Doug Wead, the man who released secretly taped conversations with then-Gov. George W. Bush, now appears to regret the harm he has caused the relationship and plans to turn over the tapes to the president and direct proceeds of his book to charity.

Doug Wead

In a New York Times feature Sunday, Wead said he disclosed the tapes because he "just felt that the historical point I was making trumped a personal relationship."

But in a letter to MSNBC "Hardball" host Chris Matthews apologizing for canceling a scheduled appearance Tuesday night, Wead said, "I have come to realize that personal relationships are more important than history."

The letter reads:

Dear Mr. Matthews,

I am so sorry to cancel your show. It was very gracious of you to allow me a chance to share my heart and regrets about recent events. It seems the better part of wisdom for me to forgo television for a time. It would only add to the distraction I have caused to the president's important and historic work.

Contrary to a statement that I made to the New York Times, I have come to realize that personal relationships are more important than history. I am asking my attorney to direct any future proceeds from the book to charity and to find the best way to vet these tapes and get them back to the president to whom they belong. History can wait.

Thanks for your consideration,

Doug Wead

Wead, a Bush family friend who served as a special assistant to President George H.W. Bush, played more than a dozen recorded conversations to the Times, ranging in length from five minutes to nearly half an hour.

"I believe that, like him or not, he is going to be a huge historical figure," Wead said of Bush. "If I was on the telephone with Churchill or Gandhi, I would tape record them too."

Wead insisted, in the Times story, that while he obviously could benefit from publicity for his new book about presidential childhoods, "The Raising of a President," it was not his motive in disclosing the tapes.

Wead said in a Monday interview with "Good Morning America" his publisher insisted on listening to the tapes to confirm anonymous sources cited in the book.

The Times then learned of the tapes, and from there, it "all became unraveled," Wead said.

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