THE COMPLETE HALDEMAN STORY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00901R000700060114-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 17, 2005
• Sequence Number: 114
• Publication Date: February 17, 1978
• Content Type: NSPR

ARTICLE AV ~tS For Releas 17 Feb~rua
ON PAGE
From the book, The Ends of Power. Copy
right J 1978 by H.R. Haldeman and J.B.
Darjoe Inc. To be published by-Times Books, .
By H.R. Haldeman,
,and Joseph DiMona
Publicizing
The Cuban Angle
THE COMPLICATIONS began
that night [June 20), when I received
a telephone call which is unknown to
anyone but the president and me to
this day. I believe a tape does not
exist because the call was probably
made from a telephone in the White
House Residence which was not
covered by the taping system.
But my notes on the call add
important new information on
Nixon's role in the cover-up. For in:
..this telephone conversation, on our
very first evening back in Washing-
ton, Nixon himself initiated the idea:
:of raising funds for the Watergate
`burglars in an indirect manner. Even
more surprising, he indirectly sug-
gested the idea of involving the CIA:
in the Watergate problem -three days
before. the famous "smoking gun".
conversation, in which the same-idea
-was consummated.
The telephone -call was curiaus to
e me ?-frour?_-the beginning because
`Nixon sounded' so relieved.; He must
have, found . out 'from- Ehrlichman' or
sorrieoiie els that' Colson'a^story o
e
innocence woulji..hold, ands; might=
even be 'valid'. w. '.'Now Nixon said to.
.-me on the, telephone, "This thing ma
be under??control' because.'of- the
Cubans who went in there. A lot of
peopleethi(ik the breakin was, done by
anti-Castrb Cubans."
I said,'.i1Well; I've' n.ever'tinder=?
stood,-myself,=what Cubans were
daing.there.'? Ntr w " L, M
-
kt` The president warmed to the no-
talk even more . "Right. I'm going t I BUT. THEN in this call Nixon
, sharply off the money angle
.
talk to Bebe and have him round up p l veered into completely unknown terrain, as
some anti-McGovern Cubans in
Miami. You - know,' those Cubans far as I was concerned. In fact, I was
dbwn there hate McGovern.". puzzled when he told me, Tell Ehr-
And it was then the president made - lichman this whole group of Cubans
his suggestion about payments to the is tied to the Bay of Pigs."
-defendants. He said, "Those people After a pause I said; "The Bay of
who got caught are going to iieed pigs? What does that have to do with
money. I've been thinking about how
to do it ' ? -
AT THAT POINT I hadn't even
thought of the problem Of the defend-
ants in human terms. What consider-
ation I had given to the whole subject
had been concentrated so much on
the question of who sent them in, that
I'd forgotten those were'real people
in jail and we.were, one way: or the
other, responsible for them. I said I
didn't know how; that maybe they
had lawyers. Nixon said. he had a bet-
ter idea. "I'm going, to have Bebe
start a fund for them in Miami. Call it
an anti-Castro fund, and publicize the
hell out of the Cuban angle. That, way.
.we kill two birds with one stone. Get
money to'-the boys to help them, and
maybe. pickup some points against-,
McGovern on the Cuban angle." ,. -
counterattack when he felt he was'in
trouble.. This time his approach
sounded OK to. me. Unfortunately it
was. to have reverberations to this
day..'Because when John Dean ap-,
proached me. later, and asked.'if..he
coulduse,'Nixon lawyer .and fun-
draiser,'Herb. Kalmbach to-.-raise
even occurred to me to question the
.basic concept. The -pattern had been.
set` by the president, beginning with
that telephone call, to me on June 20;
and I saw no reason why Kalmbach
should not lend a hand in the-effort. 7 -1
this "Cuban Defense Fund". in-his
`-later.meetings with -John Dean in in-
s tart reaction to Dean's - mention of
?the-efforts-to raise money forthede-
fendants. -He remembered it clearly
then," although he later-denied. on;
raissrig.effoz!ts.~ .:;.? ~,`77yy~y-.:.~} {?-~,:~-j.. ~, y1~.~.
this ?
But.Nixon merely said, "Ehrlich
man will know what I. mean,": and
dropped the subject.
-After our staff meeting the next
morning I accompanied Ehrlichman
.to his office and gave him the'presi-~
'dent's message. Ehrlichman's eye-l
brows arched, and he smiled. "Our
brothers from Langley? He's sug-
'
gesting,I twistpribreak a f wyarms?
"I don't know,"All he told me was.
Tell Ehrlichman this whole group of
.',"Cubans is tied to the Bay of Pigs. '
Ehrlichman leaned back in his
chair, tapping a pencil an the edge of'
:.- his desk. "All right," he said, "mes
sage accepted."
Z6170, said Ehrlichman "l want
to stay out of this one."'-',
feud between CIA Director Richard
."Helms and Nixon. The two were-
' polar opposites in background:
ern elitist; Nixon. the poor boy (he.
never let you forget it) from a small
found himself in the middle of this-
=feud as far back-as 1969, immediately
after Nixon` assumed office. Nixon
had called'Ehrlichman into his office
-documents the CIA had on the Bay of
About six. months 'after the 1969.
conversation`.:'Ehrlichman' had
stopped in my office.: "Those bas-"`
t tards-in Langley are- holding back'.
.heels"and'say'the president dan't-
~
? ad. ~Irpaem, thaitl'~The
CQN'1'INTTED