Elvis Spotted At White House Book Details Day Elvis Met Nixon In Effort To Become Narcotics Agent

With Hollywood focusing national attention on the angst and anguish of the Nixon White House, the anniversary of one of the most surreal meetings that ever took place there passed almost unnoticed.

Twenty-five years ago - on Dec. 21, 1970 - Elvis Presley sat down with President Nixon for a little heart-to-heart.

“Well, the word ‘strange’ comes to mind, definitely,” says Egil “Bud” Krogh, the former Nixon White House aide who set up the meeting and has just written a slim - 61 pages - book about the bizarre encounter.

“For the longest time I thought it was a practical joke,” Krogh says. “But then I saw him. The King. The King in the White House.”

As Krogh tells it, Elvis was on a flight to Washington, D.C., when he had a sudden impulse to discuss with Nixon his plans for fighting drug abuse in America.

When he reached the capital, Presley scribbled his request for an audience with the commander-in-chief on a piece of paper and handed it to White House security.

“Sir, I am staying at the Washington Hotel … and will be here for as long as it takes to get the credentials of a federal agent,” Presley wrote. “I have done an in-depth study on drug abuse and Communist brainwashing techniques.”

Krogh’s book, “The Day Elvis Met Nixon,” describes with amusement the subsequent scrambling by White House staff to set up a meeting between the very serious Nixon and Presley.

Several people have written about the encounter, but Krogh notes his account is based on firsthand knowledge and penned with a healthy dose of civility.

Nixon wrote the forward with droll humor:

“This account shatters many of the myths that have been spread. It remains to be seen, however, whether the author will be resourceful enough to be able to arrange for Elvis to appear at a book signing.”

One of the most compelling images in the book is a black-and-white photograph of Presley, his wife, Priscilla, and their young daughter Lisa Marie walking into the Oval Office.

“They were just awestruck,” Krogh says. “It is a fairly impressive office and you can tell Elvis was just amazed that he was there.”

Krogh, an attorney who served Nixon as deputy assistant for domestic affairs in charge of narcotics and criminal justice programs, was indicted in the Watergate scandal and served six months in prison after Nixon resigned in 1973. He was reinstated to the state bar in 1980 and has practiced law in Seattle ever since.

Krogh says his book is the first to offer the actual dialogue of the Nixon-Presley meeting.

“The Beatles, I think, are kind of anti-American,” he quotes Presley as saying. “They came over here. Made a lot of money. And then went back to England and they said some anti-American stuff when they got back.”

Krogh thinks Presley may have seen the Beatles as rivals for fans’ affections.

“I detected a bit of jealously,” he says.

Presley asked for and received an official badge from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, where he was appointed to a special advisory position, Krogh says.

“Elvis may have thought it gave him actual authority, but it didn’t. It’s on display at Graceland now.”

Krogh says his most vivid memory of the meeting may be its ending.

Elvis stood up, went behind the president’s desk and gave Nixon a big hug.

“I thought to myself, ‘Boy, this is the last meeting they let me schedule,’ because you don’t hug Nixon,” Krogh said.

“I just remember seeing Elvis hugging the president and the president kind of patting his back as if he was saying, ‘There, there.”’