Richard Nixon and Al Haig Talk About Use of CIA in Watergate Cover-up May 12 1973 — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:09now I've been over these uh mcons again
2. 0:12very carefully and I and I've asked
3. 0:16bizar to do it again himself and he's
4. 0:18coming over here shortly but my judgment
5. 0:19is that there's absolutely no way that
6. 0:21we can prent these to leave the building
7. 0:24under any
8. 0:25circumstance right and uh I like are
9. 0:29problem
10. 0:31somewh some somebody else G yeah well
11. 0:34what happened and this is influences
12. 0:37that judgment also is that when pushman
13. 0:40went up to Armed Services yeah
14. 0:43uher sent his menc cons to the
15. 0:48committee uh that's on another subject
16. 0:50of course but they're going to hit s
17. 0:54here or hit walers tomorrow and ask for
18. 0:58his men con yes so we're going to just
19. 1:01have to take the heat Mr President take
20. 1:03the heat that's right and it's going
21. 1:05it's going to be be hot some some
22. 1:08criticism but but listen we can take it
23. 1:10yeah listen compare to uh what would
24. 1:13happen with these papers it's essential
25. 1:16I understand well I just uh the only
26. 1:19thing I was more as confident of the
27. 1:22fact that uh that he didn't give a copy
28. 1:24of these damn things to helm yes he is
29. 1:28he's confident
30. 1:31now he said they were locked in his safe
31. 1:33while he was
32. 1:34abroad unless there was some real hanky
33. 1:38P yeah he's
34. 1:40confident and here when he goes up can
35. 1:43simply say
36. 1:45that simp we got to say no there are
37. 1:47some national I mean some covert
38. 1:49activities and so forth we discussed and
39. 1:51there has no relationship to this to you
40. 1:54know this matter but which would be
41. 1:57damaging to the National Security and
42. 1:59therefore he have them but we would be
43. 2:01glad to testify on anything with regard
44. 2:04to this matter that's
45. 2:06right of course he doesn't he shouldn't
46. 2:08get wrecked there around because he
47. 2:10wasn't there at the time you the
48. 2:12difficulty with them I suppose is it R
49. 2:14their totality and so for and there you
50. 2:17can get get by with them the difficulty
51. 2:19is that that however uh little bits and
52. 2:22pieces of it will be damaging just just
53. 2:25can't we couldn't we it especially that
54. 2:2728 June
55. 2:30yeah accept yeah well on the 28 let's
56. 2:33assume works if it does get out we just
57. 2:35have to fight it out well then we'll
58. 2:36find it out but uh we sure as hell can't
59. 2:39volunteer it well let me say I made that
60. 2:42we've all decided never volunteer it no
61. 2:44I mean even to let it out of this
62. 2:46building we can't I would never be
63. 2:48confident with it over in CIA no I know
64. 2:51I know I know see they succumb to the
65. 2:53pressure and that's right decision
66. 2:55that's right no no we keep here and uh
67. 3:01and uh that's that and uh it's in this
68. 3:05building uh what's the reason we give
69. 3:07again for why it's here well it's here
70. 3:09because it covers National Security
71. 3:12matters of great importance
72. 3:14and witness and these are recollection
73. 3:17of witnesses available to freely testify
74. 3:21right on any matters that do not related
75. 3:23to this this ration yeah but but but but
76. 3:27not on National Security matters and
77. 3:29then we cannot let out National Security
78. 3:31memoranda as a matter of fact we don't
79. 3:33let them out in defense or state or any
80. 3:35place else do we no we do not and in
81. 3:37this instance where you're not going to
82. 3:39let that pressure fall strictly on SL
83. 3:42who uh is up for confirmation you see
84. 3:44the tactics of it would be very very bad
85. 3:48uh if we put it back over in the agency
86. 3:51if all the pressure would fall on him
87. 3:53that's right and I don't want to risk
88. 3:55that that's right
89. 4:00yep and uh just get him aboard that way
90. 4:04too now he's got
91. 4:06a he's in good shape on this and of
92. 4:10course he's got the crutch he needs we
93. 4:14haven't we haven't he doesn't that's
94. 4:16right now if he had them i' confident
95. 4:18that the
96. 4:20pressure c on
97. 4:24it what is the what is the difficulty in
98. 4:26it in terms of the president in the damn
99. 4:28thing well it it's just that first
100. 4:32paragraph of the thing
101. 4:34which hman said the Bing
102. 4:37Affair
103. 4:38yeah making noise then were maximizing
