Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 5 › Conversation 005-124

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on Pentagon Papers and Lyndon B. Johnson

Thursday, June 17, 1971 · 8:46 PM–8:48 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation005-124 on Tape 5 (tape position 03:46:30–03:47:47)StartThursday, June 17, 1971 at 8:46 PMEndThursday, June 17, 1971 at 8:48 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 005-124 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discussed strategies regarding the fallout of the Pentagon Papers, specifically focusing on the potential for a public statement from former President Lyndon B. Johnson. Kissinger confirmed that Walt W. Rostow and William J. Jordan were drafting a statement for Johnson, though he expressed reservations about Nixon aligning himself too closely with the former administration on this issue. They agreed to defer a final decision until the next day’s staff meeting, where they would review the draft and provide a formal recommendation to the President.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
Dr. Kissinger calling you, sir.
There you are.
Hello.
Mr. President?
Yeah, hi.
I've just reached Rostow.
Yeah.
And he's now willing to support his statement.
Yeah.
And we talked in general about what it might contain.
Yeah.
And he and Jordan are going to draft it tonight.
Yeah.
I have also talked to Harlow and... Colson, yeah.
Colson.
And I have my doubts about a presidential statement by chance because you might be better off fighting this one alone without having him as an ally.
But what I thought, Mr. President, if you agree, is that we might talk it over at our staff meeting tomorrow.
All right, fine.
And then make a recommendation to you in the meantime.
They are drafting the LBJ statement anyway, so nothing is being held up.
All right, fine.
Yeah, they can't reach him tonight, I understand, so that's fine.
But they will have a draft statement for him in the morning, and we will then be able also to make a recommendation to you, and if you want it, they'll make it.
All right, fine.
That's fine.
Let me know in the morning.
Okay, Henry, thank you.

NARA Description

On June 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 8:46 pm to 8:48 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 005-124 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 5-124

Date: June 17, 1971
Time: 8:46 pm - 8:48 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Henry A. Kissinger talked with the President.

     Pentagon Papers
          -Kissinger's conversation with Walt W. Rostow
          -Lyndon B. Johnson's possible statement
          -William J. Jordan
          -Kissinger's conversations with Bryce N. Harlow and Charles W. Colson
          -Possible Johnson public statement
          -Effect
          -White House Telephone staff discussion June 18, 1971

Also recorded on June 18, 1971

  • 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.
  • 005-123 8:25 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and F. Edward Hébert talked on the telephone from 8:25 pm to 8:28 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.
  • 005-127 9:29 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 9:29 pm to 9:35 pm.
  • 258-032 9:29 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:29 pm to 9:35 pm.

All 18 conversations from June 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 005-124, 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/005-124 (accessed October 20, 2026).