Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 045-178
Date: Wednesday, May 9, 1973 at 6:35 PM
Participants: Haig, Alexander M., Jr.; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-178

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Okay.
[0:01] Yeah.
[0:02] Yeah, Bob?
[0:02] Yeah.
[0:03] How'd you do?
[0:03] I didn't go.
[0:05] You didn't go?
[0:06] No.
[0:06] I mean, I waited, but they took Ehrlichman all afternoon.
[0:09] I go on Monday morning at 10.30.
[0:10] Monday morning at 10.30.
[0:12] Uh-huh.
[0:15] Uh-huh.
[0:16] Have you got copies of your notes out of the building here?
[0:19] No.
[0:20] Do your lawyers have them?
[0:21] No.
[0:22] You told our people that they did.
[0:23] No, they don't.
[0:25] Are you sure of that?
[0:25] Yeah.
[0:27] They don't have copies of my notes.
[0:35] My people said that your lawyer said that he had the original and that he had copies of them.
[0:46] The president agreed to show them to you, to Bazaar.
[0:51] Now, what they were worried about... Now, he has some stuff of John's.
[0:57] He gave him copies of John's investigating notes.
[1:00] That's all he has.
[1:01] That's all he has.
[1:03] Well, no, he has some notes from John on, you know— They have to be back.
[1:07] Wait a minute.
[1:13] Okay, I'm sorry.
[1:13] See, you understand, uh, you were asked and you had any notes.
[1:18] You couldn't take executive privilege on them.
[1:20] They had subpoenaed them from you because they were outside of White House custody.
[1:25] In the first place, that's wrong.
[1:27] You better get a better lawyer than you got.
[1:31] Two different things.
[1:32] One is the question of whether I have custody, and the other is the question of whether they're covered by privilege.
[1:36] And the fact of the matter is that, A, I do not have custody, I do not have the notes, I have not made copies of them, and I have no copies outside, and the lawyers have no copies.
[1:45] Well, okay, that's good.
[1:48] You know, they came in with an entirely different story.
[1:50] No, I don't believe that.
[1:53] You don't believe that they came in with a different story?
[1:55] The lawyers?
[1:56] No, sir, I believe that your lawyers did, because I believe that Len Garment's capable of anything, but I don't believe my lawyers told Len Garment that.
[2:03] Or Fred Buzard.
[2:05] Well, Chapkey, Buzard, and Len were all in the session and came out, came over sort of concerned about it.
[2:13] Well, I think they're confused rather than concerned.
[2:15] Yeah.
[2:15] Or maybe both.
[2:16] Well, you know, it could be either.
[2:19] The thing is, you've answered my question.
[2:22] You've answered my question, because we would have been in a hell of a mess.
[2:28] They described the hell of a mess, you know, a potentially difficult situation.
[2:33] Let me point out that if I did have, which I don't, they're still covered, my copies are covered by privilege also.
[2:43] The problem is they're in my custody, but even if they were in my custody, I have no reason to turn them over to anybody.
[2:50] Fortunately, they're not.
[2:52] Yeah, well, what they claimed would happen was the judge could hold you in contempt.
[2:58] that you did it or send the marshals over to search.
[3:01] And that's the kind of thing that you're vulnerable to.
[3:05] I would be if I have.
[3:10] I don't have one.
[3:11] Well, that's good.
[3:13] That's fine.
[3:14] So there's no question on that.
[3:17] But I think they need some better legal advice.
[3:24] I'll tell you, this fellow is very good.
[3:27] I really feel a lot better.
[3:30] He's oriented totally on the problem here.
[3:34] Yeah.
[3:35] What I think we ought to do is we ought to get Garment and that idiot out of the way and let you guys meet with Lazard at some point.
[3:47] Yeah, that's what I think.
[3:48] And find out what the hell is really going on.
[3:50] Okay.
[3:50] Well, that's exactly why we got him in here.
[3:54] I think we better do that.
[3:55] Because I think...
[3:59] You can reassure the president, I have no copies of any of my notes.
[4:02] Good.
[4:03] There are no copies made of any of my notes, except one or two Xeroxes that I made in the room 522 the other day, and I left them there.
[4:14] Because I got to thinking I better not take anything out.
[4:16] Yeah, that's right.
[4:17] And I didn't.
[4:18] Okay.
[4:19] So I have nothing in my possession.
[4:21] All right.
[4:23] What I do have is some extracts from those notes, and just don't tell anybody I have those.
[4:28] I'm going back to 522 tomorrow, and I'll put them back in.
[4:30] Put them back, yeah.
[4:31] All they are is, you know, notes from the notes.
[4:35] But they're still privileged, and you can hang tight on that privilege.
[4:40] Look, you're kidding yourself.
[4:41] If you argue on the custody question only, you've got to argue both, and each of them holds.
[4:47] Well, they would do it.
[4:48] I can't deliver anything I don't have custody on, but I also can't deliver anything covered by privilege.
[4:53] Well, you know, that's exactly right.
[4:55] They would do it.
[4:56] If I had stuff at home, I still couldn't do it.
[4:57] Yeah, but you wouldn't want to be subjected to it.
[5:00] I couldn't agree with you more.
[5:01] Well, I may be subjected to it.
[5:02] They may come and search for it.
[5:05] I don't think they will if you deny you have it.
[5:07] Huh?
[5:08] You see, that's all I'm saying.
[5:11] Yeah, well, there's no problem there.
[5:12] I don't have them.
[5:14] I haven't had them.
[5:16] Good.
[5:16] They probably misread, but they may have been told you had some extracts or something.
[5:21] No, no, they haven't even been told that.
[5:24] Have your guys read your notes?
[5:29] Nope.
[5:30] They have not read my notes.
[5:31] I've covered with them a couple points that are in them.
[5:34] I've gone through points of vulnerability.
[5:37] So we're aware of some of them.
[5:39] And our lawyers purposely over there today logged in three examples of what would be put out if the files were put out.
[5:48] And they did it to scare those people.
[5:51] It was their tactic, and they felt they were quite successful.
[5:54] Right.
[5:56] Okay.
[5:57] Well, that's helpful.
[5:58] But their purpose was precisely that.
[6:00] Yeah.
[6:02] That's helpful.
[6:03] I got a better feeling.
[6:04] So don't worry about any copies of notes.
[6:07] I have none.
[6:10] Okay.
[6:10] Okay.
[6:11] Fine.
[6:11] Thank you.