President Nixon met with Alexander Haig and Ronald Ziegler to develop a strategic response to the Watergate scandal, specifically focusing on the selection of a special prosecutor and the management of executive privilege. The participants discussed concerns regarding the Ervin Committee hearings, the potential release of sensitive White House documents and presidential papers, and the need to coordinate a unified legal defense. They ultimately emphasized a strategy of limiting cooperation with congressional investigations while prioritizing the judicial process to manage public perception and defend the administration.
On May 9, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Ronald L. Ziegler, and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:31 pm to 3:55 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 432-037 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)
Conversation No. 432-37
Date: May 9, 1973
Time: 2:31 pm - 3:55 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and Ronald L. Ziegler.
Watergate
-Haig’s conversation with Elliot L. Richardson
-Selection of special prosecutor
-Possible choices
-Qualifications
-Confirmation hearings
-Responsibilities of Attorney General
-Special prosecutor
-Press release
-Content
John B. Connally
-Conflict of interest
-Financial situation
-Position with White House
-Special advisor
-Unofficial
-Compensation
-Activities
-Consultation
-Public service
-Compensation
-Conflict of interests
-Divertiture
-Law practice analogy
-Operational responsibilities
Watergate
-John W. Dean, III [?]
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)
-Richardson
-Confirmation hearings
-Approval
-Delay
-Activities
-Defense Department
-Confirmation hearings
-Answers to questions regarding a special prosecutor [?]
-Attorney General’s responsibilities
-Independence of special prosecutor
-William E. Timmons
-Thomas C. Korologos
-Confirmation hearings
-James O. Eastland
-Committee members
-Barry M. Goldwater, Sr.
-Timmons
-Richardson
-Confirmation
-Haig’s call to William P. Rogers
-Senators
-Minority report
-Special prosecutor
-Confirmation
-Back-up position [?]
-Consolation [?]
-[Unintelligible]
-Dean’s documents
-John J. Wilson
-Strategy
-Ervin Committee hearings
-J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr.’s meeting with Wilson
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-Executive privilege
-Statement on executive privilege
-Procedures
-Leonard Garment
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)
-Guidelines
-Buzhardt
-White House documents
-Lawyers
-Nervousness
-Response
-Timing
-Problems
-Haldeman [?]
-Garment
-White House documents
-Haldeman’s diaries and notes of conversations
-Dean’s papers
-Violation of executive privilege
-Statement
-Buzhardt [?]
-Executive privilege
-Conversations
-Language
-Ziegler
-Verbal communications
-Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Dean
-Leaks
-Interpretation
-Verbal, paper communications
-Conversation with President
-Watergate break-in
-Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Dean
-President’s advantage
-Haig’s opinion
-Rogers’s advice
-Consistency
-President’s view
-Richardson [?]
-Executive papers, diaries
-Haldeman
-Ehrlichman [?]
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)
-Los Angeles Times
-Conversations with President
-Haldeman
-Ehrlichman [?]
-Richardson [?]
-Executive session
-Questions
-Haldeman
-Ehrlichman
-Haldeman
-Dean
-John N. Mitchell
-William J. Casey
-Robert C. Odle, Jr.
-Ehrlichman, Haldeman
-Testimony
-Notes, memorandum use
-Morale
-Presidential papers
-Haldeman, Ehrlichman
-Lawyers
-Statement on executive privilege
-Leak
-Use of presidential papers [?]
-Permission
-Relevant matters
-Legal strategy
-Garment’s proposal
-Wilson’s reaction
-Haig’s conversation with Haldeman
-Buzhardt
-Meetings with H. Chapman (“Chappie”) Rose and Wilson
-Wilson’s hardline [?]
-Ziegler
-Conversations with Rose, Buzhardt, and Wilson
-Roy L. Ash [?]
