Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 015-040
Date: Thursday, November 18, 1971 at 4:17 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Connally, John B.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/015-040

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] hello yes sir hi john how are you mr president say i wanted you to know that uh that uh that i would be uh i i think i think it would be great if you could do a conference on monday yes sir since i will do i'm going to do one the following tuesday which i think is about the right
[0:18] See, I did one last week, and I don't want to do one this week.
[0:20] All right, sir.
[0:21] But does it sound all right to you?
[0:22] Yes, sir.
[0:23] And then we'll have our international meeting on Tuesday, if that's all right with you.
[0:28] Yes, sir.
[0:29] All right?
[0:30] Yes, sir.
[0:32] Because what I was thinking, what brought this to mind, I think Colson may have told you, but what brought this to mind is, and I read your speech up there, and
[0:40] you know what I mean, up at the Economic Club, and all the positive points you made, I just want you to see, I want you to make that before a bigger audience.
[0:47] You see?
[0:48] Yes, sir.
[0:48] Now, who knows what they'll cover, but it'll get a bigger play, and it's worth, all of them are worth seeing, and those third quarter figures need to be bragged about a little.
[0:57] The success of the freeze, George Meany, for example, today said the freeze was unsuccessful.
[1:01] He's just wrong, right?
[1:03] Yes, sir.
[1:04] So it's all right with you.
[1:05] I think it's fine.
[1:06] Oh, that's fine with me, yes, sir.
[1:08] I told Chuck I just don't want to beat a good horse to death.
[1:11] No, no, no.
[1:13] I told him that I wasn't prepared, but I damn sure would try to get prepared before Monday.
[1:18] Well, we'll get the briefing books and everything.
[1:20] Oh, yeah.
[1:21] All right, fine.
[1:21] When are you going to have to leave?
[1:23] Well, I'm going to leave tonight about 7 o'clock to go down to Florida, and then I speak there at 10.30 tomorrow.
[1:29] go into the lion's den.
[1:30] I think your advice is right.
[1:33] I'm just doing it.
[1:34] I mean, it isn't going to do any good, but I'm not going to be afraid to talk to a bunch of union guys.
[1:40] So I was going to lay it right out there.
[1:42] Don't you agree?
[1:43] I sure do.
[1:43] And I think it's absolutely essential because in the
[1:46] I don't think it's justified, but we're getting the impression all over the country that we're being soft and we're capitulating to labor, and it's not good.
[1:56] And so I think it's all the more important that you go down there and say the same thing to them you'd say to the NAN or anybody else.
[2:04] That's right.
[2:05] So what I'm going to do, what I am going to do, I'm going to give them credit where credit is due for supporting us on foreign policy.
[2:13] I'm going to give them their high marks because they have been good on foreign policy.
[2:17] And then I'm going to say, no, we need your support on domestic policy and ask for their support.
[2:21] Excuse me, go ahead.
[2:24] Well, I just have a personal matter that I want to mention to you if I might ask you not to mention it to anybody else.
[2:35] Sure.
[2:35] to John, and I don't have the whole story yet, and I just want to tell you just because I don't know what it means, and I'm going to mention it to John.
[2:45] I'm going to have lunch with him on Monday.
[2:48] There's a lawyer named Mahon who was out of your old law firm and his old law firm in New York.
[2:58] And there was another lawyer out of that firm.
[3:01] There were two lawyers out of your old firm who were in Houston recently within the last 10 days.
[3:10] They were at a party, at a cocktail party, and they're representing Sharon Moody.
[3:16] And this is a long fight, which I won't go into down there.
[3:19] It involves the old American National Insurance Company and the Moody Foundation.
[3:22] I see.
[3:23] But they're representing Sharon Moody as is Roy Cohen.
[3:29] But they were down there, and my name came up in their presence, and Sharon Moody made some derogatory remark.
[3:39] And Mahon said, he said, well, he said, don't worry about him.
[3:45] He said he's going to get his.
[3:47] He said, the Attorney General is going to see that.
[3:51] And he said, as a matter of fact, he's got me down here investigating him.
[3:56] And he said, we're going to San Antonio to talk.
[4:00] We're going to run down this fellow Peace and see.
[4:03] He said, I understand he's an old friend of his.
[4:05] He said, I understand Connolly's got some
[4:08] land deals with the Rogers out in Las Vegas.
[4:12] What is the name again?
