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Nixon on Thompson: 'Dumb' but 'Friendly'
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ShareOctober 09, 2007 9:06 AM
Fred Thompson has made much of his role 30 years ago as a young Senate lawyer helping to lead the investigation of the Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixon.
But a much different, less valiant picture of Thompson emerges from listening to the White House audiotapes made at the time, as President Nixon plotted strategy with his aides in the Oval Office.
Thompson's job on the Watergate committee was to lead the Republican side of the investigation. He was appointed by his mentor, Sen. Howard Baker of Tennessee, who is now co-chair of Thompson's 2008 presidential bid.
Photos: Nixon on Tape: Thompson 'Dumb as Hell'
When Nixon's aide H.R. Haldeman told Nixon of Thompson's appointment, Nixon was less than impressed.
"Baker has appointed Fred Thompson as minority counsel," Haldeman is heard saying on one tape.
"Oh sh--, that kid," Nixon responds.
"I guess so," Haldeman replies.
Nixon worried that Thompson's Democratic counterpart, Sam Dash, would outsmart Thompson.
"Well, Dash is too smart for that kid," Nixon says on another tape from March 16, 1973. The existence of the tapes were publicly revealed by a question from Thompson at a Watergate hearing and led to the president's resignation. They are preserved at the National Archives in College Park, Md.
"Sure. Runs circles around him," agrees an aide, John Dean.
THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS
As the investigation picked up speed, Nixon grew increasingly concerned about whether Thompson could stand up to the Democrats.
In this May 1973 recording, he shared his concern with then-chief of staff Alexander Haig.
"He's talking to Fred Thompson. I said you're not --," Haig begins.
"Oh sh--, he's dumb as hell. Fred Thompson," Nixon interjects. "Who is he? He won't say anything."
In another conversation some weeks later, Nixon and his advisers were still describing Thompson as not very smart but at least beginning to play ball.
"Our approach is now, we've got a pretty good rapport with Fred Thompson. He came through fine for us this morning," White House counsel Fred Buzhardt says on a tape from June 6.
"He isn't very smart, is he?" Nixon asks.
"Not extremely so, but --," Buzhardt says, interrupted by the president.
"But he's friendly," Nixon says.
"But he's, he's friendly," Buzhardt echoes.
"Good."
A few days later, White House aides are heard saying Thompson will be even more helpful than his boss, Sen. Baker, and that Thompson agreed to secretly help undercut the credibility of White House whistleblower John Dean.
"They've finally got [Dean] under oath," Buzhardt says on a tape from June 11. "Uh, Thompson will work with us. So, good."
"Does he realize that Dean has some problems?" Nixon asks.
"Oh, yes sir," Buhardt responds. "Quite a few...He is willing to work with us; he is also now willing to work with us on shifting some focus to the Democrats. He's finally made up his mind; he's got to start looking at some of their stuff."
Later in the tape, Buzhardt says, "[Thompson is] willing to go, you know, pretty much the distance now. And he said he realized his responsibility was going to have to be as a Republican increasingly."
In his memoir of the Watergate era, Thompson admits to secretly alerting the White House to key evidence as it was discovered by congressional investigators.
Former Watergate committee investigator Scott Armstrong told ABC News that Thompson's cooperation with the White House undermined the investigation.
"It was the equivalent of two prosecutors knowing about something and one of them going behind the scenes and telling the person being accused what the witnesses were saying about him," Armstrong said.
Two months after Buzhardt's comments, Nixon resigned. Thompson would later take credit for helping to reveal the secret White House taping system that led to Nixon's downfall.
Do you have a tip for Brian Ross and the Investigative Team?
October 9, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (94)
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This story is funny. The Libs will have a "Field Day" with this one...
Posted by: Eric | Oct 9, 2007 9:33:39 AM
the liberal media is really pulling at strings to use a "Nixon quote"
Posted by: brian | Oct 9, 2007 9:34:48 AM
Say what you will about Nixon, he was a very smart guy. He probably would have found most of us dumb as well.
Posted by: DC | Oct 9, 2007 9:54:39 AM
Thompson is as dumb as a stump.
