Route
Simulation, labeled as simulation. Nothing a figure says here is a quote.
Richard Nixon resigns the presidency in Washington
Outcome: Richard Nixon resigns the presidency in Washington by 1974-08-09.
Start state: 1973-07-17, Washington. Yesterday Alexander Butterfield told the Senate Watergate Committee that the President's offices are taped. Nixon is in Bethesda Naval Hospital with pneumonia, subpoenas for the tapes are being drafted but none has been served, and this morning his staff met him at Bethesda to decide what happens to the tapes. Actors: Richard Nixon (President of the United States), Alexander Haig (White House Chief of Staff), J. Fred Buzhardt (Special Counsel to the President), Leonard Garment (Counsel to the President), Ron Ziegler (White House Press Secretary).
Milestones
- By 1973-07-24, Buzhardt should determine whether any legal precedent exists for successful assertion of absolute executive privilege against congressional subpoenas for presidential records, and what courts have ruled when presidents claimed privilege over evidence of potential criminality, to test whether the resistance strategy rests on sustainable legal foundation. held
- Buzhardt must obtain complete transcript of Butterfield's Senate testimony to determine exactly what operational details about the taping system were disclosed, what locations were identified, and whether Butterfield revealed Secret Service custody arrangements, because staff decisions about privilege claims and tape preservation depend on knowing what information asymmetry actually remains versus what the committee now knows. held
- Alexander Haig should document in next week's staff meetings what percentage of senior staff time (Buzhardt, Garment, Haig himself) was reallocated from tape strategy to crisis management between October 6-24, and whether any scheduled legal meetings were cancelled or postponed due to Middle East situation room demands, to test whether the crisis actually reduced litigation preparation capacity. held
- Haig should immediately commission Secret Service inventory of all tapes actually produced since February 1971 against presidential schedule to determine exact scope of recording, preservation status, and whether chain-of-custody documentation permits detection of removal. This tests whether Ziegler's destruction assumption survives documentation requirements. held
- Buzhardt should within one week catalog which specific tape recordings contain discussions of the Watergate break-in or the coverup payments to defendants, documenting the actual exposure risk. This inventory would test whether the information gap justifies fighting disclosure or whether the content is defensible enough to release voluntarily and preempt obstruction charges. held
- Haig should request from White House Communications Agency within one week a complete technical inventory of all recording equipment locations, tape storage procedures, and access logs from July 1973 forward. This documents whether any recordings were altered or destroyed after Butterfield's disclosure, testing whether misaligned incentives led to evidence tampering versus preservation, which would determine subsequent legal exposure for obstruction. held