Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 026-044
Date: Saturday, July 1, 1972 at 1:02 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Walters, Vernon A.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/026-044

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[3:21:01] Walters, sir.
[3:21:02] Hello, Walters.
[3:21:05] A memorandum came in from Helms about
[3:21:09] four or five days ago or so in which he asked, said it would be very helpful if, I mean, the CIA had some reflections from me and from Henry
[3:21:24] with regard to the Soviet leaders, you know, to update the kind of things you have on them.
[3:21:30] Right.
[3:21:30] He's out of the country, I find.
[3:21:32] Yes, he is.
[3:21:33] And I'm leaving for California and out there.
[3:21:35] I think if you could get a message to him, and this is also for your information, that if you can get together a very elite small group, I mean, maybe, you know, half a dozen.
[3:21:48] I, of course, have my own recollections.
[3:21:50] Are you?
[3:21:51] And I'd be glad to, you know, just sort of sit down and go over, you know, an analysis of these people.
[3:21:56] Now, the main point about this, however, is that it could only be done if I could have an absolute control on the secrecy of it, because anything leaking out, as you know what I mean, could be terribly embarrassing and where
[3:22:15] Well, the president thinks this is the other one is this and that.
[3:22:18] So therefore, I don't know whether that's the only reason that I, frankly, I haven't briefed the State Department on my views because I know it'll leak.
[3:22:27] What do you think about this?
[3:22:28] Well, I think we have, you know, one or two other very sensitive accounts like that that we can keep very careful.
[3:22:32] Well, you can, I want you to get a hold of Dick and tell him that...
[3:22:36] that I'm willing to do, but we have to do it on a sensitive basis.
[3:22:40] I don't want it, for example, like when they send a fellow like a cabinet officer abroad, like a Peterson, to give him the boilerplate stuff you gave me, and it's only I can correct some of that stuff.
[3:22:52] Some of it is not as accurate because people just didn't know.
[3:22:56] But if you could have a, this should be basically the top secret stuff, which would not be given to foreign governments, but not be given to catalogers.
[3:23:04] In other words, it would be distributed only at my direction.
[3:23:07] And, of course, fine.
[3:23:10] And we'll do that.
[3:23:11] Fine.
[3:23:11] How do you like your job?
[3:23:12] It's fascinating.
[3:23:13] Right, right.
[3:23:14] Well, I hope you get into a few mean things and protect the CIA from assaults.
[3:23:21] From abroad.
[3:23:21] I mean, at home, too.
[3:23:22] Yes, I will.
[3:23:23] Everybody's trying to get in these.
[3:23:25] Okay.
[3:23:25] Right.
[3:23:25] Bye.
[3:23:26] Okay.