Conversation: 527-012
Prev: 527-011 Next: 527-013Start Date: 22-Jun-1971 5:09 PM
End Date: 22-Jun-1971 6:46 PM
Participants:
Nixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); Ehrlichman, John D.; Ziegler, Ronald L.; White House operator; Butterfield, Alexander P.; Kissinger, Henry A.;Recording Device: Oval Office
Full Tape Conversation Start Time: 03:10:52
Full Tape Conversation End Time: 04:45:53
NARA Description:
On June 22, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, John N. Mitchell, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, Ronald L. Ziegler, White House operator, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:09 pm to 6:46 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 527-012 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid:
Conversation No. 527-12
Date: June 22, 1971
Time: 5:09 pm - 6:46 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with John N. Mitchell and H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.
Greetings
Weather
-Miami compared to Washington, D.C.
Dinner with businessmen
John D. Ehrlichman entered at 5:10 pm.
Mitchell's meeting with businessmen
-Topics
-Crime
-Drugs
-Pentagon Papers
-Politics
-John B. Connally participation
-Henry A. Kissinger participation
-Demeanor
-Enthusiasm
-Peter G. Peterson
-Advocacy role
Business community
-Academic thrust
-George P. Shultz
36
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)
-Dr. Edward E. David, Jr.
-Response to calls for advocacy
-Arrival in Washington, D.C.
-Howard W. Johnson of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
[MIT]
-George J. Steigler
-Dr. Edward C. Banfield
-Robert H. Ebert's role
-Harvard Medical School
-Dr. John E. Jeuck's role
-University of Chicago
-James R. Killian's role
-MIT
-Fredrick J. Geitz
-Nelson A. Rockefeller
-Dr. H. Gayford Stever
-Carnegie-Mellon University
-W. Allen Wallis
-Milton Friedman
-Johnson
-Steigler
-Response
Pentagon Papers
-Melvin R. Laird and William P. Rogers’ meeting with Carl B. Albert
-Clark MacGregor
-Arrangement
-MacGregor
-President's talk with Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield
-Breakfast
-Mansfield
-Bipartisan committee
-Political ramifications
-Scope of documents
-World War II
-Korean War
-Bay of Pigs
-Talk with MacGregor
-Executive and legislative relations
-Make up of bipartisan group
-Comparison with Joint Committee on the conduct of the War
-Abraham Lincoln
37
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)
-Tactics to let President release documents
-President’s cooperation with Mansfield
-Bipartisan committee
-Richard B. Russell [?]
-Gen. Douglass MacArthur
-Effect on litigation of committee
-Composition
-Hugh Scott Conv. No. 527-12 (cont.)
-Mansfield
-Albert
-Gerald R. Ford
-Paul N. (“Pete”) McCloskey, Jr.
-Bella S. Abzug
-Bipartisan committee
-Mansfield's role
-Albert
-MacGregor
-Mansfield
-View on the war
-Press coverage of bipartisan committee
-Robert S. McNamara's role
-McGeorge Bundy's role
-Clark M. Clifford's role
-John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson circle
-Timing
-Dean Rusk
-Questioning
-Impact on Democrat party
-Albert
-Mansfield
-Johnson
-Edmund S. Muskie call for Lyndon Johnson testimony
-Refusal
-McNamara
-President's opinion
-Ronald L. Ziegler's statement
-Turning files over to Congress
-Ehrlichman
-President's meeting with Ziegler
-Focus on President's initiative
-Reference to Lyndon Johnson and Kennedy administrations
-Mitchell's use
38
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)
-Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration
-Washington Star headline
-Beginning of Vietnam
-Boston Globe story
-Charles W. Colson
-Attack on Kennedy
-Ngo Dinh Diem reference
-Statement by President Conv. No. 527-12 (cont.)
-Attack on Henry Cabot Lodge
-MacGregor's contact with Albert
-Mansfield reference
-Ziegler
-Liaison
-Kissinger
-Statement by President
-Ziegler
-Effect on litigation
-Format
-Criticism of timing
-Problem of spill over
-Focus on Democratic administrations
-President visits in Vietnam
-Support
-Nguyen Van Thieu's election
Ziegler entered at 5:38 pm.