[4:14] A fellow named Mahon.
[4:15] Never heard of him.
[4:16] Absolutely never heard of him.
[4:18] And there's a second name.
[4:19] They're partners in the old Nixon Budge firm.
[4:24] I'm going to have lunch with John on Monday.
[4:28] Let me say, they were never when I was there.
[4:30] Now, it may be that they're young fellows that were taken in later.
[4:33] That's possible.
[4:34] And I bet you that John doesn't even know them.
[4:37] I never heard of the fellow.
[4:40] And Mahon.
[4:41] Mahon.
[4:41] But they're not still in the firm?
[4:42] Oh, yeah.
[4:43] Oh, yeah.
[4:43] They're down there as members of the firm.
[4:46] Oh.
[4:46] They're down there.
[4:47] Well, we'll stop that.
[4:48] No, no.
[4:48] No, no.
[4:49] I don't know that you need to.
[4:50] I don't know.
[4:51] I just... Who is Sharon Moody?
[4:54] Sharon Moody is a...
[4:56] Is he a Texan?
[4:57] Oh, yeah.
[4:58] Oh, yeah.
[4:59] His grandfather was old man W.L.
[5:01] Moody, who amassed that $400 million and founded the Moody Foundation.
[5:05] Oh.
[5:05] And an enormous fight between the trustees.
[5:08] It's a long, bitter brawl.
[5:11] It's involved the Texas legislature in charges of bribery and corruption.
[5:15] It's been going on for a year and a half.
[5:17] And my old firm, Vincent Elkins, wound up representing four members of the seven on the board of trustees of the foundation.
[5:26] So now you find this firm and on the other side of it.
[5:29] I got it.
[5:29] And Roy Cohen wound up representing Sharon Moody.
[5:33] And then your old firm wound up on Sharon Moody's side, and they were down apparently talking about tactics or whatever.
[5:42] I can't believe that our firm would be involved with Roy Cohn in something.
[5:47] And anyway, this conversation took place, and I thought it was passing strange, and I didn't know what was behind it, and I just wanted to mention it.
[5:55] Now, don't you mention it to John, though.
[5:57] I will, because I don't want to make an issue out of it.
[5:59] Oh, well, I do.
[6:00] But you bring it up, because I've never heard of the fellow.
[6:03] And I just don't...
[6:04] He must...
[6:05] In other words, well, I know who...
[6:07] He was not there when I was there, not there when I was there at all.
[6:10] But I don't know his first name, but I'll know tomorrow.
[6:12] Right.
[6:12] And I don't know the name of the second man, but I'll know it tomorrow.
[6:15] Good, good.
[6:16] And I want to ask you, John, that's entirely possible.
[6:18] See, it occurred to me that John might be just asking some of his former associates to see if he can possibly find anything that, in my background, would be detrimental.
[6:29] And I wouldn't blame him a damn bit.
[6:31] No, no, never, never.
[6:32] He would never, never use the law firm.
[6:34] Never.
[6:35] Well, I wouldn't think so, but... Never, never.
[6:36] No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
[6:38] I know him.
[6:38] But this fellow, now this is not... Because you see, he's completely separate from it, too.
[6:42] He would never do that.
[6:42] Well, I know that, but the... No, but I mean, he wouldn't trust him either.
[6:45] Yeah.
[6:45] You know.
[6:46] The...
[6:46] But the fellow who told me heard it, so it's not something he just dreamed up.
[6:52] Well, we'll get after John Alexander.
[6:55] I was just curious about what... Well, I am, too.
[6:58] And frankly, I want you to know it.
[7:00] Oh, absolutely.
[7:01] Because there are several people that now know it down there, and I don't know when the hell it's going to wind up.
[7:05] I just want you to know.
[7:06] Good.
[7:06] And I'm going to have lunch with John.
[7:08] Monday?
[7:08] Monday, yes.
[7:09] Well, have it after.
[7:11] Good.
[7:11] Well, listen, don't worry.
[7:12] You'll find out.
[7:14] All right.
[7:15] I imagine they're pulling somebody's leg, but we're going to stop it right away.
[7:18] That's a big firm, you know.
[7:20] Oh, I know it is.
[7:21] They can't engage in that kind of crap.
[7:22] Well, all right.
[7:24] Don't worry about it.
[7:24] I'm not, frankly.
[7:25] All right.
[7:26] All right, bye.