Nixon & Ziegler on Watergate and Ervin Committee

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Brad.

Yes, sir.

Well, I wonder how you're doing with your story today.

Good.

It's going well.

A lot of buildup on the economic thing.

Paris is coming up during the week.

We're being positive here.

Oh, yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

Tomorrow, Henry will take back the plot.

Correct.

Henry will go down to the pocket and agree to the rest of it.

On that impression, I think, we have a plan to go through and grab on the version that we're going to capitalize on, you know, as we talked about last night.

Make sure it can't be work here and walk around the ground and get here.

And I have a great, great job on that one.

Right.

And then we have some thinking going into the substance that you talked about as we move through the agreements.

Some thoughts as to what we should kind of move out the night before.

Not on major agreements, but on a series of five or six.

Not in detail, but expected.

One thing that would be helpful would be for Rudy to get ahold of Colson and have Colson activate this.

And, you know, his labor program on this.

They ought to be all more in his program.

He'd wait until after the next party.

That whole thing is in the works.

I'm talking about the plan today.

There's a massive plan.

Well, I want Ms. Simmons and Paul to know that I have followed their advice, because I did.

I didn't follow me.

I followed their advice, and I want them to know that I appreciate and follow their advice.

Those two in particular should have a person.

They said that Baker said Mr. Chairman,

Baker, first of all, Baker said, Mr. Chairman, if this Senate body is going to make this type of inquiry, we must also make this type of inquiry into the Democratic finance chairs.

And I submit, or what I propose to this body, that we submit a subpoena forthwith.

All of the campaign work into the Democratic Party.

Good.

And that's done.

Do you have a subpoena?

And then Ervin went along a little bit, and Ernie said, on the border, whatever it is,

The purpose of this committee, Gurney said, is not to harass witnesses.

And we must stop this harassment by you, Mr. Chairman of the Witnesses, which, you know, you just kind of press on Stan's heart.

And he said, I want to issue a personal apology to the witnesses.

That was not before.

So they're starting to get a little contact line going.

Well, Baker and Gurney get some balls now, see.

Gurney's got balls.

Baker may get it, but I'll tell you why.

Gurney's getting it probably because Florida overwhelmed his against the territory.

Baker is in running, so he doesn't have a problem.

But I know Tennessee is overhauling for us.

And they just may be hearing from home.

These guys, you know, they reflect from home.

So, I'm going to have a meeting with you all when the race and the argument is what we're kicking this week.

Because you see, we'll be leaving Friday.

And we want to get the thinking going on.

Well, I don't know if it's a statement, but just to make sure we've taken it around in our mind.

I watched the Donahue thing.

You agree, don't you?

Oh, yeah.

I heard the most significant thing out of that.

No, no.

The most significant thing out of that is the question from the audience.

Which we're not on board with.

And that is reflected

But Don, you shouldn't have been that way.

No, that's it.

I have to call John Burden.

I know John.

John Burden.

You work the speech thing out now that you give it out at 7 to everybody and nobody else before.

They won't get it even from a press report.

They won't accomplish one other thing.

It's a lesson that they won't make.

Everybody knows.

I like to see the speculation coming.

I'm not sure.

I mean, whether it's a 60-day free service or not, it doesn't come.

The impact doesn't come until you say it.

That's right.

It's like the old story.

I'm going to trip and fall until I see it there.

It's a very complicated subject to handle.

Clarity, finesse, too complicated for many to understand.

It has to be complicated or the audience has to be really happy.

Sorry, I'm going to tell you when I spend an hour doing this.

Sorry, I'm going to tell you.

It's difficult to know exactly how to handle this bond.

I agree, but I mean, I just feel it.

The best way for this pregnancy, because it will get me in, is through callings.

At this point, it will be stuck in, and so forth and so on.

I don't, I don't think so.

Oh, I'm sorry.

The callings that I'm on have limited that in the middle of the day.

And, in fact, he has told several stories.

In other words, you've got to create the impression not only that he ends up intending to lie, but that he has lied to Dave Brown, you see.

I read different sentences.

