Conversation: 329-032
Prev: 329-031 Next: 329-033Start Date: 13-Apr-1972 2:00 PM
End Date: 13-Apr-1972 4:00 PM
Participants:
Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); Woods, Rose Mary; Kissinger, Henry A.; White House operator; Eisenhower, Julie Nixon; Sanchez, Manolo; [Unknown person(s)];Recording Device: Old Executive Office Building
Full Tape Conversation Start Time: 01:54:31
Full Tape Conversation End Time: 03:42:52
NARA Description:
On April 13, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Rose Mary Woods, Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Manolo Sanchez, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 329-032 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid:
Conversation No. 329-32
Date: April 13, 1972
Time: 2:00 pm - unknown before 4:00 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.
Weather
The President's schedule
-Organization of American States [OAS] Dinner
-Statement
-Copies
-Speech
-The President's delivery
-Toast
-Statement to press
-Speech to Canadian Parliament
-Press embargo
-Time
Canadian visit
-Arrival statement
-Toast
-Dinner statement
-Speech to Parliament
-Ceremony speech
-Brevity
-Speeches
-British custom
-Toasts
-Governor General
-The President's 1953 trip
27
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Toasts
-Audience
Unknown presentation ceremony
-Certificate
-Letter from the President
-Richard Wilson
-Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-[Forename unknown] Ottoburger [sp?]
-William L. Safire
-Ziegler
-Check with Rose Mary Woods
-Organizations
-Order of the Hound's Tooth
-Previous events
-1958 and 1960
-Background
-Helen Thomas
-Photos
The President talked with Rose Mary Woods at an unknown time between 2:00 and 2:16 pm.
[Conversation No. 329-32A]
Trip to Canada in 1957
-Paul Miller
-Harry F. Byrd
-Call from Woods
-Name of town visited
-Toast
-Mayor
-Gifts to the President
[End of telephone conversation]
The President's stopover in Austria
-Accommodations
-Compared to Ireland
-A meeting
-A luncheon
-Size
28
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Degree of formality
-Length
-Carl Gruber
-Invitation to accompany the President
-Salzburg
-Canadian ambassador
-Accompanying the President
-Gruber
-Schedule
-Invitation
Charles W. Colson
-Report on conversation with Albert E. Sindlinger
-The President's meeting with John B. Connally
-Return to Colson
-Food prices
The President's Canadian visit
-Meeting with unknown man
-Coaching the President in French
-Unknown man's proficiency in French and English
Vernon A. Walters
-Proficiency in French
-Unknown woman
-Proficiency in French
-Walters
-Unknown woman
-Translation
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 53s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
*****************************************************************
29
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT] case
-John N. Mitchell
-Convention
-Colson's report
Vietnam
-Critics of administration policy
-White House response
-Henry A. Kissinger's views
-Edward M. Kennedy
-Hubert H. Humphrey
-Edmund S. Muskie
-Kissinger's trip to Paris
-Kissinger's trip to Moscow
-William P. Rogers's reaction
Kissinger entered at 2:16 pm.
-Kissinger's meeting with Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
-Message from Moscow
-Kissinger's trip
-Kissinger's response
-Vietnamese delegation
-Visit to Moscow
-Kissinger's schedule
The President's trip to Canada
-Speech
-Rhetoric
-Substance
-Revisions
-The President's reading of the speech for Kissinger
-Copy to Kissinger
The President rehearsed a speech at an unknown time between 2:16 and 2:50 pm.
