Hi, My memory is not what it used to be. Can anyone summarize what the Pentagon Tapes told us and what the Nixon tapes told us insofar as any lies Nixon told us. Thanks,
All I remember from the transcripts of the Nixon tapes was that it was replete with the term “expletive deleted.” The conversations went something like this: “What do they (expletive deleted) want from me? Why the (expletive deleted) am I being asked these (expletive deleted) questions? Don’t they know that this is a (expletive deleted) distance education forum? If they have a (expletive deleted) degree, shouldn’t they know how to do their own (expletive deleted) research? What? (expletive deleted) It’s not a real (expletive deleted) degree? (expletive deleted), that explains it!” Gus Sainz http://collegedegrees.tripod.com
There were discussions between Nixon, John Dean (White House counsel), and others about paying off E. Howard Hunt (one of the Watergate Hotel burglars), who was blackmailing them ($200K or thereabout). There were also discussions about the need for up to $1 million that was needed for containment, how to obtain the money and how to launder the money. There was also talk about the ramafications of clemency or pardon for some (Dean or Hunt?). This all was considered to be obstruction of justice, i.e., a cover-up (as opposed to envolvment in the burglary). Of course, they were all probably lying to their tapes.
My memory is the tapes demonstrated that Pres. Nixon knew about the breakin of the Watergate, before the fact. The tapes also showed that the "coverup" was something he participated in after the fact. There was a great portion of the tape where he was offered a couple of choices such as paying someone to be quiet, or trying to intimidate the person and he responded, ...we could do "that", but "it" would be wrong... I wonder if portions of the transcripts are online? all the best!
I don't think there is any indication that Nixon knew about the break-in before it happened. When the Washington Post published the book containing the transcripts (I have a copy), they included various commentaries. In their commentary, Woodward and Bernstein--no friends of Nixon--do not conclude that Nixon knew about it in advance; they aimed nearly all of their analysis towards the cover up. They concluded that Nixon was trying to manage the political damage as well as cap the information flow and in both goals obstructed justice. The other commentaries were of a similar nature. There was one weak connection that Woodward and Bernstein made regarding the possibility of earlier knowledge by Nixon. They pointed out the Nixon frequently returned to the topic of avoiding "criminal liability" for the White House, but this seemed related to the idea discussed at length between Nixon and Dean about the legality and political fallout of clemency for the White House staff involved in the actual burglary. (I note also that when Nixon wanted the refer to himself in the third person, he frequently said "the Presidency" rather than "the White House.") Based on the lack of journalistic effort to make the case in print that Nixon knew of the break-in in advance, I don't think one can reasonably conclude otherwise. There was also a lengthy conversation on the tape between Nixon and Dean (which were generally very candid) in which Nixon clearly asserted that he was not involved in the break-in and he was speculating about whether the Democrats really believed he was involved or were just taking advantage of the situation. Nixon and Dean each had their own agendas, so it is difficult to interpret such conversations (whether seemingly favoring or damaging to Nixon), especially when the context is unclear.
My recollection agrees. He was not aware of the specific activities of the "Department of Dirty Tricks". However, he was apparently fully aware of the existence and the general activities.
Thanks Bill % Bill. Your memories seem sounder on the topic of Nixon than mine is. I think I've heard too many interviews of John Dean speculating about "...what the president knew...and when did he know it...?" I recall that John Dean said that everytime he raised a topic about the "breakin", the president already seemed to know. However, that does not necessarily reflect words that can be heard on tape, but Dean's subjective interpretation of the meetings. Mr. Nixon demonstrated on the tapes that he knew words from all socioeconomic levels. I wonder if he borrowed any from Harry Truman? All the best!
