Washington D.C. June 3, 2005 - There are few references
in the surreptitiously recorded Nixon Tapes to W. Mark Felt, the
former high-level FBI official recently unmasked as "Deep
Throat," but the tapes are full of examples of the White
House's relationship with the FBI and Nixon's thinking about a
successor for J. Edgar Hoover. This sampling of tapes and transcripts,
made available by the National Security Archive, shows the White
House reaction to the death of Hoover, the transition to new management
at the Bureau, and the seeds of bureaucratic tensions that set
the stage for Felt's "Deep Throat" leaks of information
to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward.
In the first conversation (717-10: audio
- transcript), just hours
after Hoover's death, President Nixon, Press Secretary Ronald
Ziegler, and Chief of Staff, H. R. "Bob" Haldeman discuss
the details of Hoover's death, the press reaction, and possible
venues for a memorial service. Nixon was determined to have Hoover
buried at Arlington National Cemetary and to conduct a large memorial
service--contrary to the FBI director's wishes. Nixon told Haldeman,
"By God, go out there and put a torch on the boy." Playing
to Nixon's sentiments and alluding to Hoover's conflict with Robert
Kennedy, Haldeman opines "The last thing he'd want is to
be anywhere near Bobby Kennedy."
After more discussion on the funeral arrangements Haldeman departs,
and the president's assistant, Alexander Haig, brings news that
National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger's negotiations with
the North Vietnamese were the "least productive on record."
Nixon confides in Haig that he was critical of Kissinger's approach
to negotiations, and he verbally weighs options and scenarios.
The second conversation (717-19: audio
- transcript) shows Nixon
and Haldeman busy at work setting the stage for Hoover's funeral.
Nixon comes across as a micromanager, turning Hoover's funeral
into a media event with political considerations, such as television
shots, at the forefront. He also makes it plain that he would
have preferred that Hoover had left the scene earlier so that
he would have been able to appoint his own FBI director, implicitly
someone who would have been more amenable to White House direction.
The remainder of the transcript deals with other monumental events
of May 1972, such as the upcoming Moscow summit, Kissinger's unsuccessful
negotiations with North Vietnamese representative Le Duc Tho,
and the decision to mine Haiphong Harbor and bomb Hanoi.
After Hoover's funeral on May 4, 1972, Nixon invited the acting
FBI director, L. Patrick Gray III and his wife to the Oval Office.
In the third conversation (719-12: audio
- transcript), Nixon
discusses the selection process for Hoover's successor. Nixon
tells the Gray that "the house cleaning [at the FBI] is going
to come, but it should not come now because we can't have any
flaps about that now." Nixon also characterizes Hoover as
his "closest personal friend in public life," and advises
Gray on how to portray his relationship with the president and
deal with the media. Interestingly, Gray tells Nixon that after
his first meeting with senior FBI officials, Mark Felt had called
him to say, "That was a magnificent job you did." Nixon
is restrained in the presence of Mrs. Gray, avoiding the rough
language that often characterized his White House conversation.
The Nixon Tapes capture the moment when President Nixon learned
that Mark Felt was leaking information to the press, although
the conversation (370-09: audio - transcript)
does not explicitly reference Felt with the Watergate
break-in or cover-up. On Oct. 19, 1972, White House Chief of Staff
H.R. "Bob" Haldeman informed the president that a confidential
source at fingered Felt as a source of leaks. Nixon was incredulous,
and asked: "Now why the hell would he do that?" Haldeman
could not ascertain a reason. Both the president and the chief
of staff weighed the option of whether or not to inform Acting
FBI Director L. Patrick Gray that Felt was a potential problem
in light of preserving their confidential source. They also ponder
how to deal with Felt and whether Felt was Jewish or Catholic.
(Thanks to the Presidential
Recordings Program at UVA's Miller Center for its help on
this transcript.)
