The Last of the President's Men
Page 21
21,717
1975
10,205
27
6
681
10,918
Total
2,136,380
2,852,701
749,776
472,313
863
64,445
6,276,477
FIGURE 4: Totals (Tonnage) by Country and by Year Based on CACTA/SEADAB Database.
I reached Kissinger: Interview with Henry Kissinger, June 29, 2015.
In an entry for Saturday, January 1, 1972: H.R. Haldeman, The Haldeman Diaries (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1994), p. 391.
CHAPTER 19
The next month, February 1972: Memo from Henry Kissinger to Melvin Laird, Subject: Additional Authorities for Southeast Asia, February 4, 1972, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Vol. VIII, Vietnam, January–October 1972, Document 15, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v08/d15.
Nixon was very worried: OVAL 228-1; November 20, 1972; White House Tapes, http://www.nixontapes.org.
On May 9, 1972, Nixon dictated: Memo from President Nixon to Henry Kissinger, May 9, 1972. See here in Appendix.
The seven paragraphs that Nixon uses: Richard Nixon, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1978), pp. 606–7.
When the State Department declassified: Memo from President Nixon to Henry Kissinger, May 9, 1972, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Vol. VIII, Vietnam, January–October 1972, Document 139, footnote 1, http://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v08/d139#fn1.
In his 2015 book: Ken Hughes, Fatal Politics (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015).
It stated that 66 percent: Ibid., pp. 55–56; and David R. Derge, Vice President and Dean of Indiana University, to President Nixon, “The Public Appraises the Nixon Administration and Key Issues (with Particular Emphasis on Vietnam),” 11 August 1969, “E.O.B. Office Desk—August 10, 1974” folder, Box 185, President’s Personal File, Materials Removed from President’s Desk, 1969–74 [EOB office desk . . . Administration] to [Blank stationery– . . . August 9, 1974], Nixon Library.
Nixon would later claim: Richard Nixon, No More Vietnams (New York: Arbor House, 1985), p. 149.
The Official History of the People’s Army: Merle L. Pribbenow, trans., Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the People’s Army of Vietnam, 1954–1975 (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2002), p. 301, quoted in Hughes, Fatal Politics, p. 63.
According to a September 8, 1972, tape recording: OVAL 773-12; September 8, 1972; White House Tapes; http://www.nixontapes.org.
Nixon wrote that his popularity in 1972: James Mann, The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War (New York: Viking, 2009), p. 233.
According to the tape of an October 6, 1972, meeting: OVAL 793-6; October 6, 1973; White House Tapes; Presidential Recordings Digital Edition, Miller Center, University of Virginia, http://prde.upress.virginia.edu/conversations/4006749; and Hughes, Fatal Politics, pp. 88–97.
“I see those poor North Vietnamese kids”: EOB 366-6; October 12, 1972; White House Tapes; http://www.nixontapes.org; and Hughes, Fatal Politics, pp. 103–6.
“We’re not going to lose. Haha.”: CDST 149-14; October 15, 1972; White House Tapes; http://www.nixontapes.org; and Hughes, Fatal Politics, p. 107.
“May 8 was the acid test”: OVAL 799-9; October 16, 1972; White House Tapes; http://www.nixontapes.org; and Hughes, Fatal Politics, p. 109.
CHAPTER 20
For example, Kissinger: Backchannel message from Henry Kissinger to Al Haig, October 22, 1972, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Vol. IX, Vietnam, October 1972–January 1973, Document 43, http://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v09/d43.
“I did not feel that I could”: Richard Nixon, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1978), p. 701.
On the very next page: Ibid., p. 702.
“I immediately sent a message”: Ibid.
In his memoir, Kissinger also does not mention: Henry Kissinger, White House Years (Boston: Little, Brown, 1979), p. 1388.
“Here you would add orally”: Backchannel message from Henry Kissinger to Al Haig, October 22, 1972, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Vol. IX, Vietnam, October 1972–January 1973, Document 43, http://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v09/d43.
It was among more than 4,000 pages: See Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, United States Department of State Office of the Historian, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v06.
