Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 261 › Conversation 261-016

Nixon, Ziegler & Colson on Pentagon Papers and Lyndon B. Johnson

Thursday, June 17, 1971 · 6:17 PM–6:46 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 23 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose Mary; Ziegler, Ronald L.; Colson, Charles W.Conversation261-016 on Tape 261 (tape position 00:22:08–00:44:58)StartThursday, June 17, 1971 at 6:17 PMEndThursday, June 17, 1971 at 6:46 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 261-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Ronald Ziegler, and Charles Colson met to discuss press management, presidential scheduling, and the unfolding controversy surrounding the Pentagon Papers. A central focus was Nixon's insistence that former President Lyndon B. Johnson must publicly defend his administration's role in the Vietnam War, with Nixon stating he could no longer carry the political burden of defending Johnson if Johnson remained silent. Furthermore, Nixon directed his staff to exclude *The New York Times* from press access and briefings, citing his deep frustration with the publication.

Audio

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Position in tape: 00:22:08 – 00:44:58

part A, 22:06

261a.mp3
261b.mp3
261c.mp3
261d.mp3

NARA Description

On June 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:17 pm to 6:46 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 261-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 261-16

Date: June 17, 1971
Time: 6:17 pm - 6:46 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Rose Mary Woods

******************************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 3m 28s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

******************************************************************************

     Lucy A. Winchester
          -Presentation of gift of appreciation
          -Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
          -Rex W. Scouten
          -Previous White House functions

******************************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 7m 11s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2

******************************************************************************

     Rerun of National Broadcasting Company’s [NBC] coverage of Tricia Nixon and Edward
          R. F. Cox’s wedding
          -Media event
                -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman’s expectations

******************************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 33s ]
Show the rest of the log (49 more lines)
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5

******************************************************************************

Ronald L. Ziegler entered at 6:35 pm

     Forthcoming meeting between Woods and Marjorie P. Acker

Woods left at 6:35 pm

     Media coverage of forthcoming public statement
         -President’s press conference [?]
               -Camera angles

     Forthcoming press release

     Pentagon Papers

     Lyndon B. Johnson

     Bryce N. Harlow’s phone call to Johnson
          -Charles W. Colson
          -Haldeman

     Johnson’s statement on Pentagon Papers

     President’s schedule
          -Forthcoming trips to Rochester, New York and Florida
                -Unknown people accompanying President
          -Forthcoming speech to American Medical Association [AMA]

     President’s schedule
          -Florida trip
          -Moscow trip
          -Future foreign trips

[The President talked with Colson between 6:38 pm and 6:45 pm]

[Conversation No. 261-16A]

[See Conversation No. 5-113]

[End of telephone conversation]

     New York Times
         -Exclusion of press
         -Robert B. Semple, Jr.

Ziegler left at 6:46 pm

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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I took care of Lucy today.
Good night.
I'll see you soon.
Okay.
Her old name, I wish she already had one of those.
Well, she had two.
Her mother.
Her old name isn't sure.
But the president's affair.
Not the $200.
You can avoid that.
We've given those to quite a few.
We've given them cabinet blocks.
I was a fire nurse.
I said, you don't have to worry about any of our scientists.
Let me take care of them.
It's nice that Pat wanted me to do that.
She told me, you know, I have to get her to the hospital.
She called me and said, I don't know where you called her.
She's not here.
She never, she meant it.
Well, she's never there.
She's never been to the hospital.
We're very worthwhile, wouldn't you think?
Very worthwhile.
Very worthwhile.
There's one thing about it is that she's not very confident.
Pat likes her very much.
Well, she's confident because Richie's not backed up.
And she's a lot more confident than some of the guys on the West Langer credit box.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I've had folks that she cannot.
She...
Yes, she was.

