Video: 'WATERGATE AFFAIR BBC DOKUMENTATION 1994' (June 23, 1972, at 1:17:38)

(Friday, June 23, 1972, 10:04-11:39 a.m. EDT; during the Watergate scandal) — U.S. President Richard Nixon and and his chief of staff, H. R. Haldeman, had a meeting today in the Oval Office during which the President discussed and approved a plan to use the CIA to obstruct the FBI’s Watergate investigation.

Video: 'President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss the Watergate investigation, June 23, 1972'

Haldeman introduced the topic as follows: “…the Democratic break-in thing, we’re back to the—in the, the problem area because the FBI is not under control, because Gray doesn’t exactly know how to control them, and they have … their investigation is now leading into some productive areas … and it goes in some directions we don’t want it to go.”

After explaining how money in possession of the burglars could be traced back to the Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CRP), Haldeman explained to Nixon the cover-up plan: “the way to handle this now is for us to have Walters [CIA] call Pat Gray [FBI] and just say, ‘Stay the hell out of this … this is ah, business here we don’t want you to go any further on it.'”

Video: '"Watergate: The Secret Story" - 1992' (June 23, 1972, at 35:52)

Nixon approved the plan, and after he was given more information about the involvement of his campaign in the break-in, he told Haldeman: “All right, fine, I understand it all. We won’t second-guess Mitchell and the rest.” Returning to the use of the CIA to obstruct the FBI, he instructed Haldeman: “You call them in. Good. Good deal. Play it tough. That’s the way they play it and that’s the way we are going to play it.”

Video: 'PBS Nixon (1990)_2of3' (June 23, 1972, at 56:18)

All Oval Office conversations were recorded by a voice-activated system, and when the transcript of this “smoking gun” tape was released on August 5, 1974, Nixon would be forced to resign at the end of the week.

Nixon later denied that this constituted an obstruction of justice, as his instructions ultimately resulted in the CIA truthfully reporting to the FBI that there were no national security issues. Nixon urged the FBI to press forward with the investigation when they expressed concern about interference.