Following Patrick Gray's resignation as Director of the FBI,
after a short and tumultuous tenure, President Nixon discussed
with Attorney General Richard Kleindienst the choice of William
Ruckelhaus as a short-term successor (45-34: audio
- transcript). Nixon's
response to Kleindienst's recommendation of Mark Felt as Acting
FBI Director is noteworthy because the president rejected Felt
out of hand and replied: "I don't want him. I can't have
him…I want a fellow in there that is not part of the old
guard, and that has not had part of that infighting in there."
More tapes and transcripts on the succession
at the FBI and White House-FBI conflict will appear in the coming
days.
Please note: These transcripts are works-in-progress;
corrections and comments are welcome.
Richard A. Moss <rickmoss@gwu.edu>
is a graduate student in history at George Washington University.
Recordings
and Transcripts
Note: The following transcripts were
prepared by Richard A. Moss.
Note: The transcripts are in PDF format.
You will need to download and install the free Adobe
Acrobat Reader to view.
Recording
1: Conversation Number 717-10, 2 May 1972, time:
Unknown after 11:19-1140 a.m.
Location: Oval Office
Participants: Nixon, Ziegler, Haldeman, Butterfield, Haig
(MP3 - 19.5 MB)
Transcript - Tape
log
Recording
2: Conversation Number 717-19, 2 May 1972, time:
12:08-12:42 p.m.
Location; Oval House
Participants: Nixon, Haldeman, Bull
(MP3 - 27 MB)
Transcript - Tape
log
Recording
3: Conversation number 719-12, 4 May 1972, time:
12:03 p.m.-12:22 p.m.
Location: Oval Office
Participants: Nixon, Mr. and Mrs. L. Patrick Gray
(MP3 - 13.5 MB)
Transcript - Tape
log
Recording
4: Conversation Number 24-116, 15 May 1972, time:
8:15-8:18 p.m.
Location:
White House telephone
Participants: Nixon, Felt
(MP3 - 4.2 MB)
Transcript - Tape
log
This
taped telephone call is the only recorded conversation between
Felt and Nixon, where the former briefs the president on the attempted
assassination of George Wallace. Nixon expresses interest in having
Bremer handled roughly.
Recording
5: Conversation Number 370-09, 19 October 1972, time:
1:48 pm - 4:15 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
Participants: Nixon, Ziegler, Haldeman, Butterfield, Haig
(MP3 - 9.7 MB)
Transcript - Tape
log
(Special
thanks to the Presidential
Recordings Program at UVA's Miller Center for its help on
this transcript)
Recording
6: Conversation Number 865-14, 28 February 1973, time:
9:12 am - 10:23 am
Audio clips: Part 1
(MP3 - 4.1 MB) - Part 2
(MP3 - 960 KB)
(Note: This recording is split into two parts. Part 1 ends on
page 30 of the transcript. Part 2 picks up on page 37.)
Location: Unknown
Participants: Nixon, Dean
(MP3 - 5 MB)
Transcript (NOTE: This
transcript was prepared by the National Archives and Records Administration)
Recording
7: Conversation Number 45-34, 27 April 1973, time:
4:14 pm - 4:16 pm
Location: White House telephone
Participants: Nixon, Kleindienst
(MP3 - 9.7 MB)
Transcript - Tape
log
Recording
8: Conversation Number 165-10 excerpt, May 12, 1973,
time: 10:11 - 10:49 a.m.
Location: Camp David Telephone
Participants: Nixon, Haig
(MP3 - 3.5 MB)
Transcript
Additional
White House Telephone Recordings
Note: The following White House
telephone conversations do not yet have prepared transcripts.
However, brief descriptions are provided below.
Recording
9: Conversation 24-107, 15 May 1972, time: 7:37-7:42
p.m.
Location: White House telephone
Participants: Ehrlichman and Nixon
Tape log
Ehrlichman
reports to Nixon the burgeoning investigation of Arthur Bremer
for the attempted assassination of presidential candidate George
Wallace. They agree that Mark Felt would be the point man for
the investigation and report to the White House directly.
Recording
10:
Conversation 24-109, 15 May 1972, time: unknown between 7:42 and
7:57 p.m.
Location: White House telephone
Participants: Colson, Felt, and White House operator
Tape log
During this
conversation, Felt spoke with Colson on the Bremer investigation.