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Into Isolation. The April 15 date was also covered in a withdrawal of nine reels between July 9 and July 11 by Bull, who gave them to H.R. Haldeman, Nixon's former chief of staff. Bull also said that he checked out 22 tapes on April 25 and 26 and had given them to Haldeman—a surprising fact that Haldeman had not reported in his Senate Watergate testimony. Haldeman has admitted listening to only two tapes (Sept. 15 and March 21), He has been subpoenaed for questioning this week in the Sirica hearings. Further confusing the matter, Senate investigators insisted that Bull told them that Buzhardt had listened to the April 15 tape in late June. Bull testified last week that he had been "educated" that Buzhardt had actually heard a March 20 recording.
Amid the new controversy, Nixon retreated ever more into isolation, restlessly retreating to Camp David, then abruptly departing for Key Biscayne. He left behind his usual traveling aides, Alexander Haig and Ronald Ziegler, and for the first time, the permanent standby pool of seven White House correspondents and photographers who are traditionally near the President at all times.
In Florida, Deputy Press Secretary Gerald Warren said that Nixon would be willing to produce for the court the tape of a memo he dictated about the April 15 conversation with Dean—although Nixon's version is hardly apt to satisfy any of the many Watergate investigators. Some are openly skeptical of the White House claims and suspect that the missing April 15 tape might have been destroyed when Haldeman had it in his possession in July. Warren insisted that Nixon was determined "to clear up this matter" of the tapes and again felt compelled to reiterate that Nixon had no intention of resigning.
* The other tapes include: a June 20, 1972 meeting at which Nixon first discussed the Watergate arrests with Aides John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman; a June 30, 1972 meeting at which Nixon and John Mitchell discussed Mitchell's resignation as Nixon's campaign director; and five meetings involving John Dean and Nixon. According to Dean, Nixon congratulated him on Sept 15 1972 for helping to limit indictments; Nixon first mentioned silence money and clemency with him on March 13 1973; Dean warned Nixon at two meetings on March 21, 1973 of a "cancer" growing on the presidency and who was implicated in it; ways to counter the Senate investigation were discussed on March 22, 1973.