"Smoking Gun": Richard Nixon and Bob Haldeman discuss the Watergate break-in, June 23, 1972 — Transcript

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1. 0:00>> NARRATOR: The Nixon Presidential Library and Museum presents
2. 0:03A selection from the White House Tapes
3. 0:05Conversation 741-002, which took place on June 23, 1972
4. 0:13>> BOB HALDEMAN: Yeah, that's fine. Now, on that investigation, you know, the Democratic break-in thing,
5. 0:19we're back to the-in the, the problem area because the FBI is not under control,
6. 0:24because Gray doesn't exactly know how to control them, and
7. 0:27they have -- their investigation is now leading into some productive areas
8. 0:32because they've been able to trace the money, not through the money itself, but through the bank,
9. 0:37you know, sources -- the banker himself. And, and it goes in some directions we don't want it to go.
10. 0:44Uh, also there have been some things, like an informant came in off the street to the FBI in Miami,
11. 0:51who, uh, who was a photographer or has a friend who is a photographer who developed some films through this guy Barker,
12. 0:58and the films had, uh, pictures of Democratic National Committee letterhead
13. 1:03documents and things. So he's got -- it's things like that that are going to, that are filtering in.
14. 1:09Mitchell came up with yesterday, and John Dean analyzed very carefully last night and concludes,
15. 1:16concurs now with Mitchell's recommendation that the only way to solve this -- and we're set up beautifully to do it,
16. 1:22ah, in that and that...the only network that paid any attention to it last night was NBC, who did did a massive story on the Cuban
17. 1:30>> PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON: That's right. >> HALDEMAN: thing. >> PRESIDENT NIXON: Right.
18. 1:31>> HALDEMAN: That the way to handle this now is for us to have Walters call Pat Gray
19. 1:37and just say, "Stay the hell out of this. This is, ah --
20. 1:42there's some business here we don't want you to go any further on it." That's not an unusual development
21. 1:47>> PRESIDENT NIXON: Mm-hmm. >> HALDEMAN: and, uh, that would take care of it.
22. 1:53>> PRESIDENT NIXON: What about Pat Gray, ah... You mean, he doesn't want to? >> HALDEMAN: Pat does want to.
23. 1:56He doesn't know how to, and he doesn't have, he doesn't have any basis for doing it. Given this, he will then have the basis.
24. 2:02He'll call Mark Felt in, and the two of them -- and Mark Felt wants to cooperate because
25. 2:07>> PRESIDENT NIXON: Yeah. >> HALDEMAN: he's ambitious. >> PRESIDENT NIXON: Yeah.
26. 2:08>> HALDEMAN: Ah, he'll call him in and say, "We've, we've got the signal from across the river to, to put the hold on this."
27. 2:17And that will fit rather well because the FBI agents who are working the case,
28. 2:22at this point, feel that's what it is: This is CIA. [Telephone ringing in background]
29. 2:27>> PRESIDENT NIXON: But they've traced the money to whom? >> HALDEMAN: Well, they have, they've traced to a name,
30. 2:31but they haven't gotten to the guy yet. >> PRESIDENT NIXON: Who is it? Is it somebody here?
31. 2:35>> HALDEMAN: Ken Dahlberg. >> PRESIDENT NIXON: Who the hell is Ken Dahlberg?
32. 2:38>> HALDEMAN: He's a -- he gave $25,000 in Minnesota and, ah,
33. 2:43the check went directly in to this, to this guy Barker.
34. 2:48>> PRESIDENT NIXON: Well, maybe he's a...
35. 2:52He didn't, he didn't get this from the Committee, though; this is from Stans. >> HALDEMAN: Yeah. It is. It is.
36. 2:58It's directly traceable and there's some more through some Texas people in -- that went to the Mexican bank,
37. 3:04which they can also trace to the Mexican bank. They'll get their names today.
38. 3:09And-- [pause]
39. 3:12>> PRESIDENT NIXON: Well, I mean, ah, there's no way -- I'm just thinking, if they don't cooperate, what do they say?
40. 3:17They, they, they were approached by the Cubans. That's what Dahlberg has to say; the Texans, too.
