TRANSCRIPT OF A RECORDING OF A MEETING
BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT AND H. R. HALDEMAN
ON JUNE 23, 1972 FROM 2:20 TO 2:45 P.M.
**********
(Background noise)
HALDEMAN: Well, it’s no problem. Had the…two of them in, uh, state of health (unintelligible)
but it’s kind of interesting. Walters said that, uh, make a point. I didn’t mention
Hunt at the opening. I just said that, that, uh, this thing which we give direction
to we’re gonna create some very major potential problems because they were exploring
leads that led back into to, uh, areas it will be harmful to the CIA, harmful to
the government. (telephone rings) But, didn’t have anything to with, with, with
(unintelligible) kind of thing.
PRESIDENT: (Answers telephone) Hello? Chuck, I wondered if you would, ah, give John
Connally a call. He’s on his trip. I don’t want him to read it in the papers before
Monday about this quota thing and say, “Look, uh, he met, uh, we’re gonna do this,
but, but, I checked, uh, I asked you about the situation, and you personally checked
your calendar and made, have an understanding. It’s only temporary (unintelligible).
It won’t affect (unintelligible) people (unintelligible).” Okay. I didn’t want him
to read it in the papers. Good. Bye.
(Hangs up telephone)
HALDEMAN: (Unintelligible)
PRESIDENT: Unintelligible). He said
HALDEMAN: I think Helms did, too. Helms said well, uh, I’ve had no contact (unintelligible)
and uh, Gray called and said, uh, yesterday, and said uh, that he thought –
PRESIDENT: Who had, Gray?
JUNE 23, 1972 FROM 2:20 TO 2:45 P.M. 2
HALDEMAN: Gray had called Helms… which we knew, and said, uh, uh, I think we’ve
run right into the middle of a CIA covert operation.
PRESIDENT: Gray said that?
HALDEMAN: Yeah, and Helms said “nothing, nothing we’ve got at this point” and uh,
uh, Gray said, “sure looks to me like that’s what we did.” Some damn thing where
he had – (unintelligible).
We can do about it – this would require at all and, uh, that was the end of that
conversation. You can fix it so (unintelligible) we don’t, so (unintelligible) we
don’ t think (unintelligible). Said, well, the problem is that it tracks back to
the Bay of Pigs. It tracks back to some other – if their leads run out to people
who had no involvement in this except by the contacts or connections, but it gets
to areas that are at the (unintelligible) to be raised. The whole problem of this,
this fellow Hunt, uh…
So at that point Helms’s kind of got, the picture, kind of like the picture. (unintelligible)
…he, he said, he said, “We ‘ 11 be very happy to be helpful to, ah, you know,
and we’ll handle everything you want. I would like to know the reason for being
helpful.” And it may have appeared when he wasn’t gonna get it explicitly but was
gonna get it through generality. So he said fine, and uh, Walters. I don’t know
whether we can do it. Walters said that. (Laughs) Walters is gonna make a call to
Gray.
(Unintelligible) that’ s the way we put it, that’s the way it, was left, and, uh,
(unintelligible).
PRESIDENT: How would that work though? How would – for example, if they’re desperate
(unintelligible) got somebody from Miami bank to be here to count the inventory.
JUNE 23, 1972 FROM 2:20 TO 2:45 P.M. 3
HALDEMAN: (Unintelligible) they can do that unintelligible). Somebody (unintelligible).
But, the point John made was the Bureau doesn’t, the Bureau is going on, on this
because they don’t know what they’re uncovering. (Unintelligible) say should continue
to pursue it, uh, they don’t need to because they’ve already got their case as far
as the, uh, charges against these men,(unintelligible) and uh, as they pursue it
because they’re uncovering some (unintelligible).
Sure enough, that’s exactly what – but we didn’t in any way say we had any political
–
… interest or concern or anything like that, uh, unintelligible) One thing Helms
did raise is he said that, that Gray, he asked Gray why he felt they’re going into
a CIA thing and Gray said,”Well, because of the characters involved and the amount
of money involved.” Said there’s a lot of dough in this someone and uh, (unintelligible)
here is the possibility that one of our guys – that probably has some significance
to the question (unintelligible)
PRESIDENT: (Unintelligible) Well, we’ll cross that bridge.
HALDEMAN: Well, I think they will ’cause our, see there isn’t any question.
PRESIDENT: If it runs back to the bank – so, what the hell, they, who knows, maybe
Dahlberg’s contributed to the CIA (unintelligible).
HALDEMAN: CIA gets money as we know ’cause, I mean their money moves in a lot of
different ways, too.
PRESIDENT: Yeah. However we thought that it did a lot of good. (unintelligible)
HALDEMAN: Right.