104. 4:42it was leing to a lot of important
105. 4:45people he said Le L go ahead right and
106. 4:48then H said there was no CIA connection
107. 4:50hect it right off the bat say yes called
108. 4:54him and said that the whole Affair was
109. 4:55getting embarrassing and that the
110. 4:57president wish it was the president wish
111. 5:00that Walters called on acting FBI
112. 5:03director gray and suggest to him that
113. 5:06since the five suspects have been
114. 5:08arrested that this should be sufficient
115. 5:11and it was not advantageous to have the
116. 5:12inquiry pushed especially in
117. 5:16Mexico yep that's just cannot haveen
118. 5:20well it may get out get out and let's be
119. 5:23ready for it when it does see well you
120. 5:25see it I don't think it will sir uh and
121. 5:28it's all going to revolve on robt John
122. 5:30in the the context that we discussed it
123. 5:33earlier uh so that's where this thing is
124. 5:38is coming up again as we knew that we've
125. 5:40noticed from the beginning
126. 5:43yeah so that's well the idea that
127. 5:47hold or in a
128. 5:50sense he was sort of aming the
129. 5:53president's name that's right everybody
130. 5:56does now you see this is here say yeah
131. 5:58and this is what can come out in the
132. 6:00courtroom and under direct testimony but
133. 6:03if you have piece of paper yeah you've
134. 6:06done the damage you've given your say
135. 6:07evidence firm credibility that's why we
136. 6:11have to stick the way we're going now it
137. 6:13won't be evolve that way if it ends up
138. 6:16one direct
139. 6:17testimony uh wallers will will build a
140. 6:22wall and just agree that
141. 6:25that that kind of uh
142. 6:28innuendo has been stripped from
143. 6:31this uh that it makes it easier for Bob
144. 6:34and John in that
145. 6:36context and and hopefully we're going to
146. 6:39manage it yeah put it in proper contact
147. 6:43well I always figure the worst is we
148. 6:45must that because it seems like
149. 6:46everything gets out I don't know but I
150. 6:48think with wers we've uh thank God got a
151. 6:51good man and Helms is a uh Jesus he's he
152. 6:55just got to stand firm on this you I
153. 6:58think in large measure except for this
154. 7:00first
155. 7:01session he
156. 7:03can everything he has is here say it's
157. 7:06not worth
158. 7:08it Helm Helms in terms of of having the
159. 7:11mcom
160. 7:12himself well that's all right too
161. 7:15because that's your say no I know but uh
162. 7:18if he had a copy it would be bad he had
163. 7:20a copy then U that would be bad yeah so
164. 7:25when when does he get back and you can
165. 7:27get him you know basic basically under
166. 7:30control get the goddamn copy and keep it
167. 7:32here yeah well Bard's going to contact
168. 7:35him as soon as he's in I think he's
169. 7:36coming in
170. 7:41tonight wers does not believe that he
171. 7:44has a copy or if you ask wers that
172. 7:46direct question if there were any other
173. 7:48copies anywhere and he said no and no
174. 7:53one is H held him physically but
175. 7:56him and of course there's the
176. 7:58possibility I also said out that that
177. 8:01Helms made a copy but you felt that he
178. 8:03may not have made a mcon himself oh he
179. 8:06may have made made a Menon of that
180. 8:08session yes he may have and that's
181. 8:10important at least that's why going to
182. 8:13contact say that that should be should
183. 8:16be put in the same category same
184. 8:18category sure CU basically thean thing
185. 8:21thean thing say it may lead to Mexico
186. 8:24and so forth and so on
187. 8:26but to point out that we were not trying
188. 8:28to uh
189. 8:30that we were concerned despite what Helm
190. 8:32said we were concerned about the fact
191. 8:34that a whole gaggle of CIA people were
192. 8:36in this thing right that's right and
193. 8:39help is that that's what that's right
194. 8:42and that is obviously the context in
195. 8:44which it was put in or he wouldn't have
196. 8:46taken the position he took the
197. 8:48difficulty is he denied it you say
198. 8:50difficulty is he denied it there
199. 8:55yeah and and alleged to have denied it
200. 8:57the day before was Gray
201. 9:00he said that he haded yeah and then they
202. 9:04said that walber should go at even in
203. 9:06spite of that they said wal should talk
204. 9:07to gray yeah it's it's very bad the way
205. 9:10it's very bad piece of
206. 9:13paper well that gets out it's going to
207. 9:15be pretty rough but we can survive it
208. 9:18can we I'm sure of it even survive that
