Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 21 › Conversation 021-068
Nixon phone call with Colson on ITT and Dita Beard
Tuesday, March 14, 1972 · 4:18 PM–4:34 PM ET · White House Telephone
AI Summary
President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss the ongoing political fallout surrounding the ITT antitrust investigation and the Dita Beard memo. They analyze various media reports, the potential testimony of Attorney General John Mitchell before Congress, and the strategic implications for the administration's public image. The conversation emphasizes managing congressional inquiries and media narratives, specifically comparing these investigative tactics to the historical Alger Hiss case.
- ITT
- Dita Beard
- Antitrust
- John Mitchell
- Congressional Hearings
- Political Strategy
- Alger Hiss case
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.8 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 71.1 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:45:40 into the tape and ends around 03:02:02.
Transcript (AI-generated)
No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.
NARA Description
On March 14, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 4:18 pm to 4:34 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 021-068 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 21-68
Date: March 14, 1972
Time: 4:18 pm - 4:34 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Charles W. Colson.
[See Conversation 322-56]
International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT]
-John N. Mitchell’s testimony
-Congressional hearings
-Colson’s talk with Robert J. Dole
-Congress
-Thomas F. Eagleton
-The President’s view
-Peter Flanigan
-Norris Cotton
-Washington Star
-Colson investigation
-Denver
-Dita D. Beard memo
-Typewriter
-Committee
-Justice Department
-Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
-Analysis
-Typewriters
-Alger Hiss case
-White House removal
-Private investigators
-Evening Star
-Anonymous letter
-Protection of writer
-Beard
-New York
-Memo
-Jack N. Anderson
-Authenticity
-Letters
-Edward M. Kennedy
-Protection
-Washington Star
-Robert Walter’s story
-Walter’s theory
-Ken W. Clawson
-Smith Hempstone, Jr.
-Clawson’s call to John Cassidy
-Panda story
-Crosby S. Noyes
-Hempstone
-Beard
-Girl in Canada
-Drew Pearson’s secretary, Opal Ginnis
-Committee call for testimony
-Marlow W. Cook
-Beard relationship with Ginnis
-Cook’s questions
-Tactics
-Compared to Hiss case
-Cook’s daughter’s wedding
-Letter
-Richard W. McLaren
-“Face the Nation” appearance
-ITT growth
-John F. Kennedy administration
-Lyndon B. Johnson administration
-Harold S. Geneen’s statement
-Antitrust policy
-Walter’s article in Washington Star
-Content
-Testimony
-Mitchell
-Congressional hearings
-James O. Eastland
-Testimony
-Testimony
-Robert C. Wilson
-Edwin Reinecke
-Robert H. Finch
-Edgar Gillenwaters
-Democrats
-Richard G. Kleindienst
-Confirmation
-Congressional hearings
-Mitchell
-Eastland
-McLaren
-Settlement
-Press comment
-Antitrust
-Kennedy and Johnson administrations
-Robert F. Kennedy
-Ramsey Clark
-Mitchell
-Hiss case
-Karl E. Mundt
-Clawson
-Colson investigation
-Florida primary concern
******************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 1m 9s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
******************************************************************************
ITT case
-Typewriter
-Need for analysis
-BeardAlso recorded on March 14, 1972
- 322-056 4:18 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:18 pm to 4:34 pm.
- 021-069 4:37 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:37 pm.
- 021-070 4:37 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:37 pm.
- 021-071 4:37 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:37 pm and 7:00 pm.
- 021-072 4:37 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:37 pm and 7:00 pm.
- 021-073 4:37 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:37 pm and 7:00 pm.
- 322-057 4:37 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 4:37 pm.
- 322-058 4:37 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:37 pm and 4:42 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 021-068, March 14, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/021-068 (accessed October 3, 2026).