On June 24, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, John Mackey, Mrs. John Mackey, Ed Garvey, Bill Curry, Nick Buonconti, and Henry C. Cashen, II met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:23 am to 11:35 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 528-016 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
Pentagon Papers
-Birch E. Bayh, Jr.
-Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield
-Efforts to aid the President
-Congressional activity
-Republican activities
-House Republican action
-Henry A. Kissinger's need for documents
-Release of documents
-Involvement of administration
-Cambodia
-Laos
-Tactical use
-Subpoena power
-Problems
-Congressional hearings
-Scope
-Potential problems
-Potential advantages
-Robert S. McNamara
-Questioning by George S. McGovern supporters
-Edward M. (“Ted”) Kennedy's role
-John F. Kennedy involvement
-Ngo Dinh Diem
-Commitment of troops in 1961
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Qualities
-Ziegler
-Herbert G. Klein
Schedule
-Indianapolis
-Possible visit to farm
-Timing
-Television coverage
-Chicago
-Speech to American Association of Retire Persons [AARP]
-Return to Washington, D.C.
-Camp David
-George P. Shultz's request for meeting
-Attendance
-John N. Mitchell Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
-John B. Connally
-John D. Ehrlichman
-Advantages and disadvantages
-Connally's schedule
-Martha (Beall) Mitchell
-Paul W. McCracken
-Ehrlichman’s suggestion
-Haldeman's schedule
Pentagon Papers
-Impact on country
-Cliff Miller
-Poll results
-Regional impact
-Impact by educational background
-Age group division
-Awareness of news
-Age differences
-Revelations of Vietnam involvement
-Media handling
-Media attacks on Lyndon B. Johnson
-Media relations with the President
-President's declassification order
-Lawsuit against Franklin D. Roosevelt Library
-30 year secrecy ceiling
-Kissinger
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-1972 Democratic victory
-Results
-Bay of Pigs
-Dominican Republic
-Selectivity
-News coverage
-Mansfield's Amendment
-Kissinger's activities
-North Vietnamese negotiating strategy
-People’s Republic of China [PRC] pressure
-US domestic pressure
-Relations with Soviet Union
-US domestic politics
-Impact on foreign relations
Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
Public relations
-Reaction to wedding of Tricia Nixon and Edward R.F. Cox
Alexander P. Butterfield entered at 11:05 am.
Ehrlichman’s location
Butterfield left at 11:06 am.
Public relations
-Reaction to wedding of Tricia Nixon and Edward R.F. Cox
-Memorability
-Compared to Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy White House tour
-Letters
-Sentimental buildups
-Fighting instincts
-President
-Johnson
-Media coverage
-Spiro T. Agnew
-Ziegler
Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 11:06 am.
Request for Charles W. Colson
Bull left at an unknown time before 11:39 am.
Public relations
-Media coverage of Senate vote
-Ziegler’s view
-Rationale
-Media coverage
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[Privacy]
[528-001-w007]
[Duration: 2s] Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
Public relations
-Media coverage of Senate vote
-Ronald L. Ziegler’s view
-President’s observation
-Drinking
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Public relations
-Media coverage of Senate vote
-President's drug message
-Raymond K. Price, Jr.
-President and children
-Administration tactics
-Formation of "line"
-President's involvement
Butterfield entered at an unknown time after 11:05 am.
[Delivery of casualty figures]
Butterfield left at an unknown time before 11:39 am.
Vietnam casualties
-Trends
-Kissinger
-Cambodian action
-Indication of success
-Agnew's comments
Schedule
-Press briefing during Midwest trip
-Cincinnati
-Problems
-Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky
-St. Louis, Kansas City, and Milwaukee
-Wisconsin trip
-Necessity
-Benefits
-Kansas City Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
-Compared with St. Louis
-Facilities
-Hotels
-Compared with Rochester
-Need to visit Missouri
-Milwaukee, Wisconsin
-Montana
Colson entered at 11:39 am.
Pentagon Papers
-Effect on John F. Kennedy administration
-Effect on Ted Kennedy
-Effect on Democrats
-Boston reaction
-Boston Globe article
-Assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem
- J. Kennedy
-Henry Cabot Lodge
-Kennedy and "covert war"
-Chicago Daily News
-Chicago Sun Times story
-Colson's effort
-Attack on Johnson
-Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson
-Rationale
-Election posture
-Franklin C. (“Lyn”) Nofziger
-Attack on John Kennedy
-McNamara
-Clark M. Clifford
-McGeorge Bundy
-Johnson's choice of advisers
-Focus on need for secrecy
-Mention of specific papers
-New York Times, Washington Post
-Focus on classification
-Focus on Chicago peace group
-Distribution of classified stolen documents
-Defiance of court order
-Relation to May Day demonstrations
Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 01/14/2020.