209. 9:22yes what what's what's the need find if
210. 9:24you survive that I mean you well what
211. 9:26you do with that is uh
212. 9:29uh you have to keep it in a tical yeah I
213. 9:33know I know but if
214. 9:35Helms to put out his mecom or some
215. 9:38Whatever Whatever It
216. 9:39Is
217. 9:41Well that that would be
218. 9:44bad it would have to be a case of some
219. 9:48hard challenges in the in the
220. 9:51session
221. 9:53but but Helms on the other hand God has
222. 9:56no incentive to do this no no
223. 10:00I mean he knows that uh chist I wasn't
224. 10:03trying to cover up any damn thing and no
225. 10:05and that's right you see and then it
226. 10:07gets to the other point of it's not it's
227. 10:11not to you in this thing in anyway
228. 10:14Barber John is a
229. 10:16question they saying what yeah what
230. 10:18they're exposed to having yeah but they
231. 10:21said that the president want the
232. 10:23president wanted walers to go talk to
233. 10:25the director of the C of of uh the yeah
234. 10:30well then we have to make it all right
235. 10:33but on that then walers comes in and I'm
236. 10:36just thinking it out walers comes on and
237. 10:38says he did talk to him and that he did
238. 10:41not that that he refused to right what
239. 10:44does he say
240. 10:46basically he say
241. 10:49that they made a check and they found
242. 10:51that there was no scen call I know know
243. 10:54what he what would he say about his
244. 10:56start with with with with gray I don't
245. 10:58know what the hell he told gray said he
246. 11:00was
247. 11:01told I think what gray will say is that
248. 11:04there was some fear of
249. 11:06this yeah there was some fear of it you
250. 11:09know CIA problem
251. 11:11and people were cautious about
252. 11:15it well he's already testified so I
253. 11:17guess he's testified so we know I don't
254. 11:20think he got into this track how did
255. 11:22this damn track ever broke then it broke
256. 11:25because well he he got into the track
257. 11:27and that he said he had it talked this
258. 11:30matter over with
259. 11:31wers we know that yes that's why we
260. 11:35panicked yesterday to get yeah get wers
261. 11:37and find out what the hell was happen
262. 11:40yeah he said he had talked about to wers
263. 11:42about
264. 11:44CIA did you say that wall told him to
265. 11:47stop the investigation do we know or
266. 11:49anything like that I don't think he did
267. 11:50I don't think he did because a matter of
268. 11:54he reality
269. 11:59all wers did was was there was s of an
270. 12:02exchange between the two men yeah it was
271. 12:05convoluted and and not precise in any
272. 12:09sense of the word
273. 12:11yeah and of course the later things with
274. 12:13being are very good actually very
275. 12:16good well there we
276. 12:19go well listen let me tell you if a damn
277. 12:23thing gets up we've just got to write it
278. 12:24through uh I mean I mean you never know
279. 12:27about these memos I mean I'm you know
280. 12:29we'll be ready for each one but if it
281. 12:31does let's let's have a game plan and
282. 12:33hit it right Square in the head when it
283. 12:35comes nobody had any authorization
284. 12:40whatever it's just a question of how
285. 12:43tough it's going to be it's not a
286. 12:44question of whether we're going to do it
287. 12:45we're going to do it and get through
288. 12:48yeah we should but I agree we should
289. 12:51keep this right here and incidentally uh
290. 12:55bizard should in addition to Holdman and
291. 12:58irman at
292. 13:00man this isn't the top priority because
293. 13:01he could do it tomorrow even he should
294. 13:03have a talk with Coulson you know yeah
295. 13:06to see what the hell Coulson sees coming
296. 13:08down the pike here that's right and
297. 13:10particularly with regard to Coulson and
298. 13:12hunt and uh and uh see what I mean
299. 13:17exactly I agree with that and uh I've
300. 13:20told him that already that's right and
301. 13:22and be sure that cson knows that he's on
302. 13:25our side cson knows he's on our side but
303. 13:27that buard that he knows buzard is right
304. 13:31right all right boy all well up yes sir
305. 13:35as I say the goddamn thing gets out it's
306. 13:38just going to get out
307. 13:39of that's it's it isn't all right it's
308. 13:43but we can survive it we can survive it
309. 13:46very we can survive it it would be very
310. 13:49embarrassing as it'll indicate that we
311. 13:51tried to cover up with the CIA