Hello?

Yes, sir.

Dick?

Yes, sir.

I was just—did you get your call through to [David R.] Nissen?[note 1] David R. Nissen was an assistant U.S. attorney.

Yes, I did.

Fine. What did you point out to him?

Well . . . I pointed out to . . . to them, you know, the essential nature of it. [President Nixon acknowledges.] What their strategy is right now is to try to persuade the judge that we ought to have this as a trial hearing. They’ll wait until the case is over [unclear] and have a hearing on this.

[Slight chuckle.] Right.

Making the basic representation that no evidence came into our possession. [Unclear] not to do this, [unclear]—

That’s good.

—[unclear] et cetera.

Let me say one other thing. I don’t know how you can get this to the judge, but I think it’s very important for him to know that this is a national security investigation of the highest importance. It really is, you see?

Right.

You know that and I know it.

But that—and that’s what we would intend to do. But our primary objective, you know, is to downplay it, get the trial over, have a post-trial hearing.

A post-trial for the purpose of what? Of—

Well, determining whether there was any tainted evidence [unclear].

Well, that’s the time to do it. Or do you agree? I don’t know.

Well, [President Nixon attempts to interject] [unclear] we can disclose to the judge. What we want to do is to say, “Judge, here it is. No information came from the department under the law. We can’t make that determination. We would, I mean, bringing this to your attention. We would like the trial to go ahead and continue. If there’s a verdict of acquittal, that ends it. If there’s a verdict of guilty, then we’ll have a pre—a post-trial hearing to determine whether there was any tainted evidence.

Now, on the—on that point, though, [chuckling] the acquittal and the rest doesn’t make a hell of a lot of difference, [Kleindienst acknowledges] but the main point, Dick, is I want Nissen to know that this is a very important national security investigation, which it was.

He has been informed of that fact.

He get the point, did he? [Kleindienst acknowledges.] Good deal.

How it’s played for this first go-around with the judge, you know, I think we have to just use our . . . use tactics here.

You mean, Nissen will tell the judge, right?

Yes, he will.

Mm-hmm. You’ve got it across very strong to him that this is [Kleindienst acknowledges] terribly important?

Yes, I did.

OK. Well, sleep well, boy.

[laughing] Same to you.

[laughing] All right.

Stay in there, Mr. President.

Look, what the hell, you know? People say there, “Impeach the President!” Well, then they get [Spiro T.] Agnew![note 2] Spiro T. Agnew was vice president of the United States, January 1969 to October 1973. What the hell?

[Laughs.]

Huh? [Laughs.] Is that all right?

There’s not going to be anything like that [unclear].

All right, boy. All right.

Good night, sir.