Secret White House Tapes

432-037a

About this recording

432-037a
  • President Richard M. Nixon
  • Alexander M. Haig
  • Ronald L. Ziegler
  • White House operator
May 9, 1973
Conversation No. 432-37

Date: May 9, 1973
Time: 2:31 pm - 3:55 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and Ronald L. Ziegler.

Watergate

-Haig’s conversation with Elliot L. Richardson

-Selection of special prosecutor
-Possible choices
-Qualifications
-Confirmation hearings
-Responsibilities of Attorney General
-Special prosecutor
-Press release

-Content


John B. Connally

-Conflict of interest

-Financial situation

-Position with White House

-Special advisor

-Unofficial

-Compensation

-Activities

-Consultation

-Public service

-Compensation
-Conflict of interests

-Divertiture

-Law practice analogy

-Operational responsibilities

Watergate

-John W. Dean, III [?]

-38-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. September-2011)

Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)

-Richardson
-Confirmation hearings

-Approval

-Delay

-Activities
-Defense Department
-Confirmation hearings
-Answers to questions regarding a special prosecutor [?]
-Attorney General’s responsibilities

-Independence of special prosecutor

-William E. Timmons

-Thomas C. Korologos

-Confirmation hearings

-James O. Eastland
-Committee members
-Barry M. Goldwater, Sr.
-Timmons
-Richardson
-Confirmation

-Haig’s call to William P. Rogers

-Senators

-Minority report

-Special prosecutor

-Confirmation

-Back-up position [?]

-Consolation [?]
-[Unintelligible]
-Dean’s documents
-John J. Wilson
-Strategy
-Ervin Committee hearings
-J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr.’s meeting with Wilson
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-Executive privilege
-Statement on executive privilege

-Procedures

-Leonard Garment

-39-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. September-2011)

Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)

-Guidelines
-Buzhardt

-White House documents

-Lawyers

-Nervousness
-Response

-Timing

-Problems

-Haldeman [?]

-Garment

-White House documents

-Haldeman’s diaries and notes of conversations
-Dean’s papers
-Violation of executive privilege
-Statement

-Buzhardt [?]

-Executive privilege

-Conversations

-Language

-Ziegler

-Verbal communications

-Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Dean

-Leaks

-Interpretation

-Verbal, paper communications

-Conversation with President

-Watergate break-in

-Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Dean

-President’s advantage

-Haig’s opinion

-Rogers’s advice

-Consistency

-President’s view

-Richardson [?]

-Executive papers, diaries

-Haldeman

-Ehrlichman [?]

-40-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. September-2011)

Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)

-Los Angeles Times
-Conversations with President

-Haldeman

-Ehrlichman [?]

-Richardson [?]

-Executive session

-Questions
-Haldeman

-Ehrlichman

-Haldeman

-Dean

-John N. Mitchell

-William J. Casey

-Robert C. Odle, Jr.

-Ehrlichman, Haldeman

-Testimony

-Notes, memorandum use

-Morale

-Presidential papers

-Haldeman, Ehrlichman

-Lawyers

-Statement on executive privilege

-Leak

-Use of presidential papers [?]

-Permission
-Relevant matters
-Legal strategy
-Garment’s proposal
-Wilson’s reaction
-Haig’s conversation with Haldeman
-Buzhardt
-Meetings with H. Chapman (“Chappie”) Rose and Wilson
-Wilson’s hardline [?]
-Ziegler
-Conversations with Rose, Buzhardt, and Wilson

-Roy L. Ash [?]

-Coordination of legal defense

-41-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. September-2011)

Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)

-Wilson

-Ervin Committee

-Cooperation

-Ziegler’s statement

-President’s speech

-Haldeman, Ehrlichman
-Compared to Vietnam negotiations
-“Line of defense”

-Haldeman, Ehrlichman

-Loss of control over Dean

-Conversations with President

-Charles W. Colson

-Cooperation

-Dwight L. Chapin

-Ehrlichman, Haldeman

-Colson
-Activities
-Ervin Committee appearance
-Executive privilege [?]
-Lawyer
-Richardson [?]