[A transcript of this speech, with slight variations, appears in PPP 1972, pp. 537-541]
The President's speech
-Kissinger’s revisions
30
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
Vietnam
-The President's conversation with Haldeman
-Attacks
-US response
-News summaries
-Networks
-Muskie
-Interviews with soldiers
-Troops’ resistance
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-Unknown commander's response
-Commendation
-Press reports
-Foreign policy aspects
-Domestic dissent
-Expenditures
-Democrats’ letter
-North Vietnamese conditions
-Message from Dobrynin
-Plenary sessions
-Bombing halt
-Kissinger’s trip to Moscow
-Message from Dobrynin
-Soviet interests
-W. Averell Harriman's view
-US position
-Kissinger’s statement to Dobrynin
-Military operations
-Negotiations
-Truce
-Hanoi’s position
-Soviet guarantee
-US naval fleet
-Size
-Haig
-Deployment
-Soviet position
-Compromise settlement
-Cessation of North Vietnamese military operations
-Effect in North Vietnam
-Allies’ agreement to terms
-People’s Republic of China [PRC] position
31
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Changes
-Kissinger’s trip to Moscow
-Coalition government
-Soviet intentions
-Cessation of fighting
-Compared with Cuban missile crisis
-American losses
-Possible Hanoi proposal
-Compromise
-Bombing halt
-Air strike plans
-Truck parks
-Petroleum, oil and lubricants [POL] dumps
-Kissinger’s recommendation
-Truck parks
-US fleet
-The President's conversation with Haig
-Peace talks
-Possible reasons for Hanoi’s involvement
-Battles in South Vietnam
-Soviet response
-US blockade
-US responses
-PRC response
-Kissinger’s message to Dobrynin
-Laos and Cambodia
-Past operations
-Camp David strategy meeting with Kissinger
-Abrams
-Haig’s view
-Local commander
-Instructions from the president
-Psychology
-The President's message to John S. McCain, Jr.
-Haig’s trip
-Air strike
-Effectiveness
-Soviets
-Hanoi
-Kissinger’s schedule
-April 24th meeting
-Secrecy
32
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Rogers’s knowledge
-Congressional pressure
-Laird
-Conversation with Rogers
-B-52 strikes
-President’s meeting with Rogers and Laird
-Strategy
-Kissinger’s presence
-Rogers
-Testimony before congress
-Reluctance
-John N. Irwin, II’s testimony
-Canada
-United Nations [UN]
-Meeting with the President at Camp David
-UN
-Knowledge of B-52 strikes
-Laird
-Meeting with the President
-B-52 strikes
-Testimony before congress
-Air strikes
-Congressional response
-Laird
-Strategy
-Soviet position
-Avoidance of October offensive
-Rogers
-Diplomatic strategy
-The President's decision
-October offensive
-Testimony before congress
Polish visit
-Public announcement
The president's trip to Soviet Union
-Stopover in Austria
-Luncheon
-Size
-Gruber
-Kissinger’s meeting with Dobrynin
33
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Stopover in Poland
-Connections with Catholic Church
-Unknown cardinal
-John Cardinal Krol
-Views
-Vietnam
PRC
-Visit by Hugh Scott and Michael J. Mansfield
-The president's letter to Chou En-lai
-Kissinger’s conversation with Ambassador Chien Yi
-Meeting with Mao Tse-tung
-Rogers
-Letter to Chou
-Delivery
-Kissinger’s conversation with unknown person
Vietnam
-Bombing
Kissinger's trip to Moscow
-Itinerary
-Arrival
-Back-up plane
-Advance party
-Leaks
-Dobrynin
-Possible accompaniment
-News leaks
-Rogers’s knowledge
-Secrecy
-Purpose of trip
-Vietnam
-Advance of the President's trip
-Kissinger’s Paris trip
-Importance
-The President's conversation with Ehrlichman
-Impact on Vietnam negotiations
Vietnam
-Negotiations
-Humphrey, Muskie and Kennedy
34
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Possible handling of negotiations
-US strategy
-Middle East
-Mrs. Nixon
-The President's conversation with Dobrynin
-Rogers
-Speech in Chicago
-Speech at UN
-Forthcoming conversation with Kissinger
-Middle East
Kissinger's trip to Moscow
-Forthcoming press event
-The President's possible attendance
-Announcement
-April 24th meeting
Unknown reception
-Length
Vietnam
-Air strikes
-Public opinion
-POL dumps
-Haiphong
-Hanoi
-B-5’s
-7th fleet
-Impact on negotiations
-Message from US
Kissinger left at 2:50 pm.
