Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 527
Nixon White House Tape 527 (June 22, 1971 – June 23, 1971)
17 conversations · Oval Office · about 6 hr 18 min of released audio
Featuring Nixon, Bull, Ehrlichman, Kissinger, Butterfield
President Richard Nixon met with his personal valet, Manolo Sanchez, in the Oval Office to engage in brief, informal conversation. The dialogue primarily concerned Sanchez's personal surprise and reactions regarding the current environment or specific events within the White House. No substantive policy decisions or official government actions were recorded during this brief exchange.
President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met to coordinate the President's daily schedule, specifically addressing requested meetings with Henry Kissinger and John Ehrlichman. Nixon instructed Butterfield to prioritize urgent matters with Kissinger while deferring non-essential requests to the following day. The brief discussion concluded with the President deciding to review briefing materials before receiving Ehrlichman.
President Nixon met with H.R. Haldeman, Henry Kissinger, and John Ehrlichman to coordinate the administration's multifaceted response to the unauthorized publication of the Pentagon Papers. The discussion focused on managing public perception through declassification strategies, navigating legislative challenges like the Mansfield amendment, and addressing legal actions against the New York Times. Additionally, the participants reviewed international diplomatic efforts, including upcoming negotiations with the Soviet Union and China, while also discussing the logistics of a meeting with business leaders and outreach to Senator Allen Ellender regarding Radio Free Europe.
President Nixon met with his senior advisors and Cabinet members to discuss managing the political and legal fallout of the Pentagon Papers release. The group strategized how to handle demands for document declassification and congressional access without appearing to capitulate to leakers or damaging the ongoing criminal prosecution of the New York Times. Nixon decided to distance himself from direct negotiations with congressional leaders, opting instead to have Secretaries Laird and Rogers manage the process through administrative channels, while firmly limiting the scope of declassification to prevent broader security compromises.
President Nixon met with an unidentified individual in the Oval Office to address a specific request regarding Manolo Sanchez. The brief encounter lasted less than four minutes and focused exclusively on administrative or personal arrangements concerning the President's valet. No further details regarding the nature of the request were recorded.
President Nixon met with Stephen B. Bull in the Oval Office to coordinate his daily schedule. The primary purpose of the meeting was to arrange an upcoming appointment with Frank J. Shakespeare. Following this brief administrative review, Bull departed the office.
President Nixon met with an unidentified individual to discuss scheduling matters involving H.R. Haldeman and Frank Shakespeare. During the brief exchange, the President cryptically referred to a pressing issue as a "bear," suggesting a developing situation requiring administrative attention. The meeting concluded quickly, with instructions provided to relay this urgent information to Haldeman.
President Nixon met with USIA Director Frank Shakespeare, H.R. Haldeman, and others to review Shakespeare's recent fact-finding trip to Southeast Asia. Shakespeare assessed regional attitudes toward Communist China, the Nixon Doctrine, and the emergence of Japan as a major economic and potential military power. He also criticized the current State Department handling of various ambassadors and communication centers, specifically advocating for more strategic management of personnel and institutions like Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty.
President Nixon and Vice President Agnew met with a group of Appalachian governors and key administration advisors to discuss the legislative strategy for extending the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and managing regional political concerns. The discussion shifted toward the administration's aggressive response to the leaking of the Pentagon Papers, which Nixon characterized as a threat to national security and a move by political opponents to damage his administration. Nixon and Agnew coordinated on the narrative for Agnew's upcoming international trip, with the President tasking his team with countering domestic criticism and emphasizing the administration's commitment to ending the Vietnam War through established diplomatic channels.
President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull briefly conferred in the Oval Office to coordinate the President's upcoming meeting with Attorney General John N. Mitchell. The discussion focused on logistics, specifically determining which staff members, including H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman, should be present for the session. Nixon ultimately decided to admit the Attorney General to initiate the scheduled deliberations.
President Nixon and his senior advisors and business leaders convened to formalize a national strategy for increasing veteran employment, emphasizing the need for businesses to provide veterans with a hiring advantage. The discussion included strategies for managing the fallout from the recently leaked Pentagon Papers, with Nixon directing his team to resist congressional hearings on war conduct while ensuring the documents were securely channeled to responsible leadership. Nixon also expressed a desire to keep the focus of the controversy on the previous administrations and away from current operations, tasking officials with maintaining a unified, firm stance against political opportunists.
President Nixon met with his senior advisors to strategize on managing the political fallout from the release of the Pentagon Papers and the Senate's recent passage of the non-binding Mansfield amendment regarding troop withdrawals. The President decided to counter the growing legislative pressure by emphasizing that the amendment was inconsistent with ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire and prisoner of war (POW) releases, while also directing his team to frame the document leak as a breach of national security perpetrated by the previous Democratic administrations. Additionally, the participants discussed the ongoing legal battle against the New York Times and the Washington Post, weighing the public relations benefits of pursuing the case through the Supreme Court versus allowing the matter to be resolved through congressional inquiry.
Stephen B. Bull met with an unidentified woman in the Oval Office for a brief, recorded encounter. The audio primarily consists of room noise and muffled, unintelligible background conversation. No substantive policy discussions, decisions, or action items were captured in this brief segment.
President Nixon met with his aide Stephen B. Bull to coordinate administrative details regarding his upcoming schedule. The discussion focused on the availability and travel arrangements for Henry Kissinger and Rose Mary Woods. This brief consultation primarily served to manage logistics for the President's planned trip to Chicago.
President Nixon instructed the White House operator to place a telephone call to Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield. This request was part of the President's efforts to facilitate communication with key legislative leadership. The brief exchange served as a routine administrative action to initiate high-level coordination with the Senate.
President Nixon met with H. R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and Henry Kissinger to strategize their public and political response to the leak of the Pentagon Papers and the ongoing Vietnam peace negotiations. Nixon emphasized a desire to appear dignified while shifting the burden of declassification to Congress, simultaneously plotting to expose the perceived duplicity of previous Democratic administrations. The President signaled a tough stance against Senate interference, warning that if negotiations with North Vietnam were derailed, he would prioritize a military escalation over a fixed withdrawal date.
President Nixon held a brief, late-evening meeting in the Oval Office with unidentified individuals. The audio recording consists entirely of unintelligible segments, yielding no identifiable policy discussions, substantive developments, or actionable outcomes. Consequently, the historical record for this exchange remains incomplete due to the lack of audible content.