President Nixon and Charles Colson met to strategize on the 1972 presidential campaign, with a primary focus on countering negative press regarding the Watergate break-in and shifting the political conversation toward foreign policy and Vietnam. They discussed aggressive tactics to damage Democratic opponent George McGovern's credibility, including questioning his handling of campaign finances and his stance on the US-Soviet grain deal. Nixon instructed his team to emphasize a "new majority" theme and utilize leaks or disclosures to force McGovern onto the defensive, drawing parallels to past political scandals to minimize the administration's own vulnerabilities.
On September 11, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:40 pm to 1:45 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 360-012 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 360-12
Date: September 11, 1972
Time: 12:40 pm - 1:45 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Charles W. Colson.
Colson’s schedule
-Princeton University
Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 12:40 pm.
Refreshment
Sanchez left at an unknown time before 1:45 pm.
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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
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[Duration: 32s ]
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Watergate
-Strategy
-Republicans
-Committee to Re-elect the President [CRP]
-Federal Bureau of investigation [FBI]
-Colson's previous meeting
-H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman and Clark MacGregor
-George S. McGovern
-Statements
-Possible response
(rev. Oct-06)
-Information source
-MacGregor’s view
-McGovern’s charges
-Tone
-FBI
-Alfred C. Baldwin, III
-Work for James W. McCord, Jr.
-Information
-Colson’s view
-McGovern’s charges
-Legal action
-MacGregor's future statement
-McGovern, R. Sargent Shriver, Lawrence F. O'Brien, Jr.
-Investigation
-Response
-The President’s view
-Maurice H. Stans
-McGovern
-Possible effect
-Break-in
-The President’s view
-The President's role
-Participants
-The President’s view
-John N. Mitchell
-Campaign support and contributions
-The President’s view
-The President’s conversation with Stans
-John B. Connally
-Campaign staff
-Legal action
-Indictments
-Alger Hiss case
-MacGregor
-Response
-The President’s instructions
-Robert J. Dole
-Response
-Letters, advertisements
-Common Cause
-New York Times, Washington Post
(rev. Oct-06)
-Domestic policy staff
-Use of offensive tactics
-John D. Ehrlichman
-The President’s view
Issues for 1972 election
-The President’s view
-Domestic issues
-George P. Shultz
-Welfare
-The presdient’s view
-John B. Connally
-Public response
-Watergate
-Colson’s view
-Charges
-International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT]
-Hiss case compensation
-Five-percenter case
-1960 election
-Issues
-1964 election
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Barry M. Goldwater
-Robert D. (“Bobby”) Baker
-Walter W. Jenkins
1972 campaign
-Responses to McGovern
-MacGregor
-Caspar W. (“Cap”) Weinberger
-Tax increases
-The President’s view
-Republican response
-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
-Welfare issue
-The President’s view
-The President's successor
-George Meany’s view
-Connally
-Emphasis on New Majority theme
(rev. Oct-06)
-Colson’s efforts
-The President’s instructions
-Monday magazine
-Articles
-W. Ramsey Clark
-Viet Cong [VC]
-Foreign policy
-William P. Rogers
-Abram F. Chayes
-Transcript of conversation
-Release
-The President’s instructions
-Henry A. Kissinger, Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-Release of Pentagon Papers
-The President’s instructions
-Source
-William J. Porter
-Kenneth W. Clawson
-State Department cables
-As issue
-Vietnam, amnesty
-McGovern
-Public opinion
-Bombing, mining
-Prisoners of war [POWs]
-South Vietnam's future
-VC
-Coalition government
-Communist government
-New York Daily News story
-Clawson
-David Kraslow
-Use of item [about Chayes]
-Joseph W. Alsop
-Kraslow
-Jews
-Kissinger
-Jerry Green's column
-Chayes's disavowal of story
-Newsweek
-Arnaud de Borchegrave
(rev. Oct-06)
-[David] Kenneth Rush's forthcoming press conference
-Leo Cherne
-Chayes's interview with de Borchegrave
-White House use of story
-Rogers
-Edmund S. Muskie
-Effect of charges
-McGovern's judgment
-US-Soviet Union grain deal
-Earl L. Butz's response to charges
-Reports
-Charges
-Response to McGovern
-McGovern’s press conferences
Credibility issues
-Ehrlichman, Herbert G. Klein
-The President
-News media
-The President’s view
-McGovern
-Confidence issue
-Colson’s view
-The President
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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
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[Duration: 13m 43s ]
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1972 Olympic games in Munich, Germany
-The President's previous telephone call to Chris Schenkel
-National attitudes
(rev. Oct-06)
-The President’s view
-Black athletes
-Reaction during playing of national anthem
-"Sugar" Ray Seales
-1968 Olympic Games incident
-International Olympic Committee
-US Olympic Committee
-Athlete’s action
-Athletes action characterized
-Blacks
-Reaction
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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 2m 12s ]
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1972 campaign finances
-McGovern
-Status
-The President's recent conversation with Stans
-Number of committees
-Robert J. Dole’s possible press conference,
September 12, 1972
-Compared to Republicans
-Financial discrepancies in McGovern campaign
-Analysis
-Dole’s possible press conference
-Charges of violations of Federal Election
Campaign Act
-Sources
-Colson’s conversation with Jay Lovestone
(rev. Oct-06)
-Foreign governments
-South American governments
-Watergate
-Howard Hughes
-Possible investigation
McGovern
-Colson’s view
-Self-righteousness
-Credibility
-Press
-Statement about support for Thomas F. Eagleton
-Milton J. Shapp
The President's schedule
-Pennsylvania
-Shapp
-The President’s view
-Ernest P. Kline
-The President’s view
-Unions
-Walter H. Annenberg
-Philadelphia Inquirer story
-Report of the President's September 9, 1972 visit
-Photograph
Watergate
-Handling of issue
-Klein
-Clark MacGregor
-Investigation
-Involvement
-John N. Mitchell
-Investigation
-Whitaker Chambers-Alger Hiss confrontation, 1948
-Harry S. Truman, Thomas E. Dewey
-Action in campaign
-Cover-up
-Negative effect
-MacGregor
-Possible statement on disclosure
(rev. Oct-06)
-McGovern's source of information
-McGovern’s charges
-Secrecy
-Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
-Barry M. Goldwater's statement
-Campaign practices
-Herb
-1964 campaign
-Use of spies
-Nelson A. Rockefeller
-Cow Palace
-Politics
-Goldwater’s view
-Audience response
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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 2m 14s ]
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Public relations
-White House staff
-John A. Scali
-Klein, Ronald L. Ziegler, Clawson
-News media
-US-Soviet Union grain deal
-Butz
-Response to McGovern
-Public reaction
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(rev. Oct-06)
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 59s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
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Watergate
-Indictments
-The President's involvement, administration's involvement
-Press
Media and press relations
-The President’s view
-1972 campaign
The President's health
Colson left at 1:45 pm.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.