Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 673
Nixon White House Tape 673 (February 16, 1972)
3 conversations · Oval Office · about 1 hr 52 min of released audio
Featuring Nixon, United States Secret Service agents, Woods, Haldeman, Kissinger
Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office to confer on an unspecified operational task or logistical matter. The brief exchange consists of the participants comparing their respective approaches or drafts to determine which was superior. No substantive policy decisions or historical actions were recorded during this segment.
President Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and H. R. Haldeman met to coordinate final logistics for the President's upcoming diplomatic trip to the People’s Republic of China, including the handling of correspondence from well-wishers and dignitaries like Lyndon B. Johnson. The discussion shifted to domestic management, where the President and Haldeman reviewed staffing adjustments, specifically the movement of personnel to support political operations under John Mitchell and the appointment of a new ambassador to Portugal. They ultimately decided to keep airport farewells low-profile to avoid political friction and prioritized streamlining White House staff responsibilities ahead of the campaign season.
In this meeting, President Nixon confers with Henry Kissinger regarding the upcoming China trip, focusing on the handling of sensitive issues like Taiwan and the importance of maintaining a firm stance on security commitments. Following this, Nixon meets with Richard Kleindienst and George Shultz to discuss Kleindienst’s transition into the Attorney General role, emphasizing the necessity of political pragmatism, staff discipline, and maintaining a unified front with John Connally on economic matters. The President also directs his team to manage volatile domestic issues—specifically busing and integrated housing—by prioritizing political strategy and controlled communication to avoid alienating key voter bases during the re-election campaign.