Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 345 › Conversation 345-012
Nixon, Colson & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Peace negotiations
Thursday, June 29, 1972 · 3:50 PM–4:35 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon met with Charles Colson and Henry Kissinger to coordinate administration messaging and policy strategy. The discussion focused on preparing for an upcoming press conference, specifically regarding Vietnam negotiations, potential troop withdrawal announcements, and the current posture of North Vietnamese negotiators. The participants also consulted polling data and analysis from George Shultz concerning the political impact of economic price controls, particularly among the farming community.
- Vietnam War
- Peace negotiations
- Price controls
- Press conference preparation
- Public opinion polling
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 112.1 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 29.2 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 01:22:08 into the tape and ends around 01:57:07.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data
NARA Description
On June 29, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, Charles W. Colson, Henry A. Kissinger, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:50 pm to 4:35 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 345-012 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 345-12
Date: June 29, 1972
Time: 3:50-4:35 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President talked with the White House operator.
[Conversation No. 345-12A]
[Request for telephone call]
[End of telephone conversation]
Charles W. Colson entered at 3:55 pm.
President's press conference
-Colson's location
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 3m 57s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
*****************************************************************
Henry A. Kissinger entered at 4:00 pm.
Preparation for the President's forthcoming press conference
-Vietnam
-Negotiations with North Vietnam
-Wording
-Troop withdrawal announcement
-Kissinger’s view
-Progress of talks
-Draftees
-Navy
-Announcements
-Negotiations
-North Vietnamese posture
-North Vietnamese negotiator
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 4m 21s ]
KISSINGER LEFT AT 4:10 PM.
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
*****************************************************************
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 4:10 pm.
Refreshment
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 4:30 pm.
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 7m 34s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
*****************************************************************
Price controls
-Albert E. Sindlinger poll
-George P. Shultz's analysis
-Farmers
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 7m 19s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
*****************************************************************
Colson left at 4:35 pm.Also recorded on June 29, 1972
- 345-007 2:35 PM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:35 pm and 2:40 pm.
- 345-008 2:35 PM · 18 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 2:35 pm and 2:40 pm.
- 345-009 2:35 PM · 10 sec — 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 2:35 pm and 2:40 pm.
- 345-010 2:40 PM · 1 hr 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:40 pm to 3:50 pm.
- 345-011 3:50 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:50 pm and 3:55 pm.
- 345-013 4:35 PM · 10 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 4:35 pm and 5:55 pm.
- 345-014 4:35 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Patrick J. Buchanan met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:35 pm and 5:55 pm.
- 345-015 5:55 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Patrick J. Buchanan, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:55 pm to 6:00 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 345-012, June 29, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/345-012 (accessed September 30, 2026).