Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 5 › Conversation 005-123

Nixon phone call with Hébert on Pentagon Papers and Defense Policy

Thursday, June 17, 1971 · 8:25 PM–8:28 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Hébert, F. EdwardConversation005-123 on Tape 5 (tape position 03:44:14–03:46:30)StartThursday, June 17, 1971 at 8:25 PMEndThursday, June 17, 1971 at 8:28 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 005-123 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon calls Congressman F. Edward Hébert to congratulate him on the House's decisive legislative victory regarding funding for the Antiballistic Missile (ABM) system and the B-1 bomber. The conversation shifts to the ongoing controversy surrounding the publication of the Pentagon Papers by The New York Times, which Nixon characterizes as an attack on the presidency. Nixon expresses his determination to pursue legal action against Daniel Ellsberg and his associates, asserting that those responsible for leaking the classified documents must be sent to jail.

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
Congressman Abare.
There you are.
Hello?
That was a lulu today.
Yeah, I wanted to tell you that was a great job you did.
Everybody tells me you really smacked them.
Well, I appreciate it.
I appreciate your call.
You know, it didn't come within 100 votes of us.
I just couldn't believe it.
I couldn't believe it either.
When I heard it, that we got over 90, I mean, over 90 majority votes,
We beat them bigger on the ABM this year than we beat them last year.
That's terrific.
And the final passage was 335, I think, 331 to 58.
Great.
Not a single amendment.
The only amendments that were put on were the two we put on, the two committee amendments.
Right.
And we beat them down on everything they tried.
Right.
That's great.
Beat them down on the B-1, everything.
That's really great.
Oh, that's a marvelous job.
Well, it was nice of you to call.
Well, that's great.
I do appreciate it a lot.
Well, we've got to fight for the right things, you know?
We've got to fight for them.
You know, after our experience... You can write a book.
After our experience, I was just thinking, when I was thinking of these shameful New York Times things that we went through so many years ago, I was just wondering, you know...
uh what in the world is it do responsible publishers think about to put out trunk loads of secret documents it's getting waste every day it's awful isn't it it's getting awful i mean i mean responsibility and it's uh i mean as i said it's no skin off from a political standpoint part it's no skin off our back i think as far as this latest thing that's happening in your favor but
We get no comfort out of that.
It'll destroy the presidency.
It'll get somebody, the next guy coming along.
That's what they're trying to do, too.
That's exactly what they're trying to do.
Well, we'll fight it all the way.
And I'm telling you, I've told Mitchell, by God, we're going to find the, we think we know the guy that did this.
He's a fellow that worked over at Ellsberg who worked in the Defense Department.
And by golly, we're going to get him, and he's going to go to jail.
That's the only thing to do with it.
That's right.
He's got to go to jail for this.
That's the only thing to do.
That's right.
Well, I enjoy seeing you anyway.
Good to see you, Eddie.
Good to see my colleague.
Bring him along with me all the time.
All right.
Okay.
Bye.
Thanks a lot for calling.

NARA Description

On June 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and F. Edward Hébert talked on the telephone from 8:25 pm to 8:28 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 005-123 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 5-123

Date: June 17, 1971
Time: 8:25 pm - 8:28 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with F. Edward Hébert.

     Administration's legislative victory June 17, 1971
         -Antiballistic missiles [ABM]
         -B-1 bomber

     New York Times and Pentagon Papers
         -Release of classified information
         -Effect on presidency
         -Administration's response
         -President's conversation with John N. Mitchell
         -Daniel Ellsberg

Also recorded on June 18, 1971

  • 005-118 8:00 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:00 pm.
  • 005-119 8:00 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:00 pm and 8:10 pm.
  • 005-120 8:10 PM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 8:10 pm to 8:11 pm.
  • 005-121 8:21 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford talked on the telephone from 8:21 pm to 8:24 pm.
  • 005-122 8:24 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:24 pm.
  • 005-124 8:46 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 8:46 pm to 8:48 pm.
  • 005-125 8:48 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:48 pm and 9:28 pm.
  • 005-126 9:28 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:28 pm.

All 18 conversations from June 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 005-123, June 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/005-123 (accessed October 12, 2026).