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Conversation 694-007

TapeTape 694StartMonday, March 27, 1972 at 5:01 PMEndMonday, March 27, 1972 at 5:14 PMTape start time01:49:12Tape end time01:59:33ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  MacGregor, Clark;  Butterfield, Alexander P.;  Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Recording deviceOval Office
AI Summary

President Nixon met with Clark MacGregor and Alexander Butterfield to coordinate a messaging strategy for Republican members of Congress regarding the economy and the administration's price stabilization program ahead of their recess. The discussion also addressed the stalled confirmation of Richard G. Kleindienst and the ongoing ITT controversy, with Nixon pushing for a swift committee vote to resolve the matter. Finally, Nixon and Alexander Haig discussed the geopolitical risks and potential benefits of including a stop in Poland during the President's upcoming trip to the Soviet Union.

Economic PolicyCongressional RelationsITT ScandalRichard G. KleindienstForeign PolicySoviet Union
AudioNARA Description

On March 27, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Clark MacGregor, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:01 pm to 5:14 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 694-007 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 694-7

Date: March 27, 1972
Time: 5:01 pm - 5:14 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Clark MacGregor and Alexander P. Butterfield.

     The President's press conference
          -Food prices
               -George P. Shultz
                      -Herbert Stein
               -Members of Congress

     Advertising Council

     Economy
         -Stein presentation
         -Paul W. McCracken’s previous presentations
         -Stein
               -John B. Connally
               -McCracken
               -Forthcoming Republican Congressional leadership meeting
                     -Members of Congress
                          -Recess
                          -Message from the White House
                                -Price stabilization program
                                -George P. Shultz
                                -Stein
         -Connally
         -Stein
               -Inflation
               -Orders for durable goods
         -Congress
               -Lack of action
                     -White House proposals
               -Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
               -Record
               -MacGregor

                                       (rev. Sep-01)
                     -Detroit
               -Stein
               -Republican leaders
                     -Speeches
               -Filibuster

     International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT] case
           -James O. Eastland
           -Meeting with MacGregor
           -Vote
           -The President's talk with Haldeman
           -Republican Convention
           -Richard G. Kleindienst confirmation
                 -Vote
           -MacGregor's conversation with Michael J. Mansfield
                 -Eastland's talk with Mansfield
                 -Eastland's request of MacGregor
                       -Judiciary Committee
                             -Schedule a hearing
           -Executive session
           -Marlow Cook
                 -Filibuster
           -Hugh Scott, Roman L. Hruska
           -Charles W. Colson
           -Robert Mardian
           -Eastland
           -Edward M. Kennedy
                 -Television appearances
                       -Dita Beard's testimony
                             -White House involvement
                 -Statement

Alexander M. Haig entered at 5:04 pm.

          -Beard testimony
          -Cook
          -
          -White House involvement

     Economy
         -Stein
         -Positive messages
         -MacGregor

                                        (rev. Sep-01)

MacGregor and Butterfield left at 5:06 pm.

     The President’s forthcoming trip to the Soviet Union
          -Possible step in Poland
               -Soviet Union
               -US domestic situation
               -US interests
                      -Soviets
                      -Compared to trip to Romania
               -Henry A. Kissinger
                      -Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
                      -US reaction
                            -Public reception in Tehran
               -Possible reception
                      -The President’s experience as Vice President
               -Relations with the Soviet Union
               -North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
                      -William P. Rogers
                      -Kissinger
                      -Soviet Union
               -Reception
                      -Haig's talk with Kissinger

The President and Haig left at 5:14 pm.
Transcript (AI-Generated)

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.