Richard G. Kleindienst
The president's Canadian trip
-Publicity
-Compared with a theoretical trip to France
-American television coverage
The President's schedule
-Publicity
35
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Haldeman
-Ziegler
-Camp David
-Florida
-California
-Rose Mary Woods
-Possible appearance on TV
-The President's trips
-Staff
-Florida
-Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Tricia Nixon Cox
-Florida
-The President's work during good weather
-Camp David
-The President's amount of work
-Nellie L. Yates
-Woods
-Unknown secretary [Beverly J. Kaye?]
-Moscow trip
-Yates
-Dwight L. Chapin
-Woods
-Marjorie P. Acker
-Unknown secretary [Kaye?]
-Amount of work
-Yates
-Woods
-Unknown secretary [Kaye?]
The White House operator talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman at 2:56 pm.
[Conversation No. 329-32B]
[See Conversation No. 22-122]
Haldeman conferred with the President.
Call from Julie Nixon Eisenhower
Julie Eisenhower talked with the President between 2:56 and 2:57 pm; one item has been
withdrawn from the conversation.
36
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
[End of telephone conversation]
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 11
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 14s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 11
*****************************************************************
Public relations assignment
ITT
-Peter M. Flanigan's issue
-John [Surname unknown]
-Administration position
-Congressional committee vote
-Scott's absence
-Possible loss of vote
-Clark MacGregor
-Call from Haldeman
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 2:57 pm.
Food order
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 4:00 pm.
Unknown person
-Withdrawal from presidential race
Connally
-Conflicts with White House
-Focus
-Reasons
-Cancellation of meeting
-Dinner party
-Ehrlichman
37
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Connally's demeanor
-Zsa Zsa Gabor
-Idanell B. (“Nellie”) Connally
-Guests
**************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 12
[Privacy]
[Duration: 3s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 12
**************************************************************************
-Calls to George P. Shultz and Ehrlichman
-Johnnie M. Walters
-Meeting with the President
-Press event
-Misunderstanding
-Message to Connally
-Briefing
-Meeting with Connally
-Haldeman's call to Connally
-Value
-The President's trip to Canada
-Meeting
-Possible cancellation
-Non-attendance
-Briefing of the President on misunderstanding
-Timing
-Walters
-Conflict with White House staff
-Kissinger
-National Security Council meeting
-Agenda
-Chile
-Walters issue
-National Security Council meeting
38
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Washington Special Action Group [WSAG] meeting
-Compared with Lyndon B. Johnson
-Conflicts with White House staff
-Herbert Stein
-Mid-year economic report
-Conversation with Shultz
-Consultation with the President
-Troika meeting
-Connally's attendance
-Unknown person's assessment of conflicts
-Duration
-Ehrlichman
-Shultz
-Meeting with the President
-Connally's cancellation
-Reason
-Health
-Dr. Walter R. Tkach
-Johnson's health
-Appearance
-The President's Canadian trip
-Connally’s attendance
-Media coverage
-Major concerns
-Pierre E. Trudeau
-Forthcoming conversation with the President
-Defense of administration
-Possible departure from administration
-Reasons
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 17
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 7s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 17
*****************************************************************
39
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Effect
-The President's instructions to Alexander P. Butterfield
-Butterfield's calls to Connally
-Camp David
-Haldeman's calls to Idanell B. (“Nellie”) Connally
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 18
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 21s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 18
*****************************************************************
-Conversations with Haldeman
-Meeting with Kissinger
-Walters issue
-Economic meeting
-Conversation with Ehrlichman
-Scheduling
-Conversation with Haldeman
-Conversation with Shultz
-David N. Parker
