah, I don't understand that.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hmmmm.

HAIG: I just don't understand that.

PRESIDENT NIXON: I understand it, he's trying to say he didn't do a Goddamn thing, but Goddamnit, it wasn't done without his approval, you know, Al.

HAIG: Well, his signature is on these papers, so he's going to have a red face.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hmmmhmmm. Hmmmhmmm. But is his signature on the Lake papers, by any chance?

HAIG: No, not on the- It's a separate piece of paper, but it has a listing of the various documents. So, and I think the Lake papers are included in that listing.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hmmmhmmm.

HAIG: In the summary.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Hmmmhmmm. You have to figure, you see, you never know what Hunt's going to say, what the hell he's doing...Ehrlichman assures me that, well, had assured me that he doesn't believe that Hunt did any bugging.

HAIG: Well, I don't think he did either.

PRESIDENT NIXON: You don't?

HAIG: No. Because, it's a very risky, difficult thing to do.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Yeah. It involves a lot of complicated material here.

HAIG: The agency [CIA] does it, the Bureau [FBI] does it, in co-ordination with the phone company.

PRESIDENT NIXON: That's right. Okay boy.

HAIG: Okay sir. I think we're coming along. Henry, incidentally, is, Goddamn, I don't know what you said to him this morning, but he's just humming.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Well, I want him to go out there tomorrow, big, tough, and strong, and say, of course we did this. You know, if he's asked, then say, "I'm not going to discuss it. Because I want to talk about the Soviets-"

HAIG: There'll be a report-

PRESIDENT NIXON: "A report's going to be made, a full report, that everything we've done is done for the purpose of national security."

HAIG: That's right.

PRESIDENT NIXON: And uh...what have you thought, have you done any more thinking about what he oughta put out there?

HAIG: I practically...don't think it'll pay off.

PRESIDENT NIXON: I know that's my feeling.

HAIG: It's a little too- It's really vicious-

PRESIDENT NIXON: ...it's so vicious, and it's so rough. The sonofabitch- [Mark Felt]

HAIG: -deserves it. But it isn't really the issue we need.

PRESIDENT NIXON: I'll tell you what we need. Let it leak out a week or two from now.

HAIG: That's what I think.

PRESIDENT NIXON: That's right. Okay, Al.

HAIG: Great sir. Bye.

PRESIDENT NIXON: And you got, you got Ziegler on board?

HAIG: Yes, I've been over it with Ron, with it on Henry, and I'm going to bring abreast now Ruckelshaus, probably, but he can't do it before Monday.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Fine.

HAIG: But he's in good shape.

PRESIDENT NIXON: Fine. Okay, Al, thank you.

HAIG: Bye, Mr. President.