Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 273 › Conversation 273-002

Nixon & Kissinger on Public Relations and John Ehrlichman

Thursday, August 12, 1971 · 1:20 PM–2:31 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation273-002 on Tape 273 (tape position 00:04:36–00:06:07)StartThursday, August 12, 1971 at 1:20 PMEndThursday, August 12, 1971 at 2:31 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 273-002 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss the administration's recent public communications strategy, specifically reviewing a positive report from Ronald Ziegler regarding a press conference led by John Ehrlichman. They also touch upon the issue of declassifying government documents and address diplomatic negotiations concerning textile trade agreements with Japan involving Attorney General John Mitchell. These discussions reflect the President's ongoing focus on managing administration critics and coordinating key domestic and foreign policy messaging.

Audio

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Position in tape: 00:04:36 – 00:06:07

part A, 4:44

273a.mp3
273b.mp3
273c.mp3

NARA Description

On August 12, 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 1:20 pm and 2:31 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 273-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 273-2

Date: August 12, 1971
Time: Unknown between 1:20 pm and 2:31 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

     John D. Ehrlichman
          -Press conference, August 12, 1971
               -Declassification of documents
          -Ronald Ziegler's report to the President
          -Administration’s critics

     John N. Mitchell
          -Textiles
                     -Japan

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Henry?
Oh, I think Erichman's thing went very well.
Yeah.
Well, Ron came to give me a report.
place a foundation for what we want to do here.
We don't want to let these guys get off the hook.
That's all I'm speaking.
I'm sure.
I'm not these kind of critics.
What was the general feeling?
You didn't, Mitchell, I understand,
You're not being strange again, are you?
But it's, uh... Henry, thank you.

Also recorded on August 12, 1971

  • 562-003 12:15 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Harold C. Passer, Charles W. Colson, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:15 pm to 12:24 pm.
  • 562-004 12:24 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:24 pm to 12:25 pm.
  • 562-005 12:25 PM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Arnold R. Weber, George P. Shultz, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:25 pm to 12:44 pm.
  • 562-006 12:45 PM · 31 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, John W. Dean, III, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:45 pm to 1:17 pm.
  • 562-007 1:17 PM · 34 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 1:17 pm on August 12, 1971 and 8:59 am on August 13, 1971.
  • 273-001 1:20 PM · 4 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 1:20 pm and 2:31 pm.
  • 273-003 1:20 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:20 pm and 2:31 pm.
  • 273-004 1:20 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:20 pm and 2:31 pm.

All 33 conversations from August 12, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 273-002, August 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/273-002 (accessed November 2, 2026).