Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 568 › Conversation 568-003

Nixon & Krogh on Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse and Raymond P. Shafer

Thursday, September 9, 1971 · 2:57 PM–3:03 PM ET · Oval Office ·2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Krogh, Egil ("Bud"), Jr.Conversation568-003 onTape 568 (tape position 00:06:07–00:08:07)StartThursday, September 9, 1971 at 2:57 PMEndThursday, September 9, 1971 at 3:03 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 568-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Egil Krogh discussed preparations for an upcoming meeting with Raymond Shafer, the chair of the Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. The primary objective was to ensure Shafer could manage extremist commission members like Harold Hughes to avoid a dissenting report that the administration would be forced to publicly repudiate. Krogh planned to keep the meeting brief, utilizing a photo opportunity to acknowledge the Commission's work while also incorporating a session on the strategies of the Special Action Office led by Jerome Jaffe.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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I know it is.
All we're trying to do now is to give him some ability back in the commission to keep some of the extremists like Hughes and the rest from going out and giving him a dissenting report or something that we have to repudiate outright.
The Attorney General's feeling is that we listened to him.
The fact of the meeting is all we need right now plus a picture.
He's asked for a picture.
And he just told me, he said, I know what the game is.
He said, we're just going to get a picture.
I'll go back to the commission.
I'll tell them, John, that we met, listened, was appreciative of all your press pictures.
No, sir, it's just all I have.
We'll just try.
There's no press picture that we planned for this time.
I think so.
I'm worried about the meaning of the reason to deal with it.
It should add up, but I'm totally set here to test it.
And Jerry will be here gently in case you'd like to say what we're doing in the Special Action Office, some of the strategies that are being developed.
So we had some discussions with operational programs as being a huge long-range policy work and planning related to those two, so we can discuss that.
And you'll cut the meeting off?
Yes, sir.
I'll do it in about 15 minutes.
All right.
We have a swerving ceremony and we have to clear the office for it.
So 25,000 people.
That's it.
We're good.
Well, it's terrible.
It's great to get it.

NARA Description

On September 9, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Egil ("Bud") Krogh, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:57 pm and 3:03 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 568-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 568-3

Date: September 9, 1971
Time: Unknown between 2:57 pm and 3:03 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Egil G. (“Bud”) Krogh, Jr.

     Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse
        -Krogh's memorandum
        -Forthcoming meeting with Raymond P. Shafer
              -Harold E. Hughes
              -Attorney General John N. Mitchell
              -Photograph
                    -Oliver F. (“Ollie”) Atkins
              -Participants
                      -Jerome H. Jaffe
                           -Special action office strategies, programs
                 -Duration
                      -The President's schedule
                           -Swearing-in ceremony

Also recorded on September 9, 1971

  • 008-077 2:19 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 2:19 pm to 2:28 pm.
  • 008-078 2:28 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:28 pm and 5:06 pm.
  • 278-019 2:28 PM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:28 pm and 2:57 pm.
  • 278-020 2:28 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building on an unknown date, sometime between 2:28 pm on September 9, 1971 and 3:44 pm on September 12, 1971.
  • 568-002 2:57 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:57 pm and 3:03 pm.
  • 568-004 3:03 PM · 32 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Raymond P. Shafer, Dr. Jerome H. Jaffe, Egil ("Bud") Krogh, Jr., White House photographer, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:03 pm to 3:34 pm.
  • 568-005 3:34 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:34 pm and 3:38 pm.
  • 568-006 3:34 PM · 18 min — Stephen B. Bull, Ezra Solomon, Janet Lorraine Solomon, Catherine Solomon, Janet Solomon, Herbert Stein, Lorna Solomon, Judge Charles R. Richey, George P. Shultz and White House photographer, unknown person(s), Frank C. Carlucci, III, Jean Phyliss (Anthony) Carlucci, Karen Carlucci, Frank C. Carlucci, IV, Frank C. Carlucci, II, Donald H. Rumsfeld, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:34 pm and 3:56 pm.

All 58 conversations from September 9, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 568-003, September 9, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/568-003 (accessed September 18, 2026).