Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 7 › Conversation 007-161

Nixon, Haldeman & BeLieu on Congressional leadership and Bipartisan relations

Monday, August 16, 1971 · 11:50 AM–10:23 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); BeLieu, Kenneth E.Conversation007-161 on Tape 7 (tape position 06:00:23–06:04:29)StartMonday, August 16, 1971 at 11:50 AMEndMonday, August 16, 1971 at 10:23 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 007-161 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon, H.R. Haldeman, and Kenneth BeLieu coordinated the urgent assembly of a bipartisan congressional leadership meeting. The participants finalized a list of key legislators from the Senate and House, specifically focusing on members of the Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Banking and Currency committees. BeLieu was tasked with contacting the members immediately to arrange the meeting and providing government transportation to facilitate the arrival of lawmakers currently out of town.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Hi, Bob.
Ken, the president would like to call a bipartisan leadership meeting tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock.
Okay.
And the members should be notified immediately by phone.
You get your whole crew going.
Mm-hmm.
Excuse me, make it 11 o'clock.
All right.
11 o'clock tomorrow.
Whoops, now 10.30.
All right.
To get time for them to get in, because they'll have to fly in from around.
Mm-hmm.
Scott probably won't be here.
All right.
Let me give you the names now.
Mansfield, Scott, Griffin, and Byrd from the Senate.
Mm-hmm.
Halbert, who, of course, can't come.
Boggs, Ford, and Ahrens from the House.
Mm-hmm.
Then, yeah, and their whip.
I guess you've got to have, what's his name?
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
No, the house whip, you know.
Yeah.
Ford and Boggs.
Okay, leave out Griffin and Byrd.
Okay, I think Bird's in the hospital and Grayson's in the state.
Right.
So they get Mansfield and Scott from the Senate and Boggs and Ford from the House leave out errands.
Okay.
Then chairman and ranking member of banking and currency, both houses.
Mm-hmm.
Appropriations and ways and means.
Okay.
No, he's back to include the whips.
Well, he says Bird's in the hospital, and Griffin's, as you know, is out of the state anyway.
At least we hear Bird's in the hospital, and that's how I got him last night.
What do you think?
Invite him anyway?
Don't have him.
We can invite him and get the credit.
Let's invite him.
Okay.
So include the whips, but then you've got to put the House Democratic whip in, too.
Mm-hmm.
O'Neill.
Mm-hmm.
I have an idea he's in Mass.
Yeah, I think he's not there anyway.
President's already talked to Mills, but your office should call and confirm that he's calling the meeting.
Okay.
And so it'd be Mills and Burns, Long and Bennett, Mayon and Boe.
Mm-hmm.
And your Senate Appropriations.
I'll enter.
And the Banking and Currency guys.
Most of these guys are way out of town.
We may not get them.
Okay.
Well, that's all right.
Try to get them, and then we'll have to... Who are the ranking members of the Joint Economic?
Got your directory there?
Yeah, I got it right, Sandy.
Broxmire.
Broxmire.
Patman.
Patman.
Javits.
Javits.
Forget that one.
Yeah.
Scratch them.
And Wendell.
Okay.
Scratch Joint Economic.
Drop that one, yep.
Now, yeah, we will definitely furnish transportation for mills.
And we'll do, you know, we should try to make planes available for everybody else.
What you're going to have to do is find out if they need transportation and then see what we can provide on a pickup basis.
Okay, sir.
Scott's in Europe someplace.
We couldn't find him last night.
Okay, well, that's all right.
Transportation in the U.S., not in Europe.
Okay.
Yes, sir.
Okay?
Roger.
I'll check with you a little later.
You bet.
All right.
Bye.

NARA Description

On August 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Kenneth E. BeLieu talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:50 am and 10:23 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 007-161 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 7-161

Date: August 16, 1971
Time: Unknown between 11:50 am and 10:23 pm
Location: White House Telephone

H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with Kenneth E. Belieu; the President can be heard in the
background.

[See Conversation No. 564-4D]

     The President's schedule
          -Bipartisan leadership meeting
               -Time
               -Notification of participants
                      -Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield
                      -Hugh Scott
                      -Robert P. Griffin
                      -Robert C. Byrd
                      -Carl B. Albert
                      -[Thomas] Hale Boggs
                      -Gerald R. Ford

                -Leslie C. Arends
                -Deletions
                      -Griffin
                      -Byrd
                      -Arends
                -Chairman and ranking member of House and Senate committees
                      -Banking and Currency
                      -Appropriations
                      -Ways and Means
                -Byrd
                -Whips
                      -Thomas P. ("Tip") O'Neill, Jr.
          -The President's talk with Wilbur D. Mills
          -Participants
                -John W. Byrnes
                -Russell B. Long
                -Wallace F. Bennett
                -George H. Mahon
                -Boggs
                 -Allen J. Ellender
                -Banking and currency

[Pause]

               -William Proxmire
               -Wright Patman
               -Jacob K. Javits
          -Transportation arrangements
          -Hugh Scott
               -Location

Also recorded on August 16, 1971

  • 007-159 11:48 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 11:48 am to 11:50 am.
  • 007-160 11:50 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:50 am and 10:23 pm.
  • 008-001 1:08 PM · 37 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:08 pm and 1:18 pm.
  • 008-002 1:08 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:08 pm and 1:18 pm.
  • 565-001 1:08 PM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Ronald L. Ziegler, Rose Mary Woods, Stephen B. Bull, White House operator, Charles W. Colson, John B. Connally, and Bernard J. ("Bunny") Lasker met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:08 pm and 1:40 pm.
  • 008-003 1:18 PM · 5 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 1:20 pm.
  • 008-004 1:18 PM · 7 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 1:20 pm.
  • 008-005 1:18 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 1:20 pm.

All 88 conversations from August 16, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 007-161, August 16, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/007-161 (accessed October 24, 2026).