Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 702 › Conversation 702-010
Nixon, Ziegler & Haldeman on Vietnam War and 1972 Presidential Campaign
Tuesday, April 4, 1972 · 6:01 PM–6:18 PM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon, Ronald Ziegler, and H.R. Haldeman met to coordinate public relations strategies regarding the North Vietnamese offensive and potential violations of previous agreements. The discussion addressed the political implications of the ITT case and the management of 1972 campaign finances, specifically concerning donor disclosures and John Mitchell’s role in campaign control. Furthermore, the President reviewed plans for an upcoming speech to the National Catholic Education Association and assessed the broader implications of Vietnam policy on U.S. foreign credibility.
- Vietnam War
- 1972 Presidential Campaign
- ITT Case
- Public Relations
- John Mitchell
- Foreign Policy Credibility
Audio
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 03:12:34 into the tape and ends around 03:28:58.
Transcript (AI-generated)
No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.
NARA Description
On April 4, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:01 pm to 6:18 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 702-010 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 702-10
Date: April 4, 1972
Time: 6:01 pm - 6:18 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.
The President's meeting with Russell A. Kirk
-Book
Vietnam
-Weather
-Reports
-Air strikes
-Initiation
-Effectiveness
-Public support
-North Vietnamese offensive
-Demilitarized Zone [DMZ] crossing
H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman entered at 6:03 pm.
-Washington Star headlines
-Offensive
-Wire service leaks
-Department of Defense
-Department of State
-White House
-Violation of 1954 and 1968 agreements
-Uniqueness
-Public relations efforts
Ziegler left at 6:03 pm.
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 10s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
*****************************************************************
-ITT [International Telephone and Telegraph]
-Money
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 25s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
*****************************************************************
Speeches
-Henry A. Kissinger invitation
-Frank Stanton
-Station owners
-Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS] affiliates
-Program rights
-Local news
-Editorials
-Support for the President
-Approval
Mitchell
-Control of campaign
-ITT case
-Diversion
1972 campaign
-Finances
-Mitchell's concerns
-Congressional guidelines
-John W. Gardner
-List of contributors
-Release
-Mailings
-Handling
-List of contributors
-Release
-The President's posture
-Major issues
-Vietnam
Vietnam
-Kissinger
-Negotiations
-Bombing
-Stakes of war
-Consequences of defeat
-Viability of US foreign policy
-Credibility
Education
-Forthcoming speech to the National Catholic Education Association [NCEA]
-Speech draft
-John D. Ehrlichman
-Delivery to the President
-The President's review
-Executive Office Building [EOB]
-Contents
-John Cardinal Krol
-Conversation with Charles W. Colson
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 17s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
*****************************************************************
ITT case
-Haldeman’s discussion with Mitchell
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 2m 13s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
*****************************************************************
The President's schedule
-Trip to Philadelphia
-Krol
-Reception
The President and Haldeman left at 6:18 pm.Also recorded on April 4, 1972
- 702-003 3:11 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:11 pm to 3:12 pm.
- 702-004 3:12 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John K. Andrews, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:12 pm and 3:45 pm.
- 702-005 3:12 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 3:12 pm and 3:45 pm.
- 702-006 3:12 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:12 pm and 3:45 pm.
- 702-007 3:45 PM · 1 hr 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Alexander P. Butterfield, John N. Mitchell, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Manolo Sanchez, Charles Lucet, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:45 pm to 5:06 pm.
- 702-008 5:06 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 5:06 pm and 5:08 pm.
- 702-009 5:08 PM · 52 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Russell A. Kirk, Alexander P. Butterfield, White House photographer, Manolo Sanchez, Stephen B. Bull, and Annette Kirk met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:08 pm to 6:01 pm.
- 702-011 6:18 PM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:18 pm and 8:13 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 702-010, April 4, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/702-010 (accessed October 12, 2026).