Nixon Admits Asking CIA to Block Watergate Inquiry, Says It Refused

NEW YORK â€”  Former President Richard M. Nixon, in a new book, says he did ask the CIA to block an FBI investigation of the Watergate break-in, an apparent attempt to obstruct justice that led to his resignation, but the CIA refused.

His “inexcusable error,� Nixon says, was made on the recommendation of staff members who “had a personal stake in covering up the facts.� And it was “mitigated� by a decision by CIA Director Richard M. Helms and his deputy, Vernon A. Walters, to ignore the White House request, Nixon writes.

In addition, he later “emphatically� told FBI Director L. Patrick Gray III to proceed with the investigation, the former President writes in “In the Arena,� excerpted in Time magazine.

Nixon thus discounts Watergate’s “most serious myth--the one that ultimately forced me to resign:� that the CIA did in fact obstruct the FBI probe on his specific orders.

He writes also that “the most widely believed myth was that I ordered massive illegal wiretapping and surveillance of political opponents, members of the House and Senate and news media reporters. All of these charges are false.�

Another misconception, he says, was that he ordered the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. “Not one piece of evidence was discovered indicating that I ordered the break-in, knew about the plans for the wiretapping or received any information from it,� he says. Nixon also denies paying for any cover-up.