-Ziegler's briefing
-Reporters' demeanor
-Laird's comment
-Public’s right to know
-Declassification procedures
-Compromise of published material
-Court decision on Times publications
-Level of classification
-Department of Defense
-Other court decisions
-Task force study
-Background
-President's role in public release of information
-NSC directive
-Administration's strategy
39
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)
-Laird and Rogers action
-Albert
-Mansfield
-Possible meetings with President
-Laird calls to Mitchell
-Authorization by Mitchell to Laird for statements
-Media solidarity
-Effect on clarity of issues Conv. No. 527-12 (cont.)
-Public perception
-Volatility of information compromised
-Judge Murray Gurfein
-Description of administration
-Appointment
-Rockefeller
-Jacob K. Javits
-Thomas E. Dewey
-Law partner
-Poll
-Questions
-William L. Calley poll
-President's statements
-Results
-Awareness of Times controversy
-Freedom of press question
-Results
-Effect of criminal actions
-Guilt
-Results
Ziegler left at 5:39 pm.
-Legal decisions
-John M. Harlan
-Warren E. Burger
-Timing
-Effect of forthcoming Mansfield statement
-Public relations problems
-Suppression of information
Ziegler entered at an unknown time after 5:39 pm.
-Mechanics of court decision
40
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)
-Decision related to facts
-Effect on administration appeal
Ziegler left at an unknown time before 6:16 pm.
-Decision related to law
-Effect on appeal
-Supreme Court schedule Conv. No. 527-12 (cont.)
-Effect on administration action
-Legal motivation of administration
-News revelations
-Mansfield committee revelations
-Public perception of administration legal attack
-Polls
-Perception of administration motives
-Publication of stolen documents
-Legality of Times publication
-Right to know versus the law
-Focus on theft of classified documents
-Focus on legal questions
-Post, Times, Washington Star legal coverage
-Drawbacks
-Comparison with Alger Hiss case
-Grand jury
-Colson
-George T. Bell
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union
-Influence
-James R. (“Jimmy”) Hoffa
-Frank S. Fitzsimmons
-James R. Hoffa, Jr.
-Effect of visit by President
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
-Cooperation of Union and administration
-Social Security issue
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Federal Statute]
41
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)
[Duration: 12s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
******************************************************************************
Conv. No. 527-12 (cont.)
-Harold J. Gibbons
-Lawyers at meeting with President
-Mitchell's action on New York grand jury
-Union election
-Fitzsimmons
-Commitments
-Indictments
Pentagon Papers
-Supreme Court
-Appeal process
-Support for administration
-Burger
-Harry H. Blackmun
-Byron R. White
-Potter Stewart
-Harlan
-Approach of Court
-Stewart
-Opposition to administration
-Burger and Blackmun
-Stewart opinion against newspapers
-Unknown woman
-Public relations problem
-Appeal to Supreme Court from other sources
-Public relations problems of appeals
-Focus on facts
-Focus on law
-Effect of split Court
-Need for definitive decision
-Need for administration’s decision
-Court schedule
-Ethnic prejudices in civil rights cases
-Kissinger
-Leslie H. Gelb
42
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)
-Prior prosecution
-Communists
-Elizabeth Bentley
-John Abt
-Victor Perlo
-Lee Pressman
-Use of photographic shop
-Joseph McCarthy's efforts Conv. No. 527-12 (cont.)
-Mistakes
-Jewish predisposition
-Supreme Court decision on golf club
-Jewish protest of Soviet emigration policy
Mansfield amendment
-Vote
-Cook-Stevens amendment
-John C. Stennis’ amendment
-Prisoner of War [POW] release
-Vote
-Reconsideration
-Vote
-Mansfield maneuver
-"Sense of the Senate" resolution
-Cook-Stevens
-Provisions
-Proclamation of withdrawal date
-Ceasefire negotiations
-POW return for withdrawal
-Vote
-Impact
-Kissinger
-Other resolutions
-Impact
-Impact of Mansfield amendment
-Problems
-Lack of leverage
Pentagon Papers
-Timing of court decisions
-President's schedule
-Dinner for businessmen
43
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)
President's schedule
-Dinner for businessmen
-Peter M. Flanigan's speech
Stock market
-End of trading standing
-George P. Shultz information
-Volume Conv. No. 527-12 (cont.)
