The Agnew Problem: Mysterious Meeting

Like millions of other Americans, Richard Nixon had hoped to get at least a brief taste of vacationing during the waning days of August--a little golf, a little swimming--but there was no sign of respite for the embattled President. First, Federal Judge John J. Sirica ordered that Nixon must surrender to him the secret White House tapes of private meetings about the Watergate scandal. The historic decision--the first in which a judge has ever ordered a President to give up documentary evidence that he was unwilling to produce--brought presidential lawyers rushing to the Western White House in San Clemente to determine how to fight the case this week on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Then, over the sweltering Labor Day weekend, Nixon flew from San Clemente back to the White House to confer with Vice President Spiro Agnew over the continuing Federal investigation of possible bribery, extortion, conspiracy and tax fraud that threatens Agnew's future. Inevitably, rumors swirled that the President and his semi-estranged Vice President were heading for a confrontation--that Nixon might even ask for Agnew's resignation. On both sides, press spokesmen vigorously denied that any resignation was even being considered.

The fact is, however, that U.S. Attorney in Baltimore George Beall's investigation of Agnew's finances is reaching the point of decision. That decision--whether there is enough evidence to seek an indictment of Agnew, and whether, even if there is such evidence, an indictment can or should be sought--must be officially approved by Attorney General Elliot Richardson.

Only Routine? Both Nixon and Agnew appeared to have made unusual preparations for the encounter, their first since Aug. 7. Agnew made a flight to New York on Thursday to consult there with his lawyers, the prestigious firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and then flew back to Washington. As for Nixon, he was reported to have talked over the Agnew situation recently with a number of associates, including Herbert Brownell, who was President Eisenhower's Attorney General (Brownell later denied that the Vice President had been discussed), and John Connally, the former Treasury Secretary whom Nixon once favored as his successor.

Even the circumstances of the White House meeting seemed unusual. Nixon had not been expected to return east until after Labor Day, and he could easily have summoned Agnew to San Clemente. The White House announced that Agnew had requested the meeting, but there was speculation that Nixon might have arranged that "request" as a face-saving device for Agnew.

The meeting between the President and his beleaguered but seemingly jaunty Vice President took place in the Oval Office of the White House. It lasted two hours--the longest discussion between the two men since they took office in January 1969. They talked alone until the end, when they were joined briefly by White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler. The purpose of the meeting, said Deputy Press Secretary Gerald Warren, was to allow Agnew to bring the President up to date on "his legal troubles in Maryland."

According to aides of both men, Nixon and Agnew did not discuss the possibility of the Vice President's resigning, nor did they take up the need for a contingency plan for replacing Agnew if he should leave office. Agnew told Nixon that he intends to keep on fighting until he wins. "He's hanging in there," said a White House aide. The two, according to the official version, did not discuss making a joint defense on Constitutional matters affecting both their cases, including whether they can withhold official documents from investigators. Said Agnew: "I'm handling my own case."

When Agnew left, Warren reported --a bit ambiguously--that the President's support of his Vice President "remains unchanged." It was possible, of course, that the official versions and denials were genuine. But the unusual circumstances of the long and mysterious meeting indicated that the encounter could have major consequences for the Nixon Administration and the entire nation.

Following the meeting, whatever its complexities and portents, the President flew off to Camp David, there to spend the holiday with his family. After Labor Day, with Congress returning and the courts once more in session, there would be little time even to think of a vacation.

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