Posted by: dsotm | Oct 9, 2007 9:56:58 AM
Thompson needs to take credit for bringing Nixon down before you remember how hard he tried to prop him up. We see the wonderful republican trait of trying to destroy the government from within that emerged in the mid 1920's, was catapulted by Nixon, and gained steam under ronnie rayguns, until the bushbabies brought US to fruition. FADE to the MAINSCREAM media and their talking heads to parse this out for you...
Posted by: daddy | Oct 9, 2007 9:58:36 AM
Well this should just about do his campain in! A proven liar and willing to subvert the Constitution and put party before country. Typical republican.
Posted by: MadMax | Oct 9, 2007 10:10:30 AM
McCain advisor, formerly Bush advisor, Mark McKinnon, who is also founder of Public Strategies, was a cocaine dealer during the early eighties. His history as a former cocaine dealeri in Austin during the eighties was notorious and his legend lives on in many places around the capital of music. . McKinnon's
history has been quieted by his good guy reputation
back then, but few of his old cronies today talk to
him.
Posted by: Rob Thair | Oct 9, 2007 10:13:30 AM
Fred Thompson secretly helping tricky Dick, and THEN taking credit for toppling him?
What a shallow opportunist.
Posted by: Len | Oct 9, 2007 10:13:56 AM
I sure miss Nixon, that was a man's man. No pussyfooting around with this political correctness crap. Why do I want it done? Because I told you so. May his soul rest in peace...
Posted by: Ruben | Oct 9, 2007 10:27:00 AM
So, we are not taking NIXON's word to discredit Thompson? We're now going to side with the man Thompson was investigating? Nice.
Posted by: franklobo | Oct 9, 2007 10:28:27 AM
I've read elsewhere that a Republican "staffer" asked a question of Buzhardt private testimony and was told of the 'tapes'. A Democratic Staffer later picked up on that and got more details. DASH was asked by BAKER if "his side" could ask the question about the tapes during the PUBLIC Committee meeting. Baker than "invited" Thompson to ask the question. Thompson had nothing to do with the discovery of the taping system - only "invited" to ask the powerful question that was the public foundation for the rest of his political future!
Posted by: Larry J | Oct 9, 2007 10:41:55 AM
I'm with stupid! No wonder that is his campaign slogan.
Posted by: jim | Oct 9, 2007 10:43:55 AM
Another lazy, Republican idiot in the White House. Just what we need. You Republicans have turned our country into a joke.
Posted by: SOS | Oct 9, 2007 10:47:01 AM
Sounds like the man we need to run this country. Reagan was judged as a dumb Actor. I hope this one(Actor)will be as good.
Posted by: David C. Raines | Oct 9, 2007 11:09:53 AM
Tapes are cool -- but only when our media reports all of the news - all of the time. From the Progressive Review, 1998:
-- While the press has no problem reporting such stories about Barry (or
Dan Quayle for that matter), it has not told the public about the existence
of a police tape of Roger Clinton describing his own cocaine trafficking
and saying of his brother, "Got to get some for my brother; he's got a nose
like a vacuum cleaner."
-- A former informant for a drug task force in Arkansas tells Ambrose
Evans-Pritchard of the London Telegraph that she supplied Bill with cocaine
during his first terms as governor. On one occasion, according to the woman,
"He was so messed up that night, he slid down the wall into a garbage can."
Posted by: gh | Oct 9, 2007 11:19:07 AM
I'm not surprised at all. The guy is a slimeball lobbyist. What, did you people think he had scruples? lol...I have this swamp land I'm selling...
Posted by: rewire1 | Oct 9, 2007 11:21:26 AM
Dumb as Hell? Folks: meet Fred Thompson, our next President.
Posted by: David Flores | Oct 9, 2007 11:21:47 AM
Very interesting post. Thanks.
Posted by: JoyousMN | Oct 9, 2007 11:24:42 AM
America needs a real leader, not another dumb, smiling Republican mediocrity like Bush whose only real qualification is that he's "idologically correct." The GOPs inflexible ideological straightjacket is killing America!
Posted by: Jane Says | Oct 9, 2007 11:29:07 AM
Thanks for putting the tape on line, but haven't we read these quotes before?
Posted by: mr.president | Oct 9, 2007 11:32:06 AM
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