← 022-030022-032 →

Conversation 022-031

TapeTape 22StartMonday, March 27, 1972 at 1:05 PMEndMonday, March 27, 1972 at 1:09 PMTape start time01:07:11Tape end time01:12:12ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  White House operator;  Colson, Charles W.Recording deviceWhite House Telephone
AudioNARA Description

On March 27, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 1:05 pm to 1:09 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 022-031 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 22-31

Date: March 27, 1972
Time: 1:05 pm - 1:09 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 328-7]

     Request for call to Colson

The President talked with Colson between 1:05 pm and 1:09 pm.

[See Conversation No. 328-7]

     Colson’s location
          -Capitol Hill

     International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT] case
           -Meeting with Hugh Scott
                -Briefing of Scott and Roman L. Hruska
                      -Press conference
                      -Democrats
           -Hearings
                -Schedule
           -Colson, Clark MacGregor, Wallace H. Johnson
                -Hruska
                -Scott

    Colson’s schedule

    The President’s schedule
         -Forthcoming diplomatic credentials ceremony
         -Return call to Colson

    ITT case
         -William R. Merriam affidavit
              -White House call
                   -Denial of call
                   -Dita D. Beard
                         -Convention arrangements
         -White House involvement
              -Beard memorandum
              -Media coverage
                   -Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS]
         -Edward M. Kennedy
              -Media coverage
              -Hruska
                   -Press conference
                         -Kennedy’s questioning of Beard
              -Media coverage
                   -New York Times
                         -Graham [first name unknown] story
              -Washington Post
                   -Sanford J. Unger story
         -White House call
              -Denial
         -White House strategy
              -Hruska
         -James O. Eastland
              -Conversation with Robert C. Mardian
                   -Richard G. Kleindienst
                         -Confirmation
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Operator, you can hold a call to Colson and I'll call back.
Mr. President, he has to be calling in right now.
Would you like to take it?
He's calling in now and saying he's at a phone where he can talk.
Oh, okay, fine.
All right, fine.
Hello.
Yes, sir, Mr. President.
Are you still on the Hill?
Yes, I'm in, but I'm in... Oh, I didn't need to get anything from you.
When will you be back?
Well, we're waiting now for Hugh Scott, and I would think within the hour I'll be able to leave here.
What we're trying to do is to program Scott and Ruska to hold a press conference this afternoon and just blast hell out of the Democrats and try to call off these hearings.
They're trying to reschedule them for Wednesday, and
We're, Clark McGregor and I and Wally Johnson are trying to talk our boys into getting a stiff spine.
We've got Ruska turned around and we're just waiting for you, Scott.
Yeah.
But I'll be back in about an hour.
Yeah, well, look, I'll be, I have to do some diplomatic credentials.
I may see you around.
I'll give you a call around 4 o'clock.
All right, sir.
And in the meantime...
Did they get Merriam or somebody to knock down that White House call?
Yes, sir.
Well, they're preparing an affidavit to knock that down.
That can be very quickly knocked down.
There was no call.
What the hell was she talking about?
Well, Merriam is prepared to say in an affidavit that he told her that he had had a call from the White House merely as a way of flushing the truth out of her because he didn't know whether she would honestly say what she knew unless he used that as an excuse.
There was no phone call.
In other words, he lied to her.
He lied to her.
Well, he used that as a ruse, in effect, to get her to tell what she knew because she was being very cozy about what she knew of the convention arrangements.
So he used that just as a technique, really, to... Of course, this is a tough one because of the fact that
As you know, they want to tie the damn White House right into the thing.
Oh, sure.
Well, this is... That was the bad break in the hearing.
Well, what the hell.
Well, it is, except it was in her memo.
You know, it isn't... She referred to the call from the White House in the memo.
It's no new news.
It's just that the goddamn media take something like that and play the hell out of it.
But I don't think that's playing as the major part of the story.
Do you think the media are still playing?
They're going to play some of the rest of it.
Oh, sure.
The television last night, 11 o'clock, the national television on CBS was pretty balanced.
We didn't get a bad break out of it.
The only thing they're doing is they're doing a very nice cover-up on Kennedy, but we're going to be able to get that out.
Rusker is going to use that at his press conference.
Kennedy's ruthless questioning?
Yes, he's going to say that he cautioned the members of the Senate to be gentlemanly, and it's unfortunate that one wasn't.
Engaged in a ruthless inquisition.
Inquisition is just the phrase.
That's what we're calling it.
Hospital inquisition.
That's right.
Sickbed inquisition.
I think they ought to hit him there.
Damn media.
You know, they didn't get that out at all.
He was... Oh, the wires carried it prominently, but you notice the New York Times Graham story.
He's been working against us.
The Sanford Unger piece in the Post was damn good, except that for the first time we got a break in the Post, except to...
He didn't mention the Kennedy thing, although the wires played it very heavily last night.
But the Carlton White House, they'll try to knock that down today, will they?
Yes, sir.
That's being pursued right now, and I would hope they'd have that out early afternoon, that there was no such phone call.
Yes.
That's right.
Our point today, Mr. President, I just really feel we're at a crossroads.
I spent an hour with Rusker pumping him up.
Our point today is to get our guys on the offensive.
God damn it.
Why are we defending our innocence?
Nobody's been able to support the accusations.
That's right.
And Rusk is getting mad.
And they should go on the offensive and say we are not going to continue this charade.
That's right.
Unless they have something to do.
Well, it's their turn to show us where there's any proof here.
Otherwise, to the difficult position we're in, as Eastland's playing some games with us, he's told...
Marty at Justice, he said, don't you try to push us and force us, because if so, that will turn a lot of Democrats against Kleindienst.
The same token, if we delay the goddamn thing into May or June, Kleindienst isn't going to be confirmed.
Ever.
Ever.
So our best hope is to force their hand.
And if they want to vote Kleindienst down, let them vote him down.
That's right.
That's right.
But let's force their hand down.
That's right.
I'd much prefer to have him voted down than to have it hanging over Schleich Fortis.
Exactly.
Right.
Exactly.
Okay.
Well, push that hard, okay?
Yes, sir, and I'll have a report for you later.
Thank you.
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