Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 169-026
Date: Wednesday, June 20, 1973 at 12:29 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.
Recording device: Camp David Study Table
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/169-026

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Well, yes, but referring to Mel, I think it's one thing that I did mention yesterday in our conversation, which I know you'll follow up on.
[0:09] Mel should just get himself steeped in this economic thing, and he should go out and make some statements.
[0:15] Right, I've already talked to Connolly and Mel.
[0:19] I mean, Mel, he's got a strong voice in this.
[0:23] He'll see the opportunity to do it.
[0:26] Yes, he's been doing it on the Hill, incidentally.
[0:28] He just finished his last circuit.
[0:30] He just got back.
[0:31] He did a hell of a job yesterday.
[0:33] Did he?
[0:33] He got very good reports.
[0:35] They called me and said, Christ, they stood up and applauded.
[0:38] Right.
[0:39] He did a very positive job.
[0:41] Good, good, good.
[0:45] Well, George, I expect any minute he's in the meeting with the Soviets so he can't step out.
[0:51] Sure, sure.
[0:52] Oh, sure.
[0:53] Yeah, right.
[0:53] So I'll get it.
[0:54] Okay.
[0:54] I talked to the other fellow, Elliot.
[0:57] Oh, yeah, Elliot.
[0:59] He said he really appreciated this, and he said that there's a get Richardson move around.
[1:07] I said, well, you ought to know that this is coming to me from very reliable sources, and I hope that he'll move very quickly, and I'm available to talk to Elliot about it if he wants to.
[1:20] And Moore denies it, huh?
[1:22] Yes, he denies it.
[1:24] Tell us just as well.
[1:24] I'm going to deny it.
[1:26] It keeps him a little bit on a tighter leash.
[1:28] Right, exactly.
[1:30] We just wanted to know.
[1:33] We're watching.
[1:34] Elliot, as you know...
[1:35] He's a free martini man at night.
[1:39] You never know what's looking at him.
[1:41] And I imagine he just talks a little, you know, I think so, a little loosely.
[1:45] That's right.
[1:46] But the main thing is I do think Bazaar ought to go over there.
[1:51] And Bazaar talked to him this morning about Agnew, right?
[1:53] Yes.
[1:54] And I haven't had a report yet, but he was to do it this morning.
[1:57] And he's going to call me as soon as he gets a readout.
[2:00] Right.
[2:01] That'll be a good test for him.
[2:03] But my point is that...
[2:05] I sat down with Richard and said, now look here, do you know something we don't?
[2:11] Exactly right.
[2:12] We're entitled to know.
[2:14] Well, I told this to Moore.
[2:15] I said, you know, there may be truth to this.
[2:18] I said, we have no way of knowing.
[2:20] I said, God damn it, if there is something.
[2:23] I expect to know this and not to be sitting on a keg of dynamite that you think is a keg of dynamite.
[2:30] Yeah.
[2:31] And he said that he was not aware of anything at all.
[2:35] Well, you gave him the assurance that we thought there was no keg of dynamite.
[2:39] That's right.
[2:40] Absolutely.
[2:40] Good.
[2:41] Good.
[2:43] Well, that's the way to play it.
[2:45] I imagine Elliot is, you know, he runs around over there, and these little boys come in and worry him, and he runs with the social set, and they worry him.
[2:52] Yeah, he's the one who reads all the dope stories, and they worry him, and so forth.
[2:56] And he doesn't dig at them like we do.
[2:58] I mean, we're just, it's just a whole mishmash, yeah, all of the stuff, you know, like the crap we went through this morning, and it's all precisely over and over again.
[3:09] Okay, Pfizer.
[3:11] Good.