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[Personal Returnable]
[528-001-w008]
[Duration: 4s]
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Pentagon Papers
-Administration response
-Benefits of low profile reaction
-John A. Scali
-Polls
-Results
-Approval of President
-Gallup poll compared with administration poll
-Focus on moral issue of publishing stolen documents
-Focus on classified documents
-Miller
-Lack of awareness
-Regional breakdown
-Public perception
-Publication of papers
-Administration’s court action
-Rationale
-Age of classified material
-Declassification procedures
-World War II
-Pearl Harbor
-Korean War period
-Cuban missile crisis
-Turkish bases
-Bay of Pigs invasion
-Scope
-Colson and Ehrlichman conversation
-Effect on country
-Selectivity Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
-[Thomas] Woodrow Wilson
-President's prosecution of Times
-Legal necessities
-Focus on previous administrations
-Effect on Hubert H. Humphrey
-Effect on Edmund G. Muskie
-Effect on Ted Kennedy
-Effect on Jackson
-Muskie’s comments
-Link between Ted and John Kennedy
-Humphrey handling of attack on Johnson administration
-Compared to Chappaquiddick
-Victor Lasky's article
-Patrick J. Buchanan's article
-President's conduct of the War
-Mailing to House and Senate
-Mailing to dinner guests
-President's involvement
-Buchanan
-Scali
-William P. Rogers story to Haldeman
-Rationale for low profile
-Alger Hiss case
-Mood in country
-Avoidance of escalation
-Attack on newspapers
-Timing
-Administration response
-Democratic infighting
-Lawrence F. O'Brien's role
-Gale W. McGee and J. William Fulbright
-McGovern's situation
-Attack on main actors
-James P. Roche’s defense of Johnson
-William S. White's reaction
-Stewart J.O. Alsop's article
-Impact on country
Mansfield Amendment
-Effect on US foreign policy
-Impact on negotiations
-Vietnam Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
-Prisoners of War [POW]
-Ceasefire
-Administration fortitude
-F. Edward Hebert
-Rationale
-Clark MacGregor
-President's foreign policy efforts
-Vietnam
-Drop in casualties
-Laos
-Cambodia
-Public perception
Public relations
-Support for the President
-Compared to Johnson
-President's standing in polls
-Trends
-Johnson
-Reaction to President in person
-Effect of wedding
-Barbara Walters’ comments
-Comparison with coronation
-Tricia Nixon Cox pictures
-Audience ratings
-Network draws
-Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS]
-National Broadcasting Company [NBC]
-War in Vietnam
-Impact
-Economy
-President's contact with retailers
-Harry B. Cunningham, Chairman, S.S. Kresge Co.
-Gordon M. Metcalf, Chairman, Sears Roebuck and Co.
-Edward W. Carter
-Inflation
-Unemployment
-Teamsters Union
-President’s call to Frank S. Fitzsimmons
-George T. Bell
-Voting power
-George Meany's tactics Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
-Political power
-Prior support for President
-Helen Gahagan Douglas
-Political courtship
-President's contact with Fitzsimmons
-Upcoming report
-Fitzsimmons’s demeanor
-American Medical Association [AMA]
-Support for President
-Drug request
-Political power
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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 01/14/2020.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[528-001-w003]
[Duration: 9s]
Public relations
-American Medical Association [AMA]
-Support for President
-Dr. [first name unknown] Thompson
-Influence
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Public relations
-American Medical Association [AMA]
-Support for President
-Politics compared with profession
-Socialized medicine
Mansfield Amendment
-Attack on supporters
-Republicans
-Charles H. Percy
-Past record
-Marlow W. Cook Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
-Ted F. Stevens
-Effect on negotiations
-Ziegler's comment
-Conversation with Mansfield
-Nguyen Van Thieu
-Views of Republicans
-President's strength
-Polls
-Upcoming "breaks" for administration
Economy
-Positive talk on economy
-Public perception
-Arthur F. Burns
-Construction industry statistics
-Industrial production
-Retail sales
-Burns
-McCracken
-Connally
-Shultz
-Present condition
-Compared to Great Depression
-Pressure of money supply
-Level of employment
-Vietnam veterans
-Effect on figures
-Airframe workers
-Areas affected
-Southern California
-Pacific northwest
-Wichita, Kansas
-Future growth areas
-Seattle, Washington
-Southern California
-Florida