-Council of Economic Advisors meeting with the
President
-Attendees
-Relationship with the President and Haldeman
-Conflicts with White House staff
-Kissinger
-Dinner with the President
-Connally dinner parties
-Haldeman's attendance at one
-Ehrlichman's attendance, April 12, 1972
-Nellie Connally
40
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 19
[Privacy]
[Duration: 9s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 19
*****************************************************************
-Conversations with the President
-Role in administration
-Conversation with Haldeman
-Value
-The President's orders concerning conflicts with White House staff
-Kissinger
-Ehrlichman
-Shultz
-Haldeman's role
-Haldeman's mediation
-Staff
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 20
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 38s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 20
*****************************************************************
-Possible briefing by Kissinger
-Moscow trip
-Walters issue
-Reaction
-Internal Revenue Service [IRS] event
41
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Ehrlichman
-Government Accounting Office [GAO] official
-Testimony before Congress
-Lockheed case
-White House denial of involvement
-A plot
-Role in administration
-Conflicts with White House staff
-Rogers
-Possible removal from office
-Feasibility
-Compared with Kissinger
ITT case
-Damage to administration
Vietnam
-Current situation
-Press coverage
Kissinger's trip to Moscow
-Rogers
-Explanation of trip
-Haldeman
-Hangchow
-Paris
-Message regarding negotiations
-Timing
-Schedule
-Rogers
-Press coverage of trip
-Kissinger’s explanation of trip to Rogers
-Meeting with North Vietnamese
-Timing
-Paris
-Moscow
-Call to the president
-Leonid I. Brezhnev's message to the president
-Vietnam
-Summit
-Full disclosure
-Haldeman’s presence
42
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Meeting with the president
-Secrecy
-Soviet guarantee
-Reasons
-The President's schedule
-Meeting with editors
-Camp David
-Florida
-Kissinger’s absence
-Diversion from news about trip
-Rogers
-Appeal to Haig
-Explanation of trip
-Kissinger
-Florida cover story
The President's Canadian trip
-Connally
-Meeting with Trudeau
-Talking points
-Connally’s handling of economic matter
Connally
-Disenchantment with Democrats
-Commitment to the President
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 2:57 pm.
Food order
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 4:00 pm.
Connally
-Position as Secretary of State
Ehrlichman
-Position as Attorney General
-Qualifications
-Appointment
-Timing
-Statements
-Timing
43
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Length
-Topics
The President talked with an unknown person at an unknown time between 2:57 and 4:00 pm.
[Conversation No. 329-32C]
Republican Senators' activities
-News summary report
-White House knowledge
Crime
-Administration reports
-Record
-Rehabilitation
-Minimum wage for prisoners
-MacGregor's work
Administration statements
-Frequency
-Topics
-Food prices
-Value
Busing
-Rev. Theodore S. Hesburg
-Position
-Ohio situation
-Media problem
-Constitutional amendment
[End of telephone conversation]
Domestic affairs
-Coordination between Colson, Ehrlichman and MacGregor
-The President's attention to other issues
-Major issues
-Focus
-Ehrlichman
-Delegation of authority
-Kenneth R. Cole, Jr.
-Shultz
44
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
-Kleindienst issue
-Vietnam
Connally
-Realization of responsibility
-Conflicts
-Johnson
-Resignation
-Call from Haldeman
-William E. Simon
Foreign policy
-Canadians and Europeans
-Kissinger
The President's schedule
-Trip
-Rose Mary Woods's presence
Connally
-Handling by White House
-Compared with Kissinger
-Meeting with the President
-Frequency
-Vietnam
-Briefing by the President
-North Vietnamese
-B-52S
The President's schedule
-Easter vacation
-Florida trip
-Soviet trip
-Church attendance
-William F. (“Billy”) Graham's comments
-Kissinger’s conversation with Dobrynin
-Baptist church in Moscow
-Interdenominationality
-Unknown Catholic priest
-Number of services
-Format of service
45
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 329-32 (cont.)
Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 2:57 pm.
Request for razor
Unknown person
-Letters [?]
Haldeman and Sanchez left at an unknown time before 4:00 pm.