August 8, 1974

CALL Pat Cooper on New York Telephone's Dial‐A‐Joke (212) 999–3838, ADVT.

Pres Nixon's atty James D St Clair informs Fed Dist Ct that tape recordings of 9 more of 64 White House conversations covered by special Watergate prosecution's subpoena are unavailable; tapes include 6 conversations held by Nixon with H R Haldeman and John D Ehrlichman in mid-Apr '73; Nixon was to have given Judge John J Sirica final installment of subpoenaed tapes on Aug 7, in compliance with Sup Ct's unanimous ruling upholding subpoena; St Clair says 5 of subpoenaed conversations were calls placed through telephones in private quarters of White House that were not connected to taping system; says 2 other conversations took place in lodge at Nixon's retreat at Camp David that had no taping system; says he cannot find tapes of 2 more conversations on prosecutor's list; provides ct with some tapes covering 14 other conversations and final installment of copies that White House had made of recorded conversations; says White House 'working papers' developed in course of preparing ed transcripts issued by Nixon on Apr 30 have been destroyed; has not listened to tapes that White House is turning over to ct; fails to provide tapes for Nov 15 '72 conversation at Camp David between Haldeman, Ehrlichman and John W Dean 3d, conversation in late Jan '73 between Nixon and Charles W Colson in which E Howard Hunt Jr was discussed, and conversation on or about Feb 20 '73 between Nixon and Haldeman in which Jeb Stuart Magruder was discussed (L)

HR approves $135-million in fiscal '75 mil budget for completion of Grand Forks, ND, Safeguard missile defense site; defeats, 219-182, Repr Robert N Giaimo amendment to reduce funds by about $85-million; Giaimo argued that system was slated to be phased out about 6 mos after becoming operative in '75, according to classified Defense Dept plans, because it lacked strategic significance; held research benefits to be gained by completing site could not be applied elsewhere as US is limited to 1 defense site by treaty with USSR; most HR Appropriations subcom members urged passage, partly to justify $5-billion already invested; Repr George H Mahon, in telephone int, stressed importance of retaining tech as USSR has operational site; Asst Defense Sec Jerry W Friedheim acknowledges in int that dept 'protects option' to phase down parts of missile site after '75; issue is linked to ABM limitation agreement, which, as of recent Moscow summit, restricts US and USSR to 1 site; Safeguard defensive missile system chief Gen Walter P Leber testified in '74 that Grand Forks, missile site then nearest completion, would be 1 retained by US under terms of agreement; since then, Defense Dept has begun research on new tech known as 'site defense' and HR recently allocated $100-million for its development; Grand Forks site, which will be completed in '75 with $135-million allocated in Aug 6 vote, will lack strategic significance; Giaimo's proposal would have allocated enough funds to close out Grand Forks site (M)

Egyptian Foreign Min Ismail Fahmy on Aug 7 accuses Israel of saber-rattling and warns that this could lead to Arab reactions, address to French-Arab Press Assn, Paris; says Israel is conducting mobilizing exercises and is massing troops on Syrian border; holds that if Israel stopped 'saber-rattling' and Arab countries speed up their consultations on negotiating position, next phase of Middle East peace conf in Geneva can begin before end of yr (S)

Sens H D Scott, B Goldwater and Repr J J Rhodes indicate, after meeting with Pres Nixon, that Nixon is leaving open possibility of resignation; say Nixon told them that he would base his decision on natl interest; White House staff members, led by Alexander M Haig Jr, and Cong members exert pressure on Nixon to resign; sources say Nixon's speechwriting staff has been asked to prepare materials for resignation speech; Nixon reptdly asked those around him who had recommended that he stay in office to draft memos outlining reasons for their beliefs; State Sec H A Kissinger meets with Nixon; Goldwater says he and Scott told Nixon that he could count on no more than 15 votes for acquittal if he was tried by Sen; Scott says they told Nixon that situation was 'gloomy'; Goldwater says question of whether Cong could give Nixon immunity is being researched but that question was not discussed with Nixon, news conf; Rabbi Baruch Korff, head of Natl Citizens' Com for Fairness to the Pres, says, after meeting with Nixon, that unless White House is flooded with telegrams against resignation in next few days Nixon 'may resign in the natl interest'; Nixon's chief defense counsel James D St Clair says he has no knowledge that Nixon plans to resign; Nixon's daughter Julie Eisenhower is reptd to have consistently urged her father not to resign; Eisenhower and Nixon's other daughter Patricia Cox have been at White House for several days; Mrs Nixon has had no official engagements for some time and reptdly is spending her time comforting Pres; illus of Nixon with press sec Ronald L Ziegler; illus of Goldwater, Scott and Rhodes (L)