-Coordination of legal defense
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)
-Wilson
-Ervin Committee
-Cooperation
-Ziegler’s statement
-President’s speech
-Haldeman, Ehrlichman
-Compared to Vietnam negotiations
-“Line of defense”
-Haldeman, Ehrlichman
-Loss of control over Dean
-Conversations with President
-Charles W. Colson
-Cooperation
-Dwight L. Chapin
-Ehrlichman, Haldeman
-Colson
-Activities
-Ervin Committee appearance
-Executive privilege [?]
-Lawyer
-Richardson [?]
-Activities
-E. Howard Hunt, Jr.
-Strategy
-Dean
-Comments
-Ziegler
-Outsiders
-[First name unknown] Black [?], Edwin Meese, III
-Statement
-Timing
-[Unintelligible]
-Lawrence F. O’Brien, Jr.
-Statement [?]
-Legal strategy
-Grand jury
-Indictment
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)
-White House position
-Hardline regarding cooperation
-Ervin Committee
-Executive session [?]
-John J. Sirica [?]
-[Grand jury relocation] [?]
-Maryland
-Public relations
-Ervin Committee
-Responsibility to wait [?]
-Garment
-Conversations with Samuel J. Ervin, Jr., Howard H. Baker, Jr.
-Grand jury’s progress
-Ervin Committee hearings
-Television [TV] spectacular
-Obstructions by Administration
-Majority
-Grand jury
-Special prosecutor [?]
-[Unintelligible]
-White House staff members
-Testimony [?]
-James W. McCord, Jr.
-E. Howard Hunt, Jr. [?]
-Hugh W. Sloan, Jr.
-Haldeman, Ehrlichman
-Haig
-Committee hearings compared to judicial process
-Defendants
-Justice
-Disclosure of facts
-Grand jury indictments
-Jury trial
-Committee’s investigative scope
-Ziegler’s opinion
-Legal and public relations issue
-Delay [?]
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)
-Confusion [?]
-Public perceptions [?]
-Committee
-TV
-Demogoguery
-Impact of TV
-Grand jury process
-Indictment
-Trial
-Public perception
-Right to trial by jury
-Excess of investigation
-Public committee hearings, grand jury, court cases
-Ehrlichman example [?]
-Trial compared with committee executive session
-Ervin committee
-Staff
-Samuel Dash
-TV
-Full disclosure
-Money
-Testimony
-Hunt
-Public interest
-White House interest
-Strategy
-Investigation by administration
-Compared to Congress
-Judicial process
-Administration’s preference
-Publicity
-Haig
-Cooperation with Committee
-White House staff compared with Hunt
-“Ultimate weapon”
-Advantages
-Dean
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)
-Special prosecutor
-Role
-Indictments
-Richardson’s confirmation
-Party affiliation
-Immediate assignment
-“Showboat”
-Dash
-Judicial process
-Judicial process compared to committee hearings
-Haldeman, Ehrlichman
-Committee
-Staff
-Haig’s conversation with Rogers
-[Executive] [?] privilege
-Richardson’s confirmation
-Committee hearings
-Delays
-Dean’s documents
-Motions
-National mood
-Haig’s opinion
-Garment
-Motion
-Telephone call
Haig talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 2:31 pm and 3:55 pm.
[Conversation No. 432-37A]
[Begin telephone conversation]
[See Conversation No. 45-171]
[End telephone conversation]
Forthcoming vote in Congress
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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Conversation No. 432-37 (cont’d)
-Funding
-William E. Timmons’s assessment
Watergate
Haig talked with Leonard Garment at an unknown time between 2:31 pm and 3:55 pm.
[Conversation No. 432-37B]
[Begin telephone conversation]
[See Conversation No. 45-172]
[End telephone conversation]
Watergate
-Documents
-Dean
-White House strategy
-Prosecutors
-Richardson
-Documents
-Content
-Return
-Dean
-President’s schedule
-Documents
-Possible release
-Patrick J. Buchanan
-Speech material
Haig and Ziegler left at 3:55 pm.
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(rev. September-2011)This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.