"CSI-ish" Technology Could Unveil The Lost 18 1/2 Minutes From Nixon's Watergate Tapes

Mother Jones:

ON JUNE 20, 1972, President Richard Nixon and his chief of staff, H.R. "Bob" Haldeman, met in Nixon's hideaway office at the Old Executive Office Building. Three days earlier, White House-connected dirty tricksters had been nabbed breaking into the Democratic National Committee's Watergate offices, and the 79-minute-long conversation--with Nixon's secret taping system running and Haldeman taking his typically meticulous notes on a tablet of yellow lined paper with a ballpoint pen--at one point turned toward the break-in and how to craft a counterattack. What exactly the two men said to one another would become one of the great political mysteries of the 20th century: Sometime during the Watergate scandal, 18 minutes were suspiciously erased from the tape recording of this meeting.

Read the whole story: Mother Jones

Comments

[unitron]

"If they're going to see if the missing pages imprinted on the ones still available, have they ever tried to see if, prior to the erasure, the part of the tape now blank may have "imprinted" on other layers of the tape while it was wound up on the reel? "Print Through" is a known phenomenon­."

[drewziGNY]

It would be hilarious if those missing 18 minutes were of some girl singing "I Honestly Love You" like in the movie "D1ck"...I know, it's not, but still.....

[RODERICK098]

Rosemary Woods claimed she accidentally erased the tapes. Experts claimed for her to have done so would have meant at one point she stood on her head.- her 'story' is funny enough and its reality.

[Mattatat]

(3) H. R. Haldeman, The Ends of Power (1978)

I was puzzled when he (Nixon) told me, 'Tell Ehrlichman this whole group of Cubans is tied to the Bay, of Pigs.'

After a pause I said, 'The Bay of Pigs? What does that have to do with this?'

But Nixon merely said, 'Ehrlichman 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 President's message. Ehrlichman's eyebrows arched, and he smiled. `Our brothers from Langley? He's suggesting I twist or break a few arms?'

So we had failed in our one previous attempt to obtain CIA co-operation, and now in Ehrlichman's office on June 23, 1972, the C.I.A. was stonewalling me again: 'Not connected.­' 'No way.' Then I played Nixon's trump card. 'The President asked me to tell you this entire affair may be connected to the Bay of Pigs, and if it opens up, the Bay of Pigs may be blown....'

Turmoil in the room. Helms gripping the arms of his chair leaning forward and shouting, 'The Bay of Pigs had nothing to do with this. I have no concern about the Bay of Pigs.'

Silence. I just sat there. I was absolutely shocked by Helms' violent reaction. Again I wondered, what was such dynamite in the Bay of Pigs story?

[Mattatat]

Anti-Castro Cubans and virulent right-wingers in the CIA considered JFK's role in the Bay of Pigs incident to be treason and a betrayal of the most unforgivable sort.

What happened on 11/22/63 is what Nixon was referring to when he spoke of "the Bay of Pigs thing".

[Keith52]

That would be amazing. And since it has a lot to do with abuse of power in our government it would be worth spending LOTS of money to know what Nixon did not want us to know.

[RichardD]

It would be a great idea to find out. It's history, and I was in law school at the time, following it with everyone there on a daily basis.
But do not spend to much money on it. There are too many other urgent problems to deal with today.
Like Cheney's war crimes and subversion of the Constitution.

[RODERICK098]

Have always felt that what was erased had to be very serious stuff indeed-always thought there was something very suspicious about Chappaquidick as in a set up to destroy Edward Kennedy's life, reputation and presidential ambitions. Nixon refers to Chappaquidick far too often in his memoirs raising alarm bells as well-why the obsession????

[BlueZoo]

Nixon was consumed by the Kennedys and it showed! He viewed Teddy as a rival candidate in his reelection and it frightened him. I believe Henry the 'K' fostered the notion that Nixon's biggest rival was Teddy. With Nixon, everything and everyone was a conspiracy against him which only puts me in mind of Cheney and Bush!

[Clarabell]

Interesting, but sounds pretty iffy.

[OverIt]

After the recent revelation here at HuffPo that Nixon was against abortion --- except for when it was necessary to prevent the birth of mixed-race babies --- and knowing the antisemitic diatribes included on the tapes, I can't wait to hear what was left on the cutting room floor.

Tricky Dick Nixon might make Dick Cheney look relatively tame by comparison.

[TobyPLD]

I've been hearing this for years.. Someday... Maybe... Would be interestin­g...

[jimbeaux1961]

He's dead, it's done; how 'bout investigating Bush and Cheney instead?

[JustLucky]

That's done, and they'll eventually be dead too - do you think that history should also be buried and forgotten once it passes?

[cactusgal]

With our luck, it'll be 18 1/2 minutes of Pat Buchanan singing My Wild Irish Hose

[unitron]

"...Pat Buchanan singing My Wild Irish Hose"

But enough about his male appendage, does he know any songs comparing a girl to a flower. : - )

[kepary]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite their denials, influential Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd were told from the start they were getting VIP mortgage discounts from one of the nation's largest lenders, the official who handled their loans has told Congress in secret testimony.

[LibraLady]

You must think you're very clever by posting this on several threads w/o a link.

[Bill Royal]

Google the words, SFB.

[UncleJimbo]

And I want pictures from the Grassy Knoll too!

[Charlesfoster]

D@mn, just noticed that this came from Mother Jones; has to be a l!e.

[HekmabaJuzimax]

The 18 minutes missing, the plot hatched, the technology excuse, the lie written on paper, the paper introduced as evidence, the evidence analyzed, the mystery solved, the history books rewritten.

Thank you, and enjoy your summer.