41. 3:22Is that the idea? >> HALDEMAN: Well, if they will. But then we're relying on more and more people all the time.
42. 3:27That's the problem. And, ah, it does stop, if we could, if we take this other step. >> PRESIDENT NIXON: All right. All right, fine.
43. 3:33>> HALDEMAN: And, and they seem to feel the thing to do is get them to stop. >> PRESIDENT NIXON: All right, fine.
44. 3:37>> HALDEMAN: They say the only way to do that is a White House instruction.
45. 3:40And it's got to be to Helms and -- ah, what's his name? Walters. >> PRESIDENT NIXON: Walters.
46. 3:46>> HALDEMAN: And the proposal would be that Ehrlich-- [coughs] Ehrlichman and I call them in >> PRESIDENT NIXON: All right, fine.
47. 3:52>> HALDEMAN: and say, ah -- >> PRESIDENT NIXON: How do you call them in? Well, we protected Helms from one hell of a lot of things.
48. 3:58>> HALDEMAN: That's what Ehrlichman says. >> PRESIDENT NIXON: Of course, this is, uh, this is, uh --
49. 4:01Hunt will, that will uncover a lot of [unintelligible] When you open that scab, there's a hell of a lot of things that
50. 4:07"we just feel that this would be very detrimental to have this thing go any futher."
51. 4:11This involves these Cubans, and Hunt, and a lot of hanky-panky that we have nothing to do with, ourselves.
52. 4:18Well, what the hell, did Mitchell know about this thing to much of a degree? >> HALDEMAN: I think so.
53. 4:23I don't think he knew the details, but I think he knew. >> PRESIDENT NIXON: He didn't know how it was going to be handled, though,
54. 4:27with Dahlberg and the Texans and so forth? Well, who was the asshole who did that?
55. 4:31Is it Liddy? Is that the fellow? He must be a little nuts. >> HALDEMAN: Yeah.
56. 4:36>> PRESIDENT NIXON: I mean, he just isn't well screwed on, is he? Isn't that the problem?
57. 4:40>> HALDEMAN: No, but he was under pressure, apparently, to get more information,
58. 4:44and as he got more pressure, he pushed the people harder to move harder >> PRESIDENT NIXON: Pressure from Mitchell?
59. 4:49>> HALDEMAN: Apparently. >> PRESIDENT NIXON: Oh, Mitchell, Mitchell. Is that the point that you made?
60. 4:54[unintelligible] >> HALDEMAN: [unintelligible], yeah.
61. 4:58>> PRESIDENT NIXON: All right, fine. I understand it all. We won't second-guess Mitchell and the rest. Thank God it wasn't Colson.
62. 5:04>> HALDEMAN: The FBI interviewed Colson yesterday. They determined that would be a good thing to do.
63. 5:08>> PRESIDENT NIXON: Mm-hmm. >> HALDEMAN: Uh, to have him take an
64. 5:12>> PRESIDENT NIXON: Mm-hmm. >> HALDEMAN: interrogation, which he did. And that --
65. 5:15the FBI guys working the case had concluded that there were one or two possibilities. 1) That this was a White House--
66. 5:23They don't think there's anything about the Election Committee. They think it was either a White House operation that had
67. 5:27some obscure reasons for it -- non-political. Or it was, uh, the Cubans and the CIA.
68. 5:35And after their interrogation of, of Colson >> PRESIDENT NIXON: Colson
69. 5:39>> HALDEMAN: yep, they concluded it was not the White House so they are now convinced it is a CIA thing.
70. 5:43So the CIA turnoff would--
71. 5:45>> PRESIDENT NIXON: Well, I'm not sure of Helms [unintelligible]. I'm not going to get that closely involved. >> HALDEMAN: No, sir. We don't want you to.
72. 5:49>> PRESIDENT NIXON: You call him. You got that? >> HALDEMAN: Good deal.
73. 5:53>> PRESIDENT NIXON: Play it tough. That's the way they play it, and that's the way we're going to play it.
74. 5:56>> HALDEMAN: Okay.
75. 5:58>> NARRATOR: For more information, please visit www.NixonLibrary.gov