← 044-007044-009 →

Conversation 044-008

TapeTape 44StartThursday, March 22, 1973 at 1:52 PMEndThursday, March 22, 1973 at 1:55 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Rogers, William P.Recording deviceWhite House Telephone
AI Summary

President Nixon consulted Secretary of State William P. Rogers regarding the most effective way to persuade Canadian Prime Minister Pierre E. Trudeau to keep Canada in the International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS). The two agreed that Nixon would send a personal letter to Trudeau followed by a telephone call to emphasize that global leadership depends on continued Canadian participation, while avoiding the appearance of undue American pressure. Rogers also cleared a joke with the President regarding executive privilege to be used during an upcoming social event with the diplomatic corps.

CanadaICCSPierre E. TrudeauForeign PolicyDiplomacyExecutive Privilege
AudioNARA Description

On March 22, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:52 pm and 1:55 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 044-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 044-008

Date: March 22, 1973
Time: Unknown between 1:52 pm and 1:55 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with William P. Rogers.

[See also Conversation No. 422-31]

       President’s letter to Pierre E. Trudeau
             -Possible call to Trudeau by President

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[Previous National Security (B) withdrawal reviewed under MDR guidelines case number
LPRN-T-MDR-2014-013. Segment declassified on 12/20/2017. Archivist: MAS]
[National Security]
[044-008-w001]
[Duration: 1m 38s]

       President's letter to Pierre E. Trudeau
              -Pressure on Pierre E. Trudeau
                        -Mitchell Sharpe's conversation with William P. Rogers
                                -Ellsworth F. Bunker
                                -Potential meeting between Mitchell Sharpe and William P. Rogers
                                        -Canada
                                        -New York
                        -Personal note from the President
              -Possible telephone call to Pierre E. Trudeau by President
              -International Commission of Control and Supervision [ICCS]
                        -Continued Canadian membership
                        -Need for Canadian leadership
                        -Impact of Canada leaving

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       William P. Rogers’s party
             -Joke
                   -Executive privilege
                        -Diplomatic corps
                        -Congress
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.

Hello, Mr. President.
I had a recommendation here.
I've just signed a letter on it, and I wanted to get your opinion about it on the Canadians for me to write a letter, which I've done to Trudeau, and a recommendation that I call him.
I wouldn't do both.
It occurred to me that the letter was the better way to handle it, but I...
If the call you think is...
I just hesitate to call this clown and get a turn down.
You know what I mean?
I don't mind it from the standpoint of calling him, but what's your feeling about it?
Well, the only reason I sort of tended to favor a call, but I don't have very strong judgment of you, is that I'm very anxious to be sure that we don't appear to put pressure on him.
For example, when Sharp was there, he didn't see Bunker.
I called Sharp and talked to him, and he said, you know, I'll come to...
I'll meet you in New York.
And he said, well, I think it's probably better not to because he said, I don't want to appear that the United States is sort of pressuring us.
The only advantage of a phone call is it wouldn't look as if you're trying to make a record.
You can get a letter up there on a personal basis.
What I could do, if you like, is that I could, I think it's just as well to
Send a letter, and I could give him a call.
Perhaps I can't do it right now, but I could in about an hour and say, look, I'm just sending a note on a personal basis.
I'm not going to make it public, but I would appreciate your consideration of it.
Is that what you'd like?
Yeah, that'd be fine.
Now, what's he likely to answer?
In other words, what am I to...
I think they're going to go ahead and stay in.
Yeah.
I think that it's the...
I don't want to take a chance.
It's a courtesy call.
I'd simply say...
I'd just say that it's very important for them to stay on, and we don't want to pressure them, but it would be serving the cause of...
Right.
Right.
I wouldn't...
In fact, I think what you can...
The thing that they...
What they've emphasized with me is the fact that everyone wants them to stay in, all nations.
So you can say that it's not just the United States, all nations.
And without Canada's leadership, the ICCS isn't going to work.
And we hope you can, but we understand your problems.
And if they get off, then what happens, I suppose?
If they get off, we've got a problem.
I don't think they will, though.
We ought to do everything we can to present it.
Well, I think I could, I mean, he can have a note and I could give him a call, too.
That'd be fine.
Yeah, fine.
All right, I'll do it.
Well, good luck at your party tonight.
Oh, yeah.
Virtually everybody's coming.
Yeah, it's going to be quite a brawl.
I was going to make it crack, but I don't want to do it if you'd be embarrassed at all.
I was going to say that you sent a message to the diplomatic corps and given me very best regards and then say that
You also sent a letter to the members of Congress, but that I couldn't read it because of executive privilege.
Good, good.
Do you think that's all right?
Sure, that's great.
That wouldn't make you that way?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
All right, fine, fine.
Good, good.
Okay.
All right, respect.
Great, anything like that.
Thank you.
Bye.
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