Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 524-019
Date: Thursday, June 17, 1971 at 12:12 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); McClellan, John L.; MacGregor, Clark; Bull, Stephen B.; White House photographer
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/524-019

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] This friend of mine down in Arkansas has made this armor.
[0:22] There's a letter there that he wrote me.
[0:32] He wanted to present it out at the, uh, let's send it around so you can get the picture of it.
[0:34] Do you want, do you want it open?
[0:35] So he would have preferred to have it open at a different time.
[0:37] So it's there on the dash.
[0:37] It comes right out of the box.
[0:38] I'll put it over there.
[0:48] This is what you call one of those buoy nuts, buoy nuts, buoy nuts.
[0:54] And he made it, and you can look on the side of it, and that shows you something about the river then.
[1:02] These nights were used for, they were buoy nuts.
[1:05] We had to buy some big, pretty do-overs.
[1:08] This is Henry.
[1:11] Look at this engraving here on it.
[1:15] The name is on it.
[1:16] Look at that.
[1:20] The steamboat, the steamer there.
[1:27] I've met him.
[1:30] I'm not a real ghost.
[1:32] We don't see anybody.
[1:33] Don't worry.
[1:38] I thought this was worthy of your acceptance.
[1:47] I always liked this stuff.
[1:48] I didn't think it was.
[1:49] I want to put it over there.
[1:50] Thank you.
[1:55] Thank you very much.
[2:26] Now this is the, this is the new, the paper that's with the signature.
[2:45] That's for you.
[2:45] Now, the smallest one.
[2:46] This is for your right.
[2:46] This is the, that's the seal.
[2:47] That's all you've got to do.
[2:48] You've got everything out.
[2:48] All right.
[2:48] Thank you very much.
[2:49] I didn't write it on there, so it's fine.
[2:50] Well, they can't do it.
[2:58] This guy stood up.
[3:03] He doesn't.
[3:05] Well, it's hard.
[3:08] What do you mean?
[3:08] You know something?
[3:09] I heard you.
[3:09] I had this person, you know, somebody who came in and said, you know, you know, let's get over here.
[3:12] And he said, after all that, you know, Johnson, you know, you need to come back from there.
[3:15] And Johnson said, you know,
[3:17] But the government is not going to declassify some of the World War II stuff.
[3:27] It hasn't declassified any of the very ancient little Korean stuff.
[3:29] And this is an attack on the whole institution of government.
[3:31] If somebody can walk out with top secret documents,
[3:32] and give them to a paper we will and we cannot have nothing happen.
[3:45] Do you realize that people will take auctions on some of the papers and rent them?
[3:48] That's right.
[3:48] We will.
[3:49] I was actually reading some feedback here now.
[3:50] You may have seen a headline by one of the colleagues.
[3:52] Access to over 300 million dollars worth of...
[3:53] securities in the last four years.
[4:00] We've made over a hundred.
[4:00] That hundred million dollars is accounted for.
[4:04] What difference is there in the New York Times or any other paper taking stolen documents and publishing them?
[4:11] And a thief that takes stolen merchandise and sells it.
[4:24] The same principle in any book.
[4:25] Except only they squeal censorship.
[4:27] Well, my God.
[4:27] They have to have something.
[4:30] That's something.
[4:31] That's exactly right.
[4:32] A thief.
[4:32] A thief takes... That's what occurred to me.
[4:33] Whoever, whoever, not knowingly, knowingly sells stolen goods.
[4:34] You know those, you see those, isn't it?
[4:35] Whoever, knowingly, takes stolen goods.
[4:37] And they know this is counter-intentional.
[4:39] It wasn't given out by a party.
[4:45] It wasn't given out by a party.
[4:48] So there was the tape.
[4:50] And you knew that it hurt something.
[4:52] The president knew the tape.
[4:54] All right, thank you.