916–11

Conversation No. 916-11

Date: May 11, 1973
Time: 9:19 am - 10:10 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

Haig’s schedule

-Breakfast


Watergate
-President’s conversation with Ronald L. Ziegler, May 11

-Indictments of Maurice H. Stans and John N. Mitchell

-House of Representatives

-Vote

-Defense spending

-White House actions, May 10

-Press coverage


Henry A. Kissinger

-Mood


William P. Rogers

-Duration in office

-Soviet Summit

-Relationship with Kissinger

-Possible replacement as Secretary of State

-Kissinger

-John B. Connally


Kissinger

-Forthcoming meeting with President

-Conversation with Haig

-Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War
-Negotiations
-Impact of Soviet Union, Europe
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. August-2012)

Conversation No. 916-11 (cont’d)

-Public Relations [PR]
-Accomplishments
-Kissinger’s role
-Great Britain
-Leaks
-Compared to Rogers, State Department
-Rogers’s support

-Tenure in office

-Soviet Summit

-Rogers

-Cambodia

-Article 20 [Vietnam peace agreement]

-Statement to Congress

-Forthcoming meeting with Le Duc Tho

Cambodia
-Vote in Congress
-Defense spending

President’s schedule
-Kissinger
-Rogers

Kissinger
-Mood
-Possible resignation
-President’s response

-Motives

-President’s recording of conversations


White House taping system
-Extent
-Oval Office, Camp David, Lincoln Sitting Room, Executive Office Building
[EOB] and telephone calls
-Possible effect on Kissinger

Haig’s conversation with Kissinger
 -15-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. August-2012)

Conversation No. 916-11 (cont’d)


Watergate
-Wiretaps
-Mitchell, Stans

Kissinger
-Compared to President, Haig
-President’s opinion
-Possible resignation
-Jewishness
-Possible removal from office

Connally
-Possible role as Secretary of State
-Meeting with Roy L. Ash, May 10
-Schedule
-Possible trip to Soviet Union

-Possible role in White House


Kissinger
-Role in White House
-Compared to Connally

-Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War

-Soviet Summit preparation

-Possible position as Secretary of State

-Compared with Connally

-European summit

-Relations with Israel

-Views on Middle East

-Possible regional war

-Joseph J. Sisco


Foreign relations
-Israel
-Kissinger

-Meeting with Mohammed Hafiz Ismail

-US strategy

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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. August-2012)

Conversation No. 916-11 (cont’d)


Kissinger
-Possible departure from office
-Connally
-Perception of White House viability
“Georgetown friends”
-Views on departures of H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman
-Role in White House
-Compared with Connally
-White House tapes
-Release

White House taping system
-President’s knowledge
-Haldeman’s departure

-Haig’s possible conversation with Kissinger

-Extent of system

-Cabinet Room

-President’s knowledge

-Possible use

-Possible effects of release

-Lyndon B. Johnson’s system

-Recording of present conversation

-Extent

-Cabinet Room, EOB, Lincoln Sitting Room, telephone calls
-Haig’s opinion

Kissinger
-Possible response
-Possible future role
-Timing

-Soviet Summit


Connally
-Secretary of State

-White House position

-Compared to Kissinger

 -17-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. August-2012)

Conversation No. 916-11 (cont’d)

-Advocacy
-Foreign relations

-Europe

-Japan

-Soviet Union

-People’s Republic of China [PRC]

-Compared to Kissinger

Haig’s schedule

Kissinger
-Forthcoming meeting with President
-Negotiations with Soviet Union [?]

Elliot L. Richardson
-Special Prosecutor
-Conversation with Haig, May 10
-Possible conversation with the President
-Confirmation

President’s schedule
-Speech on election reform
-Ziegler
-Bipartisan congressional leaders

Watergate
-J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr.
-Conversation with John C. Stennis
-Samuel J. Ervin, Jr.
-Herman Talmadge’s forthcoming conversation with Ervin
-Elliot L. Richardson’s forthcoming conversation with Samuel Dash
-Special Prosecutor

-Warren E. Hearnes

-Haig’s forthcoming call to Richardson

-Haig’s phone conversation with William P. Rogers

-Warren E. Burger

-Senate hearings

 -18-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. August-2012)

Conversation No. 916-11 (cont’d)

-John McClellan, Howard H. Baker, Jr., and Talmadge
-Stennis
-Stennis’s views
-Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]

-William C. Sullivan

-William D. Ruckelshaus

-W. Mark Felt

-Statements concerning wiretaps
-Leaks
-New York Times information
-Wiretaps
-Morton Halperin
-Conversation with Daniel Ellsberg, 1970
-President’ culpability


*****************************************************************


BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 9

[Privacy]

[Duration: 9 s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 9

*****************************************************************


Watergate

-Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]

-Wiretaps

-Ehrlichman

-Telephone call to Robert C. Mardian regarding records
-Destruction of tapes
-Possible effect on Ellsberg case
-Halperin
-Ellsberg
-Ehrlichman
 -19-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. August-2012)