-Rationale
-Retirement
-Arizona and Nevada
-Skill level
-Southern California
-Crowding Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
-Compared to New York
-President’s recollections
-Nassau
-Westchester
-New Jersey suburbs
-Empty land
-Types
-Population
-Confidence in economy
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
-Related to world affairs
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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 01/14/2020.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[528-001-w004]
[Duration: 5m 8s]
Politics
-Democratic Party problems
-Lawrence F. O'Brien, Jr.'s job
-Intra-party conflict
-Attacks on previous Democratic administrations
-Democratic National Convention problems
-Rule changes
-Efforts of George S. McGovern’s staffers
-Wisconsin convention
-Censure of Lyndon B. Johnson
-Reaction to Lyndon B. Johnson/John F. Kennedy record
-Comparison to 1960 Republican National Convention
-Attacks on Dwight D. Eisenhower Administration
-Comparison to 1964 Republican National Convention
-Attacks on Dwight D. Eisenhower Administration
-Impact on Hubert H. Humphrey's prospects
-Attacks by Administration
-Editorials
-Content
-Edmund S. Muskie's prospects
-Previous support for Lyndon B. Johnson’sConv.
VietnamNo.policy
528-16/529-1 (cont.)
-Vote for Gulf of Tonkin resolution
-Previous convention speech
-President’s idea to utilize
-Gale W. McGee
-Speculation of potential Democratic Party split
-Structure of the Democratic Convention
-Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson
-Southern Democrats
-George C. Wallace's prospects
-Civil rights
-Democratic Party money
-New York contributions
-Jewish donors
-Edmund S. Muskie's prospects
-George S. McGovern's prospects
-Eugene J. McCarthy's tactics
-Creation of fourth political party
-Effect on President
-Effect on conservative Democrats
-Democratic problems versus Republican problems
-1964 presidential race
-Left-wing of the Democratic Party
-Popular strength on far left compared to far right
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Domestic affairs
-Charles B. Kuralt
-Nicholas P. Thimmesch column
-Popular opinion
-Melville Stephens
-Perception of the people
-Atlantic City trip
-Problems in US
-Media contributions
-State of the Nation
-Vietnam
-Urban unrest
-Police support
-Black policeman
-President’s supporters Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
-President's schedule
-Play to particular groups
-Focus on supporters
-Youth
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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 01/14/2020.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[528-001-w005]
[Duration: 2m 9s]
Domestic affairs
-Campaign tactics
-President’s conversation with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-Youth
-Frequent support for President
-Potential increase of voters
-Motivation of voters to turnout
-Fourth political party
-Timing of elections
-Demeanor of President’s re-election campaign
-President’s opinion
-Demeanor of unseen campaign
**********************************************************************
Mansfield Amendment
-Rationale for votes
-Effect on negotiations
Pentagon Papers
-Furor
-Focus on John Kennedy and Johnson period
-Focus on theft of papers
-Rationale
-Publication
-Daniel Ellsberg
-Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
-Poll findings
-Method of removal of papers
-Involvement of peace group
-Infiltration
-Richard H. Ichord
-Congressional action
-House Committee on Un-American activities
-John L. McClellan
-Phillip M. Crane
-Jack F. Kemp
-Treason charge
Colson left at 12:41 pm.
Citizens Committee
-Use of money for supporting revenue sharing
-Request of citizens committee for money
-Connection to campaign
Schedule
-Postal celebration ceremony
-Schools of thought
-Winton M. (“Red”) Blount dinner
-Robert H. Finch
-Focus on administration accomplishments
-Ray Grace
-Focus on a few issues
-Drugs
-Ehrlichman
-Postal celebration
-Blount plans
Ambassadorships
-Charles G. (“Bebe”) Rebozo
-Ambassador to Brussels
-Former Ambassador to Ireland [Winston] Guest
-Raymond R. Guest
-Campaign contributions
-John Eisenhower
-Wife
-Herbert W. Kalmbach
-Political office Conv. No. 528-16/529-1 (cont.)
-Related to campaign contributions
-Amount
-Fred J. Russell
-Length of Ambassadorships
-Charles H. Bluhdorn contribution
-Sugar quotas
Haldeman left at 12:45 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.