— 7 min 25 s with no transcribed speech —

You probably sensed him, too.
Anybody with you?
Come on in.
I'll wait.
I'm going to take March because they think they're going to send two or three things down to be worked on.
Yeah, good.
Okay.
That's good.
Take anybody you want.
Okay.
on your part of the talk we can we actually have a question we have one camera in different to the the marks on the record I don't know it's a sort of mark accurately with the camera
For example, if we would have had a camera in front of the camera, but there's one camera, you're not talking to the camera.
Well, there are 11 of them, Mike, and there wouldn't be the blast light.
I would make sure that wouldn't happen.
Well, it was the consensus of the group.
You know who sits in the group.
This is a special group.
Go ahead.
That's right.
You can move the camera quickly.
Yes, sir.
So I'll move this.
I might decide at the last minute.
I don't want to say much.
I won't move this.
I have your approval.
I won't move it until the last message.
What have we got for Saturday and Sunday release?
Have we got any good stories going on?
I don't know if we can do it.
Chuck's going to be on the guitar, though.
The only other question I had to ask you was .
I don't want to do the present integration anymore.
Well, I understand.
I understand.
We're to the point here.
But what I'm talking about, frankly, I'm going to leave you from Rochester to Portland.
And we've been to Rochester.
So what do you think we're going to do at the present time?
Do they know what we're going to do in the morning?
Oh, yes, I guess you've got to kill him.
He's held in the market so they can pack.
What?
So they can pack.
Right in the market, yes.
I'm going to Florida, and I'll be there, so I'll be in the market.
You've got to worry.
I'm going to be there, and I'll be also in the market.
I don't know what we're going to work on.
Oh, well, I was going to put up.
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
foreign policy combination
I think in this instance, I'd like to see if you have any control over who goes down.
Or, you know, probably, if there's a good possibility, it would be a person in Moscow.
That's absolutely important.
Yes, sir.
Now, any foreign trip of mine could never be on.
Just cut off.
Yeah.
Yeah.
What success has Rice had, if any, with Johnson?
Now, this is terribly important.
Johnson's got to step up to this, and he's got to step up to it on the basis of the hell a lot's going to come out of it, and a lot of other things, too.
For the good of the country, if I step up, he's got to.
He's got to step up to it.
No, no, no, that's just an excuse.
Excuse for us travelers, doesn't matter, get in the car and put all the blame on us, that's all.
That's all.
Peace.
He's been, he's been condemned in the public press right now.
He is a villain.
If he doesn't defend himself, he'll be put down in history.
And by God, I quit defending him.
If he doesn't get this message across, if he doesn't defend himself, I can no longer defend him.
Now that I want to, he's not.
He got that down.
He must be told that I cannot defend him.
Because tomorrow in Rochester, I've got to defend him.
But I can't do it if he won't defend himself.
I'll tell Rice to call him tonight.
He's got to call him tonight.
He's got to get ready.
He's got to say, look, the President's going to Russia tomorrow.
He's going to speak out on his name.
But the President cannot defend you unless you lament yourself.
You need to make a declaration tomorrow before you say anything.
It's all right that I talk to him, and I think he's got to defend himself.
I'm going to defend him, and he's got to defend himself, or I can't do it.
I can't sit up here and take the brunt of all this without his defending himself.
Nobody else is speaking to him.
Clifford isn't speaking to him.
McNamara isn't speaking to him.
Bundy is cracking him.
Humphrey is slaughtering him.
Muskie is killing him.
What is Teddy saying?
Well, the New York Times will suppress the title on Bob, on Teddy, that was hurting, and on his brother.
Son of a bitch.
We're going to get out some papers.
I'd rather it back to Henry.
He's going to get out the stuff on the murder of Deanna, and we're going to put it out.
He doesn't have anything to do with it.
He won't put it out.
He's embarrassed.
Good job.
Let them know that, you know, in a confidential way that nothing will be more appreciated.
There is nothing that could be more effective than to stop these bastards.
Let them know that the folks are not on their side.
How do you get Johnson to go on the press conference?
I can't continue to defend him.
I'm defending him.
Connolly said in his NSU days, he says, they aren't blaming Johnson.
He's not the president.
They're blaming the president.
They don't know who the hell is the president.
And this thing has not gotten across.
As I said in verse 7, I wrote up that nobody's gotten across that it all happened to Johnson.
This is not us.
When he got to defend the bar, put it this way for Johnson, either he defends himself or I have no choice but to take another, but to let the chips fall where they may, just use those terms.
I have no choice.
He's got to defend himself.
Because I cannot do it.
I cannot carry this load unless he will do it.
So he's got to defend himself.
I don't want to blame him for the war.
I don't want to blame him for these decisions.
But if he doesn't, I have no choice but to go in the other direction and put it that way now.
The President wants to defend you.
I defended him with regard to getting him to work.
I defend the fact that whatever he knew, that he wasn't lying.
I don't think he lied.
I think this is just a contingency plan.
But if he will not defend himself, I will have no choice
but also to refuse to defend him, and I don't want to do that.
But he's got to step up and defend himself Saturday, and I've got to know before I hear the press on Friday afternoon.
Now, I've got to know by tonight.
I need to come right to the office and ask to do this now.
Okay.
Okay.
I understand.
They're not to be, I understand.
We don't find room for them on the plane.
Just like Aguilera.
From now on, they aren't to be on anything.
The only thing they're to be in is on your briefings and the press conference.
And it's not until Bobby Semple, the Senate of Alaska, he ain't going to be recognized.
I will never recognize the New York Times.
That paper ceases to exist in my mind.
Is that clear to you?
Yes, sir.
All right.
That's what it's going to be.
You don't need to tell me.
I just don't come to it.
We can probably introduce some other people.
They're down there.
They don't have to be all...
While I'm there, we'll invite everybody over without them.
If I have anybody they haven't come anymore, I'm not going to have them in New York Times.
I want all of us all in every direction.
We cannot have this anymore.
We've got to fight.
Okay.

Also recorded on June 17, 1971

  • 005-111 5:46 PM · 59 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, President Richard M. Nixon, and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:46 pm.
  • 005-112 5:46 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:46 pm and 6:38 pm.
  • 261-015 6:13 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:13 pm and 6:17 pm.
  • 525-002 6:13 PM · 1 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 6:13 pm on June 17, 1971 and 8:40 am on June 18, 1971.
  • 005-113 6:38 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 6:38 pm to 6:45 pm.
  • 005-114 6:45 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:45 pm and 6:55 pm.
  • 261-017 6:46 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:46 pm and 6:55 pm.
  • 005-115 6:55 PM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 6:55 pm to 6:56 pm.

All 73 conversations from June 17, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 261-016, June 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/261-016 (accessed October 29, 2026).