Nixon & Haldeman on Watergate and John W. Dean

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Well, I'll tell you that way.

Yeah.

Well then, what's your reaction this morning?

Uh, no different.

Are you putting a great story back in there?

Yeah, well, we'll see at the time.

All right.

It'll be interesting to see.

President, do you have anything to say about last night?

Because there was something, some mention of it on one of the television things.

Out of the, usually the news and the service.

And the Bureau obviously was in it a hell of a lot more than they talked about because they put out that little story.

There was no discussion of what they were going to say at the time you were talking to me because what they had already said was in the paper.

About the construction, the Bureau ordered a retrial.

The grave was told that

Not that he was ordered to destroy it, but that he was told that he should not see the light of day at that time.

Well, I...

The system that's what he was told to do, to stand with his son, to make sure he was safe.

Well, I think that's consistent with what Dean said prior to that.

It's a seven-year line.

That's the kind of thing Dean would say.

Now, this is terrible stuff that should never see the light of day.

Which doesn't mean destroyable.

That is what Dean meant.

I honestly believe it wasn't.

I have nothing to do with it.

That's what Dean meant.

That Dean, on that one, I have no reason to do anything on anything anymore.

But Dean has Dean in there.

Did he put out a statement on it?

Apparently not.

Well, he put out the story.

No, but did he react to the story?

Apparently not.

The idea of destruction.

But they've got the thing in it of the Earthman saying, you live across the river, there are the goddamn things in the river.

And then there's that other story that is obviously also a neat story, that, you know, men on the 20th, and we all agreed to go down on the ship or something.

What was that?

I don't know.

You married me in the 21st.

I'm not questioning that.

We all accepted it on the 21st, but I wondered if there was any discussion.

I remember you said you should come in and talk to me, or somebody said you should come in and talk to me.

Well, I think maybe there was a meeting on the 20th when we said that he should give you a complete bill on the thing.

That's quite possible.

Yeah.

But I don't... and the agreement that we would all go to jail or something was never... Well, there's something to him.

There's something he agreed to and he... We need to be able to reflect any more on his trump card and the retreat and the conversation about the benefit.

No, I just don't have time.

I don't think he has.

I doubt that he has to jump right at us.

I don't think he has to jump right at us.

I don

conversation.

Discuss the problem.

It did not end up in any way in the beginning that I said go out and get the money.

No.

Tell me if I'm wrong.

No, you didn't.

You discussed black people, right?

You discussed what's wrong, right?

Yeah.

If it wouldn't have worked, we just couldn't continue down this road.

There are still some that need to be diagnosed.

Of course, we were considering the problem.

No, not really.

You were running out of strength.

That's the way I look at it.

Oh, that's true.

You were running out of strength.

Steve were.

We're all in it.

You're asking his recommendations.

Do you recommend this?

Do you recommend that?

That turns out to be the trump card.

I have the good fortune at least of having told the viewers.

Which is good.

Huh?

Which is good.

Yeah.

And then, and then it feels, I guess curious to those who don't have any problem with it.

It's about this recorder business.

I mentioned that to Ron.

Oh, correct.

I have a recorder in a conversation in here.

Yeah, that's it.

Yeah.

Obviously there's a possibility that it's so remote as to be really beyond.

Both of we have one consideration.

Both of we have one and it would be to put it on the journey to destruction.

Yeah.

I thought it would be, it would pose some problems, no question.

But I think we could get, I can explain what you're trying to do.

Move all the water to stop that being put out.

And that's a hell of a load to take out of it.

And, you know, he didn't come in for that purpose.

That's why I don't think even...

If he were capable of coming in here with a tape recorder to have a meeting with you and record it, that wouldn't have been the meeting he would have decided to do that in.

Because that wasn't, that whole, his approach to that meeting was not, was not for that purpose.

He intended to do the talking.

He didn't expect you to do the talking.

He had nothing, nothing to gain from, from being recorded.

Was there other times when he might have had things he wanted to get my reaction?

Some buzz or something, yeah.

Uh-huh.

But he wasn't working in that direction at that time.

That's true.

He just barely started to worry about himself at that point.

It was the first glimmer of a, of a, that where he was beginning to, he might be in trouble.

Can we ask a couple questions, sir?

I'm going to go to a sound game.

Hey, sorry.

Did you do your, uh, is Henry going to be able to, uh, his question?

Yeah.

But he doesn't have to do it.

But I asked him.

I did a movie on grades, very important so that he doesn't have to

You mean he can't object to see my making of the National Gallery?

We haven't had it.

I don't want to put felt in there.

So I want to get my new man in.

Yeah.

Oh, Ruffalo.

What about my green idea of calling it?

Well, I'll call it at that.

And, uh, what word is it?

It's, uh... Charlie Ryan.

Oh, Jesus.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

I don't know.

If you do it, it might not be bad.

If you get the political, Rodgers, or Bill Rodgers, that would be superb.

That would be...

Nixon & Haldeman on Watergate and John W. Dean

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on April 27, 1973

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