Pentagon Papers
-Need for administration attack
-Assessment of documents
-Adm. Noel Gayler
-National Security Agency [NSA]
-Compromise of information collection
-"Select committee" concept
-Structure
-Scott
-Ford
-MacGregor’s view
-Mansfield
-Albert
-Witness selection
-MacGregor's role
[Ehrlichman talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 5:38 pm and
6:16 pm]
[Conversation No. 527-12A]
[See Conversation No. 5-128]
[End of telephone conversation]
Stock market
President and Congress tension over foreign policy and defense
Stock market
-Performance
-Fluctuations
44
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)
Pentagon Papers
-Ford call to MacGregor
-Announcement by administration on document release
-Timing
-Mansfield
-Clark call to Albert
-Timing
Conv. No. 527-12 (cont.)
Mansfield amendment
-Administration response
-Ford
-Scott
-[Thomas] Hale Boggs
-Control of administration supporters in Congress
-Albert
-Scott
-Ziegler statement
-Issues covered by President already
-Ceasefire
-Withdrawal of POWs
-Withdrawal of armed forces
Pentagon Papers
-Administration response
-Declassification process
-Laird's role
Schedule
-Kissinger
Mitchell and Ehrlichman left at 6:16 pm.
Butterfield entered at 6:16 pm.
Seating at upcoming stag dinner
-Flanigan’s suggestions
-Robert O. Anderson
-Donald T. Regan
-Howard J. Morgens
-Procter and Gamble
-Edward W. Carter
45
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)
Butterfield left at an unknown time after 6:16 pm.
Kissinger entered at 6:16 pm.
Mansfield amendment
-Stennis
-Impact
-Contents Conv. No. 527-12 (cont.)
-Ceasefire
-Administration policy
-Statement by administration
-Contents
-Deadline drawbacks
-Respect for Senate and House
-Rationale
-Republicans
-Public revelations by President
-Tactical benefits
-Warning of Senate
-Mansfield
-Effect on negotiations
-Force of amendment
-Budget implications
-Administration statement
-Responsibility of amendment supporters
Vietnam Peace negotiations
-North Vietnamese reaction
-US contact with People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-US reaction to rejection of proposals
-Possible television appearance by President
-Clifford's efforts
-Times efforts
-Administration response
-Effect on amendment's supporters
-US contact with PRC
-Soviet reaction
-US position
-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
-administration response
-Focus on US offers to North Vietnam
-Negotiations in Paris
46
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)
-US obligation to set withdrawal date
-Future credit-taking
-Lack of support for President
-Comparison with Abraham Lincoln
-Republican support
-Justification
-Vote
-Cook-Stevens amendment Conv. No. 527-12 (cont.)
Businessmen stag dinner
-Reception format
-Quality of group
-Donald McI. Kendall work trip
President's meeting with Frank J. Shakespeare
-Haldeman's comment to Shakespeare
-Efficacy of presentation
-Effective presentation
-Format
-Jack R. Miller's report
-India-Pakistan segment
Support for administration
-American Medical Association [AMA] meeting
-Problems
-War in Vietnam
-Media
-Need to fight
Ziegler entered and Haldeman left at 6:36 pm.
Press briefing
-Statement on Mansfield amendment
-Force of amendment
-Defeat of restrictive amendments
-Consideration of Congressional views
-Contradictory nature of amendment
-Objectives of administration policy
-Inconsistencies of amendment
-Force of amendment
-Defeat of restrictive amendments
-Effect of deadline
47
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)
-Results of Congressional efforts
-Wording
-Use by others
-Robert J. Dole
-Stennis
Ziegler left at 6:42 pm.
Conv. No. 527-12 (cont.)
Kissinger's schedule
-Paris
-Businessmen's dinner
-Kissinger's contact with businessmen
-Pentagon Papers
-Rogers
-Lyndon Johnson
-Vietnam
-Negotiations
-US and Soviet Union relations
-US and PRC relations
-New basis for foreign policy
-Domestic problems
Administration response to critics
-Cambodia
-Laos
-Democrats
-Republicans
The President and Kissinger left at 6:46 pm.