How are you?
I talked to the press about this, about the Herbst County thing.
I've got a lot of members of Congress saying, you know, how about this food crisis thing?
How do we handle it?
You handled it very well at your press conference on Friday, and I thought Herbst County gives you a punch.
Yeah, well, the point that I was going to make is that, that, I was waiting, yeah, what's it on?
Uh,
If it's a punch, yes, but if it's anything negative, well, I don't think that goes in a cracking brief, it just kills the members.
Now, if Stein knows how to do it both ways, if he's going to get a colony punch, fine, but if it's going to be a cracking puff, Jesus Christ, does he model that meeting?
Mr. President, I talk to each of these participants and find out that we've got House members leaving Wednesday for 12 days, we've got Senators leaving Wednesday or Thursday for 6 days, they're going to be going to all sorts of
All sorts of meetings in their districts and their states, and we've got to send them home with an upbeat message that they're going to give.
Your stabilization program is down and making progress, we're dealing with inflation, and it's going to be all upbeat, and I've said that to Jory, I've said it to Herb, and I'm sure it's going to be that way.
I'll see you in the president.
I'm sure you will, Mr. President.
We probably should have used this old one.
We probably should have had common ones, but we just can't use them all the time.
All right.
Let's see if Herb can come to it.
Herb has to.
He's got the capability, if you just understand.
If you get the game, there's an awful lot of positive stuff, and that's well aware, if you'll just say it.
You know, and, you know, the rate of inflation is lower than six months.
In fact, I have a piece of a picture that, look at the new orders for durable goods, you know, and that's going to be turned into the positive factors that indicate that.
It's going to have a one-sheeter for us.
And we can go on to the other things.
You know, isn't it disgraceful, though, that these guys are going out for 12 days in the Senate, and they stay six days, you know that, for 12 days.
And they have yet to act on one of the major things we proposed.
I mean, it's a, I feel you've got to rip them.
It may be a little harder on a guy, not personally, but maybe somebody else ought to rip them.
Maybe we ought to, you know, it's time to sit down and go on our ways.
This record of this Congress, sorry, it's a sorry record, sorry.
I'm not sure you're the one who killed it, but he's got a word for the best.
Well, I started to Google Detroit yesterday.
Don't mind me going out of town.
What do you think?
The leaders ought to get out and say something, but they don't want to run down their own Congress.
My God, look at them, you know, filibustering around.
I think it's an ITT business and that kind of thing, and what the hell have they done?
What?
Senator Eastland is furious with what he saw in his own television set from Denver.
He's on his way back from Mississippi.
He planned to stay there until...
He's on his way back?
Senator's in the air on his way back and wants to see me tonight.
I'm going to see him.
Well, I made up my mind on this one.
It's his boat, and up or down, and we lose it, and he'll go on for something else.
Their team will do... Well, they want to delay it.
I know what you said.
I know what you told me to do.
He said, that's exactly what I told him.
That's just what McGregor said.
Of course, they want to play like sports.
They want to keep some of them going through the convention and have the issue.
We can't do that.
Of course, we'll have to.
We've got to get to the point where he's voted.
If he votes down, fine.
We'll put somebody else in there.
I had a talk with Mike Maskey last afternoon, and he said Clark, if...
Jim Eason will call me in this committee, and Jim will just call me on the phone and say that the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee want me to spend it on a hearing.
I'll do it.
He said, I don't have to have a formal resolution, or they don't have to make a motion.
He said, I have to have some registration of opinion from the Judiciary Committee.
So we're bending every effort to get that executive session to meet and to...
Consider the same.
It could be a simple motion, Arnold Cooper.
Yeah, but in the committee.
But look, after it gets out of the committee, doesn't the filibuster then start at the floor?
Yes, sir.
You can't break the filibuster on the floor in this canyon.
It's going to be very difficult, Mr. President.
Well, if you can't, then you see, you've got to face up to that.
We want to go on the attack right away.
Hugh Scott on the musket did go on the attack this afternoon.
Colson Martin, Wally Johnson, I spent it.
I'll have to.
What got Eastman, sir?
Kennedy on television.
Did he see him?
He did.
Did Kennedy go on television?
Kennedy was on television from both Denver and on arrival at Dulles today.
He ran at Dulles at 2 o'clock the same, but obviously now that...
We've got the adverse testimony, we have a whole new field of inquiry with $600,000, and the White House is involved in it, and so forth.
And so what?
I haven't seen Kennedy on television, so I don't know exactly what he said.
It's been reported to me about third-hand, but Eastman said that he would like to bring this matter to the head, so he's on his way back.
I think there are 600,000 that must have been established on that.
I don't know.
I think Nina Beard did a good job.
Marla Cook tells me she did a fun job.
She said, in fact, to use the old courtroom expression, if you were there, you would have said her testimony in the ring of truth.
She said it was too bad that the American people couldn't be sitting in the jury box, but she was effective as a witness.
I'll be sure that her sentence...
Well, I just wanted to be sure that it wasn't one of those low-key, well, it could be this way or that way sort of a thing.
There are times when he has to do that, and other times he has to do the other way.
Well, our mission officer sent them out for their Easter recess, charged up as being positive, and they thought, come to the right.
Like my career targets, right?
All right.
I just wanted to mention to you that ideally you've got to...
I think we ought to consider this, at least on a Polish setting, balance that very, very carefully in terms of...
I agree with you that what's involved here is perhaps the Russians behind the Russian crap deal.
On the other hand...
Frankly, sir, I would put it on the...
I'd hinge it on Henry's running it by.
If he has no complaints about Ghana, I think...
I frankly think you can tell Henry, as I said, that I just feel very strongly that... Well, of course it seems true, but I think that we have to take every risk we can to get the basic public reaction in the United States and our reception and terror on the family and American people.
But any kind of resection of coal, and then that government will have one hell of a time keeping the coals down.
They even did when I was vice president.
Today it will be hard, you know what I mean?
They hate the goddamn Russians.
They hate the Russians.
Now the idea that that is, poses a problem with NATO, forget it.
God, we're doing enough for NATO.
We're going to send Rogers over there in advance, and Rogers is going to free them.
And I don't consider that to be part of the issue now, I really don't, you know.
Now, I really, my final complaint is...
I just don't see that at all.
It's an issue, but it's not an overriding one.
It's an overriding one.
If the Soviets got totally turned off...
They had gone off.
Yeah, well, this is what they're... And so what the hell?
The Soviets may have some good receptions for us.
The poles, the poles are bound to have a good reception of some sort.
I mean, they can turn it off.
And we put it on that basis.
Aaron, I believe Henry is strong in that direction.
Alright, thank you.
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