Lazard had the second point of mind.

He could be lying, right?

I told him such a story.

At one point, he said, I jumped out of the chair.

At another point, I was aware he was a person who can't relate to support.

You know, this Bush is a good guy.

Good.

He's really moving on that whole distribution of that.

He called the report back that it's pressing time.

Very good.

It's on the Hill and it's out to the .

See, what he's working on, we talked yesterday, on something like that.

Sometimes it's effective for Bush.

He used one of those nice little notes.

Oh, boy, I'll listen to it.

Let me check that.

If we use that type of thing or

Everything coming just from someone at the White House is leaking.

I know, but I can do it quite openly.

That's what I mean.

We did many things.

I don't want to do a lot.

It appeared to be secretive, but for Christ's sake, we're not wrong.

You want to get a crowd without, you need President Young.

We called everybody.

That's right.

Why is it that we didn't try?

That's right.

Why did we try?

I had a good talk with Timmy Schmitz.

What?

Keeping his head.

Oh, yeah.

But what I talked to him about is frustrating.

Oh, good.

What?

I'm sorry.

I'm trying to do it.

And what you could do, believe me, I know this is the case, and I'm so kind of over-dramatizing, get a guy like Demish, and there's a fellow over here, and over in Maine, by the name of Layton, and there's some discrediting about Layton.

Layton.

Joe Layton.

He's a little fellow that's been in the middle of Maine for so long.

I don't care.

Who?

Know the column as well.

know the reporters well, can move our line as effectively as possible.

In other words, they'd be the pay leaguers contacting us.

I'm sure.

convey from their own activity that they have an interest in worrying about reporting to the press, helping them get the facts on the budget, that type of stuff.

Shift that thing around.

Well, we can get our emails from Frank next week.

Right.

Yeah, that's correct.

I think that each member of the committee volunteers for a full deal

by the IRS, and each contributed $10,000 or more.

We were going to do a full deal.

We're going to have to do it.

It's a nice little club.

We're going to have to do it.

He said, no, Mr. Chairman.

Harassment.

Harrison.

H-A.

He spelled it out.

Because Irving apparently, he said, well, I'm just a country boy.

I don't understand those people.

He said, I'm a bad man.

Harassment.

Good.

They're going too far around us, sir.

They may be going too far with some of our people.

Nice guy likes fans.

Everybody knows it, but not intentionally.

They're not a fan.

That's why.

We're on the cataclysm, 6430.

Yeah.

What's that mission, 414?

I'm not sure.

You would mention to Al that I feel it's very important that I spend over $15,000 to get out and race.

But he made that point because the way the employers have it set here, I'm open to listening.

And with the bike part of it, I would actually .

I will open it and then I'll leave.

I'll raise this in the staff meeting.

I've got to go work with my students.

I've got my reading copy.

I want to stay here for 15 minutes.

Okay.

Yes, sir.

When Henry was getting it, did he finally get it through in a positive way?

Yes, he did.

Sort of a jackass?

No, I thought it was positive.

He communicated and agreed for full implementation.

What parts of the city were emphasized?

Models, I suppose, incorporation, MIAs?

Well, the emphasis of the briefing that you brought up was the significance of the fact that the parties could not then fully abide by the agreement and now are doing so.

I'm not infiltrating it, but the violations and broader tracks that discriminate the violations and the thing that's playing is the significance of the fact that there's another court for a design of a document that will do this after we're in that speculation.

And they play it to our head.

Plus the fact that it is known, because the way South Ghana handled it, so it should be held down hard on us.

Do they know that?

Which is not a bad thing to have out.

That must be around this place that I stomped on him.

Well, it is.

That's what I'm saying.

I didn't know it.

I didn't.

No, that's what I say.

You know, Helen Thomas and her shooting way, she said, well, it's quite obvious.

It's great.

The president really put one on that volunteer.

Well, it's not too heavy, so it doesn't really matter.

I don't want to embarrass you, but it is quite true.

Nixon & Ziegler on Watergate and Ervin Committee

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on June 13, 1973

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