The next day, Monday, October 23: Kissinger, White House Years, p. 1390.
But a five-page TOP SECRET: Memo from Henry Kissinger, Subject: Dr. Kissinger’s Meeting with President Thieu, October 23, 1972. See here in Appendix.
“Outrageous as Thieu’s conduct had been”: Henry Kissinger, White House Years, p. 1387.
The North called this “extermination bombing”: Nixon, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon, p. 741.
“they did not require”: Ibid.
“This glorious victory in our initial battle”: Merle L. Pribbenow, trans., Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the People’s Army of Vietnam, 1954-1975 (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2002), p. 320.
“The enemy’s massive strategic offensive”: Ibid., p. 327.
In the midst of the new bombing: Nixon, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon, p. 737.
CHAPTER 21
On April 8, 1972, Nixon dictated: Memo from President Nixon to John Ehrlichman, April 8, 1972.
It was a cabinet dinner at Camp David: See the President’s Daily Diary for August 8, 1972, http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/virtuallibrary/documents/dailydiary.php.
A tape of a discussion Nixon had with Butterfield: OVAL 763-18; August 7, 1972; White House Tapes; http://www.nixontapes.org.
That afternoon he spent another 10 minutes: OVAL 763-25; August 7, 1972; White House Tapes; http://www.nixontapes.org.
A 17-page transcript: Richard Nixon, “Remarks of the President at a Cabinet Dinner at Camp David,” August 8, 1972.
On the first page of that day’s summary: News summary for October 25, 1972. See here in the Appendix.
CHAPTER 22
That day Butterfield and all appointees: Memo from H.R. Haldeman to Alexander Butterfield, Subject: Future Plans, November 7, 1972. See here in Appendix.
In his memoir, Kissinger calls: Henry Kissinger, White House Years (Boston: Little, Brown, 1979), p. 1407.
Haldeman asked for “a basic book”: Memo from H.R. Haldeman to Alexander Butterfield, Subject: Future Plans, November 7, 1972. See here in Appendix.
He compiled a 16-page memo: Undated, untitled memo by Alexander Butterfield describing his duties and responsibilities at the White House.
On November 10, Butterfield dictated: Memo from Alexander Butterfield to H.R. Haldeman, November 10, 1972. See here in Appendix.
Hays would later become famous: Marian Clark and Rudy Mara, “Closed Session Romance on the Hill,” Washington Post, May 23, 1976, p. A1.
A full 39 years later Butterfield wrote: Alexander Butterfield, Unpublished book draft.
He wrote, “As I excused myself”: Ibid.
“I want control of these”: OVAL 836-6; January 9, 1973; White House Tapes; Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Yorba Linda, California.
CHAPTER 23
He called me to his office: Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, All the President’s Men (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1974), pp. 246–49.
Bernstein and I had written about: Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, “Bug Suspect Got Campaign Funds,” Washington Post, August 1, 1972, p. A1.
At the trial, Sirica asked: James Robenalt, January 1973: Watergate, Roe v. Wade, Vietnam, and the Month That Changed America Forever (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2015), p. 109.
“I have not been satisfied”: Bernstein and Woodward, All
the President’s Men, p. 241.
In March, James McCord: Ibid., pp. 275–76.
By the end of April: Lee Byrd, “Mitchell Testifies to ‘White House Horrors,’ ” Associated Press, July 12, 1973.
After the last day of Dean’s testimony: James M. Naughten, “Dean Ends Testimony, Story Unshaken; 3 Senators Hint They Want Nixon Reply,” New York Times, June 29, 1973, p. A1.
“The most interesting thing that happened”: Bernstein and Woodward, All the President’s Men, p. 331.
“There was, however, one unchecked entry”: Ibid., p. 330.
Even before Dean’s testimony: Ibid.
“The staff member said the committee”: Ibid.
When I interviewed Charlotte: Interview with Charlotte and Alexander Butterfield, December 8, 2014.
CHAPTER 24
In an account of the session written in 1989: Scott Armstrong, “Friday the Thirteenth,” The Journal of American History, Vol. 75, No. 4 (March 1989), pp. 1234–44, and interviews with Scott Armstrong, August 19–21, 2015.