Conversation No. 916-11 (cont’d)

-Felt

-Richardson’s view on New York Times leak

-Motives regarding Sullivan

-Appointment of director
-Wiretaps
-Records in White House
-Buzhardt’s knowledge
-Melvin R. Laird

-Ehrlichman

-Conversation with the President regarding records

-Ellsberg and Halperin

-Haig’s forthcoming conversation with Buzhardt

-Numbers of newsmen

-Possible White House response

-J. Edgar Hoover’s authorization of taps
-National Security Council [NSC] leaks

-Firings

-Halperin

-Daniel I. Davidson

-Records

-Joseph C. Kraft

-Henry Brandon

-Possible release of wiretaps

-Sullivan’s forthcoming testimony, May 11

-Sullivan’s conversation with Haig

-Hoover

-NSC

-John N. Mitchell’s role

-John F. Kennedy-Ramsay W. Clark directive

-White House response

-Necessity

-President’s role

-J. Edgar Hoover’s role

-Brandon

-Necessity

-Sullivan’s forthcoming testimony

-Richardson’s confirmation
 -20-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. August-2012)

Conversation No. 916-11 (cont’d)

-Richardson’s views

-Egil (“Bud”) Krogh, Jr.

-Ellsberg

-Halperin

-Ellsberg

Richardson

-Confirmation

-Sullivan
-Forthcoming testimony
-Telephone conversation with Ruckelshaus
-Forthcoming testimony
-Leaks
-Hoover
-Memoranda on wiretaps
-Kissinger
-Ehrlichman
-NSC
-Wiretaps

-Supreme Court decision

-E. Howard Hunt, Jr.

-Ehrlichman’s comments


*****************************************************************


BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 11

[Law enforcement]

[Duration: 10 s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 11

*****************************************************************


Watergate

-Hunt

-Second-story jobs

 -21-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. August-2012)

Conversation No. 916-11 (cont’d)

-Brookings Institute and Georgetown
-Wiretaps

-Hunt

-Supreme Court decision

-Timing regarding India-Pakistan conflict
-Haig’s possible meeting with Buzhardt
-Ziegler’s possible statement
-FBI
-Felt
-Leak to New York Times
-Richardson and Sullivan
-Time magazine
-Possible director
-Unnamed law school dean
-Frank Connally [?]
-Sullivan
-Knowledge
-Johnson 1968 wiretapping
-View of Felt
-Hoover’s view
-Forthcoming testimony
-Wiretaps
-Possible press coverage
-Wiretaps

-President’s conversation with Hoover

-Mitchell’s role

-Sullivan’s forthcoming testimony

-Haig’s conversation with Sullivan
-Ellsberg
-Ehrlichman’s memory
-Halperin’s conversation with Ellsberg


*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 8
[Privacy]
 -22-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. August-2012)

Conversation No. 916-11 (cont’d)

[Duration: 5s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 8

*****************************************************************


Watergate

-Richardson

-Possible withdrawal of nomination

-John A. McCone

-Wiretaps

-Mitchell’s role

-Timing

-NSC
-Ellsberg case
-Haig’s conversation with Richardson


*****************************************************************


BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 12

[Statute]

[Duration: 15 s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 12

*****************************************************************


FBI Director
-Ruckelshaus
-Term in office
-Former employee who worked for Committee to Re-elect the President [CRP] in
1972
-John Edward Kusic [?]
-Cleveland
 -23-

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. August-2012)

Conversation No. 916-11 (cont’d)

-Qualifications

-Timing of appointment

-Sullivan

-Ruckelshaus

-Felt

-Leak to New York Times

-Ellsberg case


Federal bureaucracy
-Dangers
-Political views
-Support for President

-Effect on transition

-State Department

-Problems

-Haig’s opinion

-Kissinger and Connally

-Rogers


President’s schedule
-Kissinger

Watergate
-Sullivan
-Activities
-Ruckelshaus
-Forthcoming testimony regarding wiretaps

-Mardian

-Ehrlichman

-Destruction of tapes and memos

-Kissinger

-Timing

-Wiretaps

-India-Pakistan leak

-Hunt

-Ehrlichman

-NSC
 -24-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. August-2012)

Conversation No. 916-11 (cont’d)

-Lie detector tests during leak investigation


*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 13

[Statute]

[Duration: 34 s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 13

*****************************************************************


Watergate

-Wiretaps

-Haig’s forthcoming conversation with Buzhardt

-Ehrlichman
-Motives
-Contrasted with previous administrations
-Lawrence M. Higby’s conversation with Tod R. Hullin
-Haig’s conversation with Richardson
-Kissinger
-Mitchell
-Extent
-National security
-Leaks
-Administration’s image
-Sullivan’s forthcoming testimony
-National security

Haig left at 10:10 am.
 -25-


NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM


Tape Subject Log

(rev. August-2012)