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Was Alexander Haig “the real power”?

The general who ran the White House as Nixon fell.

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The general behind the curtain.

Haig was everywhere. As Kissinger’s deputy he sat at the heart of national-security secrets in the years the Joint Chiefs were spying on the NSC through Yeoman Charles Radford. Books including Silent Coup said that the young Navy officer Bob Woodward briefed him. [1][2]

When Haldeman left in 1973, Haig took over the White House. He handled the gap, gave the court the “sinister force” explanation, and controlled access to the President in the final months. [3]

On 1 August 1974, before Nixon had decided to resign, Haig went to Vice President Ford and walked him through Nixon’s options, including a pardon. [4] On this reading, a career Army officer with ties to the military establishment managed the end of a presidency the military distrusted.

The sources

  1. NBC News: excerpt from Bob Woodward’s The Secret Man, 6 July 2005 ↗

    Woodward’s own account of his Navy service, his clearances and how he met Mark Felt. A first-person account by the person whose background is in question.

  2. State Department historical documentary edition: Moorer–Radford affair, FRUS volume II, document 164 ↗

    Official editorial note citing contemporary White House tapes, diaries and other records. Establishes the earlier spying episode independently of the 2026 commentary.

  3. Washington Post: “Haig Tells of Theories on Erasure”, 7 December 1973 ↗

    Contemporary report of Alexander Haig’s court testimony on the tape gap and “some sinister force”. The gap was then described as 18¼ minutes.

  4. Gerald Ford: statement and congressional questions on the Nixon pardon, October 17, 1974 ↗

    Ford’s own explanation and answers, rather than independent proof of every private conversation. A denial is documented; absence of a proven bargain is not proof that every contact is known.

What the record shows

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Power, yes. A plot, no evidence.

The power is documented. Haig ran the White House from May 1973. He testified about the gap, and his “sinister force” remark came with a plain answer to the judge: asked whether anyone had said who that force might be, he said, “No, your Honor.” [1]

His 1 August 1974 meeting with Ford is documented in Ford’s own testimony to Congress. Ford said Haig raised options including a pardon, and that he made no commitment. That is evidence of Haig shaping the endgame, not of a plan to remove Nixon. Nixon was already finished politically once the 23 June tape came out. [2]

The Deep Throat version is false: it was Felt, confirmed in 2005. Woodward says he never met or talked to Haig until years later. [3][4]

The Schlesinger order is a later account. Schlesinger’s obituaries say that in the summer of 1974 he told the military to check White House orders with him or Kissinger. That reflects fear about the final days, not a coup by Haig. [5] The Radford spying was real, but it was exposed in 1971 and handled inside the government; nothing ties it to Watergate. [6]

What we can’t tell you. Much of what is known about Haig’s private conduct comes from memoirs, including his own and Ford’s.

The sources

  1. Washington Post: “Haig Tells of Theories on Erasure”, 7 December 1973 ↗

    Contemporary report of Alexander Haig’s court testimony on the tape gap and “some sinister force”. The gap was then described as 18¼ minutes.

  2. Gerald Ford: statement and congressional questions on the Nixon pardon, October 17, 1974 ↗

    Ford’s own explanation and answers, rather than independent proof of every private conversation. A denial is documented; absence of a proven bargain is not proof that every contact is known.

  3. NBC News: excerpt from Bob Woodward’s The Secret Man, 6 July 2005 ↗

    Woodward’s own account of his Navy service, his clearances and how he met Mark Felt. A first-person account by the person whose background is in question.

  4. ABC News: Deep Throat is identified, May 31, 2005 ↗

    Read this source in its dated context; statements, evidence and conclusions are distinguished in the article.

  5. TIME: “James Schlesinger”, obituary note, 3 April 2014 ↗

    Later summary of Schlesinger’s 1974 instruction that military orders from the White House be cleared with him or Kissinger. A retrospective account, not the order itself.

  6. State Department historical documentary edition: Moorer–Radford affair, FRUS volume II, document 164 ↗

    Official editorial note citing contemporary White House tapes, diaries and other records. Establishes the earlier spying episode independently of the 2026 commentary.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE

The claims, rated.

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