-Activities

-E. Howard Hunt, Jr.

-Strategy
-Dean
-Comments
-Ziegler
-Outsiders
-[First name unknown] Black [?], Edwin Meese, III
-Statement
-Timing
-[Unintelligible]
-Lawrence F. O’Brien, Jr.
-Statement [?]
-Legal strategy
-Grand jury
-Indictment
-42-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. September-2011)

Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)

-White House position
-Hardline regarding cooperation
-Ervin Committee
-Executive session [?]
-John J. Sirica [?]
-[Grand jury relocation] [?]
-Maryland
-Public relations
-Ervin Committee
-Responsibility to wait [?]
-Garment
-Conversations with Samuel J. Ervin, Jr., Howard H. Baker, Jr.
-Grand jury’s progress
-Ervin Committee hearings
-Television [TV] spectacular

-Obstructions by Administration

-Majority

-Grand jury
-Special prosecutor [?]
-[Unintelligible]
-White House staff members
-Testimony [?]

-James W. McCord, Jr.

-E. Howard Hunt, Jr. [?]

-Hugh W. Sloan, Jr.

-Haldeman, Ehrlichman
-Haig
-Committee hearings compared to judicial process
-Defendants

-Justice

-Disclosure of facts

-Grand jury indictments

-Jury trial

-Committee’s investigative scope

-Ziegler’s opinion

-Legal and public relations issue

-Delay [?]
-43-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. September-2011)

Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)

-Confusion [?]
-Public perceptions [?]

-Committee

-TV

-Demogoguery

-Impact of TV

-Grand jury process

-Indictment

-Trial

-Public perception

-Right to trial by jury

-Excess of investigation

-Public committee hearings, grand jury, court cases
-Ehrlichman example [?]
-Trial compared with committee executive session
-Ervin committee
-Staff
-Samuel Dash
-TV
-Full disclosure

-Money

-Testimony

-Hunt
-Public interest
-White House interest
-Strategy
-Investigation by administration
-Compared to Congress
-Judicial process
-Administration’s preference

-Publicity

-Haig

-Cooperation with Committee
-White House staff compared with Hunt
-“Ultimate weapon”
-Advantages
-Dean
-44-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. September-2011)

Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)

-Special prosecutor
-Role
-Indictments
-Richardson’s confirmation
-Party affiliation
-Immediate assignment
-“Showboat”
-Dash
-Judicial process
-Judicial process compared to committee hearings
-Haldeman, Ehrlichman
-Committee
-Staff
-Haig’s conversation with Rogers
-[Executive] [?] privilege
-Richardson’s confirmation
-Committee hearings
-Delays

-Dean’s documents

-Motions

-National mood

-Haig’s opinion

-Garment

-Motion

-Telephone call


Haig talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 2:31 pm and 3:55 pm.

[Conversation No. 432-37A]

[Begin telephone conversation]

[See Conversation No. 45-171]

[End telephone conversation]

Forthcoming vote in Congress
-45-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. September-2011)

Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)

-Funding

-William E. Timmons’s assessment


Watergate

Haig talked with Leonard Garment at an unknown time between 2:31 pm and 3:55 pm.

[Conversation No. 432-37B]

[Begin telephone conversation]

[See Conversation No. 45-172]

[End telephone conversation]

Watergate
-Documents

-Dean

-White House strategy

-Prosecutors

-Richardson

-Documents

-Content

-Return

-Dean

-President’s schedule

-Documents

-Possible release

-Patrick J. Buchanan

-Speech material


Haig and Ziegler left at 3:55 pm.
-46-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. September-2011)

Conversation No. 432-38 (cont’d)
Secret White House Tapes |

432-037a

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