In his version for the 1989 history journal: Donald G. Sanders, “Watergate Reminiscences,” The Journal of American History, Vol. 75, No. 4 (March 1989), pp. 1228–33, http://www.jstor.org/stable/i305670.
CHAPTER 25
He later recalled for the history journal: “Conversations Between Alexander P. Butterfield and David Thelen About the Discovery of the Watergate Tapes,” The Journal of American History, Vol. 75, No. 4 (March 1989), pp. 1245–62, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1908639.
“I was, at times, impatient for the truth”: Ibid.
I noted that Graham Greene: Graham Greene, The Quiet American (New York: Penguin Classics, 2004), p. 205.
Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher: Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals (Mineola: Dover Philosophical Classics, 2005), p. 24.
Here the young protagonist: J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (Boston: Little, Brown, 1991), p. 213.
He wrote in his 1979 spy thriller: John le Carré, Smiley’s People (New York: Penguin, 2011), p. 229.
Much later I came upon: Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 27.
CHAPTER 26
“There is little I don’t remember”: Alexander Butterfield, Unpublished book draft.
It was such a change that Time: “The Nation: The Making of the Newest Nixon,” Time, January 18, 1971. See also Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, The Final Days (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1976), p. 428.
Butterfield felt the meeting: Alexander Butterfield, Unpublished book draft.
The afternoon news had a report: “Mystery Witness Adds Fireworks to Hearings,” Associated Press, July 17, 1973.
Butterfield sat erect, looking hesitant: Video of the first minute and 48 seconds of Butterfield’s July 16, 1973, testimony can be viewed on YouTube courtesy of the Newseum at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeQXopJ5U-Q.
“Wonders of Watergate do not cease”: William Greider, “Wonders of Watergate,” Washington Post, July 17, 1973, p. A1.
During his testimony he was asked: The full text of Butterfield’s testimony is available at The Internet Archive, “Presidential Campaign Activities of 1972, Senate Resolution 60, Watergate and Related Activities,” http://www.archive.org/stream/presidentialcamp05unit/presidentialcamp05unit_djvu.txt. Video is available (with subscription) at NBC Learn Higher Ed, http://highered.nbclearn.com/portal/site/HigherEd/browse?cuecard=66796.
CHAPTER 27
An article in The New York Times: Christopher Lydon, “A Forthright Witness: Alexander Porter Butterfield,” New York Times, July 17 1973.
“I was shocked by this news”: Richard Nixon, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1978), p. 900.
“Tapes—once start”: Ibid., p. 903.
“This was the first I had heard”: Alexander M. Haig, Jr., with Charles McCarry, Inner Circles (New York: Warner Books, 1992), p. 373.
“It never occurred to me”: Ibid., p. 374.
Always the options man, Haig: Ibid., p. 375.
“Destroy the tapes”: Ibid., p. 378.
“Mr. President”: Ibid.
“Al, I’ve thought about this”: Ibid., p. 379.
One immediate consequence, as Haig wrote: Ibid., p. 375.
A year after he disclosed: The full text of Butterfield’s July 2, 1974, testimony before the Judiciary Committee is available at http://Watergate.info/judiciary/BKITOW.pdf.
After the testimony on July 2, 1974: See “The Nation: Dialing Butterfield Hate,” Time, February 10, 1975.
Just 15 days later: Richard Nixon: “Address to the Nation Announcing Decision to Resign the Office of President of the United States,” August 8, 1974. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Wooley, The American Presidency Project, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=4324.
Perspiring, Nixon talked about: Richard Nixon: “Remarks on Departure from the White House,” August 9, 1974. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Wooley, The American Presidency Project, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=4325.
EPILOGUE
“What extraordinary vehicles”: Henry Kissinger, White House Years (Boston: Little, Brown, 1979), p. 1475.
On December 1, 1974: Jim Walters, “92 Killed as Plane Crashes in Virginia,” Associated Press, December 2, 1974.
In July 1975, Fletcher Prouty: “Butterfield Denies He Worked for CIA,” New York Times, July 14, 1975; and Charles B. Seib, “The Prouty-Butterfield Flap,” Washington Post, July 22, 1975.
