Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 6 › Conversation 006-036

Nixon, Mitchell & Haldeman on Pentagon Papers and Daniel Ellsberg

Tuesday, June 29, 1971 · 5:46 PM–5:50 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation006-036 on Tape 6 (tape position 00:34:09–00:37:40)StartTuesday, June 29, 1971 at 5:46 PMEndTuesday, June 29, 1971 at 5:50 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 006-036 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417188963 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon, John Mitchell, and H.R. Haldeman discuss the ongoing legal strategy regarding the Pentagon Papers case, specifically expressing concern over the Supreme Court's unexpected request for data on U.S. war casualties since World War II. Mitchell confirms that legal action against Daniel Ellsberg will proceed regardless of the Court's pending ruling to prevent future unauthorized leaks. Nixon emphasizes the necessity of framing the prosecution to avoid creating a martyr and to ensure government employees are deterred from similar disclosures.

Audio

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NARA Description

On June 29, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, John N. Mitchell, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:46 pm to 5:50 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 006-036 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 6-36

Date: June 29, 1971
Time: 5:46 pm - 5:50 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John N. Mitchell; the President spoke to H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman in
the background.

[See Conversation No. 531-28 O]

     Mitchell's communication with J. Edgar Hoover
          -Report to John D. Ehrlichman

     National Commission on Productivity

     Pentagon Papers case
          -Timing of court action
          -US war casualties in World War II
          -Justice William O. Douglas
          -Erwin N. Griswold
          -Massachusetts versus Melvin R. Laird
          -Prosecution of Daniel Ellsberg
          -Effect
          -Mitchell's activities

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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He's got it in there, I think.
Hello.
Yes, Mr. President.
I was wondering any progress on your problem today.
All taken care of.
Oh, fine.
I reported to John Ehrlichman.
I thought he'd let you know.
Oh, that's right.
I've been tied up with the Productivity Commission.
No problem at all.
Taken in good grace.
But he understood it.
He understood it.
It's a hell of a ringer.
Yeah.
He understood it.
I understand that the predictions now is that you aren't going to be ready until...
that the court may not come in with anything until Friday.
I hadn't heard that.
Well, I don't know where they get this information.
I don't know because I've never, when I remember when I had that damn case down there, I couldn't get any information.
So I thought maybe you fellows knew something I didn't.
No.
Who told you that the court was going to, Bob Holland just stepped in here.
The only thing that's developed during the day, which is rather interesting, is that...
The court itself went directly to the Defense Department, didn't even advise counsel on either side, requesting the information on the casualties in armed conflict from the end of World War II.
And nobody can figure out what the hell they want that for.
Oh, for Christ's sakes.
That sounds like casualties in armed conflict since World War II.
That's Korea and everything else, I suppose.
Maybe the court's going to come out with some
horrendous decision about war guilt and all that sort of thing.
Well, the only one that...
They get into that.
Good God.
And the only one that Griswold thinks might write something like that is Douglass, and he isn't even here.
He's gone back to Washington.
The other side of the coin is that they might use statistics like this to buttress an argument for secrecy.
Nobody knows.
Wasn't that nice.
So it may be helpful or...
They have, as you know constantly, by the cases that we've had up there in Massachusetts against Laird and the others, have stated that this was the question of the war was a political question who've never addressed themselves to it, even when they had the opportunity.
So I would be surprised that they might write a political opinion on a case like this.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Hopefully so.
Very interesting.
Why don't they, the other thing is that, well, they must never, well,
They better not get in the piece, Nick, but it's one of the dissenters, Will, I'm sure.
But if it comes out, it would have to come out.
I would be surprised if they did.
They did.
Douglas has the capability of it, but I don't believe the others.
Well, it's so wrong.
They've stayed away from it.
Now, of course, we've got our plans all set.
As I understand now, we've got to go gung-ho now on this Ellsberg, regardless of what this court does, right?
No question about it.
And the statement should be ready to go and so forth, right around off the bat.
And I'm not concerned about this whole idea, you know, that they make a...
martyr out of him.
The other side of that coin is that you make a martyr out of him, we're going to give an incentive to every little son of a bitch in this government to run out of the place and rat on us.
I've taken a couple of steps along that line, which I'll tell you about sometime when I see you.
All right.
You mean to scare somebody?
No, to put the gentleman in proper perspective.
Great.
Vis-a-vis some of the events that have happened.
Great.
Okay.
Fine, John.
Thanks, sir.
See you later.

Also recorded on June 29, 1971

  • 006-027 5:06 PM · 7 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:06 pm and 5:35 pm.
  • 006-028 5:06 PM · 59 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:06 pm and 5:35 pm.
  • 006-029 5:06 PM · 5 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:06 pm and 5:35 pm.
  • 006-032 5:35 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone from 5:35 pm to 5:39 pm.
  • 006-033 5:39 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:39 pm and 5:44 pm.
  • 006-034 5:44 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Mary Swann talked on the telephone from 5:44 pm to 5:45 pm.
  • 006-035 5:45 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:45 pm.
  • 531-029 5:50 PM · 38 min — President Richard M. Nixon, James D. Hodgson, George P. Shultz, Manolo Sanchez, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:50 pm to 6:29 pm.

All 54 conversations from June 29, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 006-036, June 29, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417188963). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/006-036 (accessed October 29, 2026).