Nixon & Haig on Watergate and Special Prosecutor

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Well, what's new today?

We've had a little activity, uh...

I don't know what the numbers are on the boxes, but we still just haven't opened it yet.

We may do it this morning, very, very soon.

We've looked very hard at, uh, Elliot's situation and, uh, maybe another week or ten days.

He's probably going to get through.

But the possibility wouldn't.

You're going to make me confirm?

There is a possibility.

Well, I think we ought to think very hard about

I mean, the kind of prosecutor for...

It might be a good, uh... Justice back...

I don't think that'll help, but... That's right, and... And have you been doing all that?

I'm not so sure you've been so bad.

I mean, you're gonna lie to yourself.

You gotta pay for the service.

I told you he did that thing yesterday.

He wants me to do that.

That is... That is highly suspicious.

I'm sorry.

He went out of his way to get the White House, to get the White House.

And it's not his fault.

Why don't we, uh, why don't we just, uh, some of you get to work on it.

Why don't we just name, uh, I name it Billings.

Just name it Billings.

You've made a decision that the delays and the uncertainties and the kind of public innuendo associated with this, and you want to get on to finding the facts and

Why don't we do this?

Why don't we let Elliott give us the recommendation?

In other words, just change the directive that the Department of Justice will cooperate.

He wouldn't leave Elliott in defense now.

No.

No, that would unplug his appointment with the Attorney General very quickly.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Let me say this.

uh, who's there, is Bazaar, or the town's, and so forth, checking the votes, I think, the votes of the Congress and so on.

Yes, I, uh, Bazaar told me this morning that, uh, he thinks he'll get through, but, uh, uh, it's not going to be very quick.

It, uh, it could be that, uh, he'd get a surprise and he wouldn't get through.

How can we, how can we find a tactic to get into that prosphere, or social prosphere, or I don't know where?

Well, what I'm doing right now is... Let's find a way to get a different language, or anything, in other words.

So, I'll just do it.

And name it Tyler, and if he's a good man, name him.

I don't care who Christ does that, I really don't care.

Well, if they have a good story, a good guy, why do you need that kind of a good guy?

That's right.

We're looking to see if any of it will, just as I've been putting out, say...

Okay.

If it is possible, if it's a managed initiative, we'll be upon it.

Yeah.

So I'm very interested in the response.

Yeah, because of our desire to send some work, not just to tell Elliot, look, there's the way we've been in the Department of Justice will be directed to cooperate.

You know, I added a few of the delays and

why don't you just talk to her and let's just do this or I think you're the one to do it and say look I agree to really get down to the culture that maybe that isn't the best thing to do rather than the lady dragging around and so forth he's still a good man to be a turn down oh absolutely but you could say we've got to get the initiative back here

And why don't you give the, why don't we consider you giving the president the name you think it should be?

And we just, instead of a procedure where we name, or he names the special prosecutor, that would be a recommendation, that it be an independent prosecutor.

And, you know what I mean?

So he gets in a place of a signature, but that we ought to get the issue.

I wonder if you could talk to him along those lines.

But I really think it was bizarre.

Well, you and Bizarre first get a little game plan and talk to Elliot.

But let's move fast on it.

Because I am inclined to do what I am inclined to do.

We don't need anything by having Elliot in there and saying, gosh, I think these are kind of frustrating, but it would be better than Elliot.

I know, Chris.

That is a pretty, pretty shabby kind of dating trick.

Pretty shabby.

Yes, it could.

It's only dating that's expensive.

I thought so.

Yeah, the idea of, God, we were trying to interfere with the world we had.

But my goodness, we did it with the most... You just seemed to be grateful to get the name, didn't you?

We were going all the way to, you know, I ain't no man.

I'm very cautious about it.

Lay was even worse.

He just said, here's the name, sir.

with all kinds of candidates, and you know, I'm thinking we don't want to just give you some ideas, we know you're looking for them in the present, excuse me, totally independent.

You know, we need to be able to let you keep your guard up.

Yeah.

So, let me say that the independent prosecutor, Elliot, makes such a concern that he doesn't want to be attorney general.

It's pretty rough.

No, I'll get back to you.

He's not about to walk out of here.

In fact, he was indicative of that.

His greatest concern when we were in the house especially was that the door would be closed.

I don't want him back in the house.

But this is what we plan for.

I think he'll stay just like that.

All right, let's get a new game plan.

Make it an independent prosecutor.

I just see we have to do it.

I want to check out all the legal indications of it.

That's the single problem, and that's what we're doing now before we leave.

I mean, she had that very hard thing this morning.

But I think it would take everybody back.

Yeah.

I've talked to Anders to prepare your speech for it.

Well, uh, because that Vietnam Party might want to say it as an option.

They might want to take on the, uh, the, uh, the responsible conventional regime.

It would go in the structure of peace, and the Congress must work on it.

but we're going to have to do that for you.

Yes, I mean, I have a copy that they had told us, which told us that I thought first, uh, I said that it would be good for a company to have a book which told us about economic things, and they talked about the, uh, the boat.

the moment of energy and then of course the view of you and Ash about the you know the various things that you know that we would like to do together and I think there's a moment that we'd like to help each other and then finally

His Majesty is on his way now.

Yes, yes.

And then I would see him at 5 o'clock and say that I'd like to meet him.

He doesn't call me and ask if he could see Ash and himself at 4.

5?

And I think it would be well for us to... You run by at 4 and then sit presently at 5.

And I'd like to see him first with Ash and you together and then see him alone at 5.

Now let me make the call, my son.

Now, right now, well, Eddie's all upset because his lover, Joe Crack, is spurting him this morning.

And he, you know, is reading his text.

Oh, God, now Joe Crack is going to be, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh.

We did it.

Nixon & Haig on Watergate and Special Prosecutor

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on May 15, 1973

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