Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 040-071
Date: Wednesday, June 13, 1973 at 1:41 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/040-071

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Hello.
[0:01] Yes, sir.
[0:03] Wow.
[0:04] Haven't heard from Scranton yet, huh?
[0:06] No, he's...
[0:08] Still cogitating.
[0:10] Right.
[0:10] I had one man that was close to him talk to him, and he's going to accept it.
[0:14] He's going to come back and say that he would want to talk to you briefly.
[0:19] Oh, he could talk to me for an hour.
[0:21] I'd love to talk to him about a lot of things.
[0:23] I like him.
[0:24] Okay, sir.
[0:24] I think that's all that's... Well, then what we want to do is to say on Saturday and...
[0:31] Sure, but no, don't put his name out now.
[0:35] We've got too much.
[0:36] But I'd like for him to come to Key Biscayne, meet me, and have a meeting.
[0:41] He might bring his wife Mary, and we'll arrange for a villa and all that crap, you know?
[0:46] Right, sir.
[0:46] What do you think?
[0:47] This is a good story.
[0:49] No, I think it's a hell of a story.
[0:50] And the more I think of it, the better it is because it's...
[0:53] He's right.
[0:53] Don't worry about the people that say that Scranton's a traitor and all that.
[0:57] Look, I understand people that are emotionally wrapped up in the war and the kids and the rest.
[1:02] That's what his problem is.
[1:03] He's a softie.
[1:04] He can do this brilliantly.
[1:06] See?
[1:06] He can do it.
[1:08] And he can do it well.
[1:10] Good.
[1:11] Uh, I've had a hell of a talk with Connolly, and, uh... That?
[1:15] That is, no, it's all on the track, uh, exactly.
[1:18] You tell him what we're gonna do?
[1:19] Yes.
[1:20] What'd he say?
[1:21] Well, he's delighted.
[1:22] He's, and he, he is prepared to abide precisely by the, uh, the arrangements that I had talked to him about earlier.
[1:31] Make any speeches for this darn thing, or...?
[1:33] Sure, he'll do whatever we want.
[1:34] He just didn't want to be here at an uncomfortable time.
[1:38] But he will come to other cabinet meetings, right?
[1:40] Regularly.
[1:41] Right.
[1:42] Good.
[1:43] Good.
[1:43] But he'll operate from Texas, and whenever you come for cabinet, you'll see anything.
[1:49] That's the stuff.
[1:50] And he's, I think... We got him aboard at least, yeah.
[1:53] Well, there isn't any difficulty here.
[1:57] All right.
[1:58] other difficulties you know i'm still trying to get harlow who went to a funeral and then he didn't call me back but oh he'll do that for sure i don't think it'll be a good thing tomorrow and i did too so he's all set for the president's dinner yes yes i had caught yeah good good good i mentioned it to her last time because she's very sensitive about those lists
[2:23] So I think everything is coming along very well.
[2:26] Yeah.
[2:26] Well, you know, it's an interesting thing.
[2:28] At least this week we're talking about what we're doing rather than worrying about what they're doing.
[2:33] Exactly.
[2:33] We're worrying a bit, but not too much.
[2:36] Not too much.
[2:37] I think we're coming along.
[2:38] Because what the dickens are going to call crack us and that's that.
[2:42] That's right.
[2:43] Well, we can expect that, but we're going to manage it.
[2:46] That's right.
[2:47] That's right.
[2:48] Now, the lawyers are working.
[2:50] I had them in here.
[2:51] Ron had them in on the night that we killed them on the strategy, which we're going to need next week and starting even as early as Friday.
[3:02] The moment anything comes out, strike it down.
[3:04] Yes, sir.
[3:06] And others strike it down, because we'll see.
[3:09] It may be more or it may be less than we think.
[3:13] Who knows?
[3:14] This guy's in a hell of a quandary, you see.
[3:19] The judge has turned down his transactional immunity.
[3:22] So when he gets up there, he's confronted with perjury.
[3:26] Every step of the way.
[3:27] Every step of the way.
[3:28] And I told Buzard I just had an hour and a half with him because I had him being dressed.
[3:35] And I'll be sure that Dean's lawyer gets to them that he better watch his step because we are, every meeting he was in, we have
[3:44] Exactly.
[3:47] Right.
[3:48] That's the important thing, that they know that.
[3:52] Right.
[3:52] Keep them a little loose, maybe, huh?
[3:55] It makes it awful tough.
[3:59] Right.
[4:01] Right.
[4:01] Right.
[4:01] Okay, Al.
[4:01] Thank you.
[4:02] Good, sir.
[4:02] Right.