Nixon Page #4

As they talk, a MONTAGE arises of ALGER HISS and the days

of old -- the photographs of the notorious 1948 Hiss case:

HISS, CHAMBERS, the YOUNGER NIXON with the microfilm; a

headline reading "HISS FOUND GUILTY"; TRUMAN, ELEANOR

ROOSEVELT, a beaming EISENHOWER shaking Nixon's hand.

MITCHELL:

(to the room)

And Dick beat the sh*t out of them.

NIXON:

But I wouldn't have if Hiss hadn't

lied about knowing Chambers. The

documents were old and out of date,

like these Pentagon Papers. The key

thing we proved was that Hiss was a

liar. Then people bought it that he

was a spy.

(then)

It's the lie that gets you.

MITCHELL:

(to the room)

Hiss was protecting his wife. I've

always believed that.

NIXON:

(cryptically)

When they know you've got something to

protect, that's when they f*** you!

HALDEMAN:

What's this f*ggot, Ellsberg,

protecting?

COLSON:

His liberal elitist friends. His

Harvard-Ph.D.-I-sh*t-holier-than-thou

attitude.

Kissinger waits. Nixon acknowledges him. The camera is

moving tighter and tighter on the President. His

expression is furious, his words violent.

NIXON:

Alright, Henry -- we're gonna go your

way. Crush this Ellsberg character

the same way we did Hiss!

KISSINGER:

(interjects)

There's no other choice.

NIXON:

We're gonna hit him so hard he looks

like everything that's sick and evil

about the Eastern Establishment.

(to Colson)

You and your "plumbers" are gonna find

dirt on this guy -- let's see him

going to the bathroom in front of the

American public! And when we finish

with him, they'll crucify him!

FLASH CUT TO:

INT. FIELDING PSYCHIATRIST OFFICE - NIGHT (1971)

SUBTITLE READS:
"ELLSBERG'S PSYCHIATRIST'S OFFICE - 1971"

ANOTHER BREAK-IN is in effect. LIDDY in wig, thick

glasses, false teeth, and THREE CUBANS (Barker, Martinez

from Watergate, and de Diego, not at Watergate) are

visible, moving through, smashing up the office. In CLOSE

UPS, we see hands jerking open filing cabinets, pulling the

drawers out of desks.

REPORTERS (V.O.)

The Nixon Administration responded by

filing an injunction against the New

York Times to prevent further

publication ... President Nixon

condemned the Pentagon Papers as the

worst breach of national security in

U.S. history ... Daniel Ellsberg, who

leaked the papers, was charged today

in federal court ...

While this is going on, a powerful FLASHBULB keeps popping.

The photographer, looking for evidence, suddenly catches

his partner in the light, his startled face buried beneath

a 70's wig -- HOWARD HUNT. Hunt is pissed:

HUNT:

F*** you -- gimme that f***ing film!

BACK TO:

INT. EXEC OFFICE BLDG - NIXON OFFICE - DAY (1972)

RESUME - CLOSE on NIXON remembering Howard Hunt, as

HALDEMAN looks on.

NIXON:

Howard Hunt? ... Jesus Christ, you

open up that scab ... and you uncover

a lot of pus.

HALDEMAN:

What do you mean, sir?

Nixon chooses not to answer.

NIXON:

Where's Hunt now?

EHRLICHMAN:

In hiding. He sent Liddy to talk to

me.

NIXON:

And?

EHRLICHMAN:

He wants money.

NIXON:

Pay him.

EHRLICHMAN:

Pay him? I told him to get out of the

country. It's crazy to start ...

NIXON:

What the hell are you doing,

Ehrlichman? Screwing with the CIA? I

don't care how much he wants -- pay

him.

HALDEMAN:

But what are we paying him for?

NIXON:

Silence!

HALDEMAN:

But, sir, you're covered -- no one

here gave orders to break into the

damned Watergate. We're clean. It's

only the Ellsberg thing, and if that

comes out, it's "national security."

NIXON:

"Security" is not strong enough.

HALDEMAN:

How about a COMINT classification? We

put it on the Huston plan. Even the

designation is classified.

NIXON:

"National Priority."

EHRLICHMAN:

"Priority?" How about "secret, top

secret"?

DEAN:

I was thinking "sensitive."

NIXON:

"National security priority restricted

and controlled secret."

HALDEMAN:

We'll work on it. I say we cut

ourselves loose from these clowns and

that's all there is to it.

A beat. Nixon looks out at the Rose Garden.

NIXON:

It's more than that. It could be more

than that. I want Hunt paid.

EHRLICHMAN:

Uh, we've never done this before, sir

... How do we pay? In ... hundreds?

(smirks)

Do you fill a black bag full of

unmarked bills?

NIXON:

(snaps)

This is not a joke, John!

EHRLICHMAN:

No, sir.

NIXON:

We should set up a Cuban defense fund

on this; take care of all of them.

HALDEMAN:

Should we talk to Trini about paying

these guys? Or maybe Chotiner?

NIXON:

No, keep Trini out of this.

Chotiner's too old. And for God's

sake, keep Colson out.

(including Dean)

It's time to baptize our young

counsel. That means Dean can never

talk about it. Attorney-client

privilege. Get to it. And Dean --

you stay close on this.

DEAN:

Yes, sir, don't worry --

Prompted, Ehrlichman and Dean leave. When the door closes:

NIXON:

Bob, did I approve the Ellsberg thing?

You know, I'm glad we tape all these

conversations because ... I never

approved that break-in at Ellsberg's

psychiatrist. Or maybe I approved it

after the fact? Someday we've got to

start transcribing the tapes.

HALDEMAN:

You approved that before the fact,

because I went over it with you. But

...

NIXON:

Uh, no one, of course, is going to see

these tapes, but ...

HALDEMAN:

That's right, and it's more a problem

for Ehrlichman. He fixed Hunt up with

the phony CIA ID's, but ... what else

does Hunt have on us?

Again, Nixon chooses not to answer.

NIXON:

We've got to turn off the FBI. You

just go to the CIA, Bob, and tell

Helms that Howard Hunt is blackmailing

the President. Tell him that Hunt and

his Cuban friends know too damn much,

and if he goes public, it would be a

fiasco for the CIA. He'll know what

I'm talking about.

HALDEMAN:

(still confused)

All right.

NIXON:

Play it tough. That's the way they

play it and that's the way we're going

to play it. Don't lie to Helms and

say there's no involvement, but just

say this is sort of a comedy of

errors, bizarre, without getting into

it. Say the President believes it's

going to open up the whole Bay of Pigs

thing again. Tell Helms he should

call the FBI, call Pat Gray, and say

that we wish for the sake of the

country -- don't go any further into

this hanky-panky, period!

HALDEMAN:

The Bay of Pigs? ... That was

Kennedy's screw-up. How does that

threaten us?

NIXON:

Just do what I say, Bob.

HALDEMAN:

Yes, sir, but ... do you think Gray'll

go for it?

NIXON:

Pat Gray'll do anything we ask him.

That's why I appointed him.

HALDEMAN:

He'll need a pretext. He'll never

figure one out for himself.

NIXON:

(sighs)

Christ, you're right -- Gray makes

Jerry Ford look like Mozart.

(then)

Just have Helms call him. Helms can

scare anybody.

HALDEMAN:

The only problem with that, sir -- it

gets us into obstruction of justice.

NIXON:

It's got nothing to do with justice.

It's national security.

HALDEMAN:

How is this national security?

NIXON:

Because the President says it is. My

job is to protect this country from

its enemies, and its enemies are

inside the walls.

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