Charles B. Seib, the ombudsman: Charles B. Seib, “The Prouty-Butterfield Flap,” Washington Post, July 22, 1975.
APPENDIX: DOCUMENTS
1: The February 19, 1969, memo Butterfield prepared for Nixon on the Virgin Islands legislature. (See here.)
2: The June 19, 1969, memo Butterfield wrote for the president detailing the black population in America. (See here.)
3: Butterfield’s handwritten notes from November 27, 1969, Nixon’s instruction on how to counter the public fallout from the My Lai incident. (See here.)
4: A December 17, 1969, memo Butterfield wrote to update Nixon on the My Lai massacre in Vietnam and two of those who were responsible for exposing it—Ronald Ridenhour and Seymour Hersh. (See here.)
5: A January 14, 1970, memo from Haldeman asking Butterfield to “check to find out who the woman is in the EOB who has the two Kennedy pictures.” (See here.)
6: Butterfield’s January 16, 1970, response to Haldeman detailing his actions on Nixon’s “picture policy.” (See here.)
7: Butterfield’s January 16, 1970, memo to Nixon advising him of the “Sanitization of the EOB”—the removal of photographs of President John F. Kennedy from offices in the Executive Office Building and the investigation of the White House support staff. (See here.)
8: A November 13, 1970, memo to Butterfield on White House church services in which Haldeman writes, “The basic purpose will be to use it as a political opportunity.” (See here.)
9: Haldeman’s November 23, 1970, memo informing Butterfield that White House church services should be used “as an opportunity to be nice to our enemies.” (See here.)
10: An August 10, 1971, memo from Haldeman barring the religion editor of The New York Times from attending worship services at the White House. (See here.)
11: A memo to Butterfield from Haldeman on August 19, 1971, stressing that “the New York Times and New York Post must never be invited to these services.” (See here.)
12: A February 22, 1971, memo from Haldeman telling Butterfield to “hold up on Arthur Burns on any social invitations, just keep him off the list for a little while.” (See here.)
13: Butterfield’s undated handwritten notes on his yellow legal pad regarding Nixon’s concerns about Kissinger’s behavior. (See here.)
14: A February 9, 1971, memo establishing a new seating policy for Henry Kissinger at state dinners. (See here.)
15: A handwritten note and typed letter, both dated May 8, 1969, fro
m then–Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Warren E. Burger with advice to Nixon concerning Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas. (See here.)
16: Chief Justice Warren Burger’s May 10, 1971, letter to Nixon following the “gross rudeness” he felt was leveled at the president during the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner. (See here.)
17: An August 5, 1972, letter from Chief Justice Burger to Haldeman seeking military transportation for himself. (See here.)
18: Al Haig’s June 20, 1972, memo to Haldeman, with his political analysis and advice for the 1972 presidential campaign. (See here.)
19: The September 7, 1972, “Dear Al” note Butterfield wrote to Haig upon Haig’s promotion. (See here.)
20: A memo from Butterfield, dated June 10, 1969, saying the president believed the administration should “treat the press with a little more contempt.” (See here.)
21: Butterfield’s May 16, 1972, memo of when and how he notified Haldeman that George Wallace had been shot, marked with Haldeman’s comments. (See here.)
22: An April 10, 1969, “Action Item” memo from Butterfield to Ehrlichman with Nixon’s request that they find a way to put Ted Kennedy “squarely on the spot.” (See here.)
23: A second “Action Item” memo, this one dated April 12, 1969, directing Ehrlichman to “get something out on how ‘very amateurish’ ” Kennedy had been at a briefing. (See here.)
24: A Secret/Sensitive March 24, 1972, memo from CIA director Richard Helms to Nixon that includes attachments with verbatim quotes from a secret meeting between King Husayn [Hussein] of Jordan and Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir. (See here.)
25: Two pages from a September 23, 1972, TOP SECRET CIA bulletin detailing surveillance of Israel. (See here.)
26: Table showing the tonnage of bombs dropped in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia by year from 1965 to 1975. (See here.)