Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 258 › Conversation 258-008

Nixon & Kissinger on Pentagon Papers and Freedom of the Press

Monday, June 14, 1971 · 7:15 PM–7:19 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation258-008 on Tape 258 (tape position 00:09:30–00:11:10)StartMonday, June 14, 1971 at 7:15 PMEndMonday, June 14, 1971 at 7:19 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 258-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discussed the administration's response to the New York Times' publication of the Pentagon Papers. Nixon expressed a firm intent to take legal action against the newspaper despite anticipated criticism regarding freedom of the press. The pair also briefly reviewed the status of Vietnam negotiations and Kissinger's recent consultations with other administration officials regarding foreign policy and staffing.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Are you finished there, or are you still talking to Ronnie?
Yeah, yeah.
Are you going out of here, or are you doing away?
Yeah, you better go.
You better go.
It's nothing that I'm not.
I always was fine.
Did Higg talk to you a little about my, uh, the week coming up, or did he talk to Bucker about the...
One view is that at this point, if he's a hit, it might hurt him.
And frankly, there's nothing in for us.
There's not enough in for us.
Yeah.
I think you could just tell Bill that.
So you're not, but also the whole idea of these, they're going on top of your publicity and so forth, is that you just want to discuss them.
I can get all of our people to vote along.
I think Petula's going to have to, in order to avoid believing the action, he's going to have to go to many times.
Great.
I'm going to put the times on notice, then, too.
I understand they'll raise hell, freedom of the press, and all that, but, too...
I may not soon.
Okay, well, I'll... You tend to take the same view.
I'm sorry, why don't you drop over here and I've got a call for you.

NARA Description

On June 14, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:15 pm and 7:19 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 258-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 258-8

Date: June 14, 1971
Time: Unknown between 7:15 pm and 7:19 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger

     Kissinger’s schedule
          -Kissinger’s discussion with [David] Kenneth Rush
          -Meeting with John B. Connally

     Vietnam negotiations
          -The President’s conversation with General Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
          -Kissinger’s conversation with Haig
               -Ellsworth F. Bunker’s role in negotiations
               -William P. Rogers
               -Vietnamese domestic politics
                     -Bunker’s role

     Pentagon Papers issue
          -Role of administration personnel
               -John N. Mitchell role
                     -New York Times story
                     -Action against the New York Times

     Request for Kissinger’s presence

     President’s forthcoming call to Mitchell

Also recorded on June 14, 1971

  • 519-018 7:07 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:07 pm and 11:59 pm.
  • 005-068 7:13 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 7:13 pm to 7:15 pm.
  • 258-007 7:13 PM · 37 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:13 pm to 7:15 pm.
  • 005-069 7:15 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:15 pm and 7:19 pm.
  • 258-009 7:15 PM · 3 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 7:15 pm and 7:19 pm.
  • 005-070 7:19 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John N. Mitchell, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 7:19 pm to 7:22 pm.
  • 258-010 7:19 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John N. Mitchell, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:19 pm and 7:37 pm.
  • 005-071 7:22 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:22 pm and 7:37 pm.

All 57 conversations from June 14, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 258-008, June 14, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/258-008 (accessed October 23, 2026).