Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 041-003
Date: Monday, June 18, 1973 at 4:27 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/041-003

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Yeah.
[0:02] Yeah.
[0:02] Mr. President?
[0:04] Yeah.
[0:04] I just wanted to be sure that, uh, that, uh, which of course, uh, nobody but a PR sense would understand
[0:12] Can't let Mansfield and the committee at all get away with this without badgering them a little about this, you know what I mean?
[0:20] No, I agree.
[0:21] I agree.
[0:21] I don't, probably Bazaar and the rest haven't thought of this, but maybe Ziegler, you know, if he can get away, tear himself away from this summit thing, could think a little about that, sir.
[0:29] I've got the word over right now.
[0:31] You see what I mean?
[0:32] Yes, sir.
[0:32] Because basically, the other thing is, is to scrape some way out.
[0:37] Now, Bazaar ought to be able to do this, or Thompson or the rest get Dean's statement.
[0:42] You know the statement is out there, Al.
[0:45] Somebody's got it.
[0:46] They must have it.
[0:47] They've got it.
[0:48] The Post has got it, or somebody.
[0:49] Now, put Gargan on if he can tear himself away from his baby long enough, or Garment.
[0:54] And be damn sure you've checked this Garment thing out thoroughly, because, you know, Wilson is a smart old devil.
[1:01] And he utterly believes that Garment has been leaking to the Post.
[1:04] He may be wrong.
[1:06] He may be wrong.
[1:07] I don't believe so, because I know him so well personally.
[1:11] Ziegler doesn't, but you know what I mean.
[1:13] Yes, sir.
[1:15] I just think we've got to check everything out.
[1:16] Don't you think so?
[1:17] Absolutely.
[1:18] We do.
[1:19] Well, in any event, what do you have in mind on this thing?
[1:21] You can bring them over.
[1:22] I mean, we ought to make something out of this at the committee.
[1:25] You see, the thing that I'm concerned about is if they're going to let this goddamn thing hang over us and build it up for a week in order to poison the summit.
[1:32] That's what they're trying to do here.
[1:33] Don't you agree?
[1:35] Yes, although I must say I think that, as I told you last week, there was a
[1:41] a sense of self-consciousness developing on this thing that the monkeys just couldn't hold up under.
[1:49] Their own people were taking it on.
[1:54] Well, somebody, though, ought to say that they backed down and that, goddammit, the White House didn't ask them to.
[1:59] You know, try to get our little boys together and see if they can think of something, will you?
[2:03] Exactly.
[2:03] Okay.