Conversation: 725-011
Prev: 725-010 Next: 725-012Start Date: Tuesday, May 16, 1972 12:43 PM
End Date: Tuesday, May 16, 1972 1:47 PM
Participants:
Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); Colson, Charles W.; Ehrlichman, John D.; [Unknown person(s)]; Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Recording Device: Oval Office
Full Tape Conversation Start Time: 00:50:25
Full Tape Conversation End Time: 01:50:44
NARA Description:
On May 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Charles W. Colson, John D. Ehrlichman, unknown person(s), and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:43 am to 9:47 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 725-011 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid:
Conversation No. 725-11
Date: May 16, 1972
Time: 8:43 am - 9:47 am
Location: Oval Office
11
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman met with Charles W. Colson.
President's instructions to Gen. Creighton W. Abrams
-Haldeman’s view
Winston S. Churchill
-Memoirs
-Page numbers
John D. Ehrlichman entered at 8:44 am.
Memorandum for President's files
-Ronald L. Ziegler's position
-Subject
-Purpose
-Colson
The President entered at an unknown time after 8:44 am.
The President talked with an unknown person at an unknown time between
8:44 am and 9:47 am.
[Conversation No. 725-11A]
Call to Gen. Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
The President talked with Haig.
Vietnam
-Necessity of effort
-Military compared with bureaucracy
-Message for Abrams
-Nguyen Van Thieu
-Military promotions
-The President’s view
-The President’s military experience
[End of telephone conversation]
Government
-White House staff compared with bureaucracy
-Fear of failure
12
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
George C. Wallace
-Condition
-President's previous call to Dr. William M. Lukash
-Possible visit by President
-Calls from President
-Cornelia Wallace
-Wallace's brother
-Dr. Lukash
-Conversations with President
-Times
-Offer of Presidential suite and US Navy doctors
-Prime Minister of Chad
-Prognosis for recovery
-Bullet location
-Duration
-Likelihood
**********************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 1m 44s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
**********************************************************************
-Franklin D.Roosevelt
-Performance as President
-Warm Springs trips
-The President’s 1969 trip to California
-Comparison with [Thomas] Woodrow Wilson
Modern presidency
-Airplanes
-Budgets
-Vacations
-Roosevelt era
Ehrlichman
-Nature of work
13
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
-Work with left-wingers
-Nelson A. Rockefeller
-Abortion bill
-Forest Hills housing bill
-Busing moratorium bill
**********************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 5m 6s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
**********************************************************************
Wallace
-Assassination attempt
-Wounded Secret Service agent
-Operation
-Family
-Georgia detail
-Flowers from President
-Custom
-Memorandum
-Effect on President's protection
-Intent of left-wingers
-Arthur H. Bremer
-Political affiliations
-Story by Associated Press [AP]
-Wire reports
-United Press International [UPI] report
-Washington Post report
-Black Panther
-Wallace
-Motivation
-Ehrlichmans’ view
-Investigation
-Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
-Secret Service
-The President’s view
14
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
Secret Service
-Personnel changes
-George P. Shultz's opinion
-James J. Rowley
-Robert H. Taylor
-The President’s view
-William L. Duncan
-Reason
President's personnel theories
-Supreme Court Justices
-Richard G. Kleindienst
-Peter M. Flanigan
-Need to make effort
-Consequences
Bremer
-Background
Secret Service
-Inspection of Bremer's apartment
-Illegality
-Effect on conviction
-Failure to get warrant
-Reason
-Contrasted with FBI and Bremer's car
-Mistakes
Wallace
-Assassination attempt
-Investigation
-FBI direction
-L.[ouis] Patrick Gray, III
-Work
-Ehrlichman’s view
-Compared with J. Edgar Hoover
Gun control
-National Rifle Association [NRA]
-Rifles and shotguns
-Revolvers
-Danger
-Hand-gun legislation
15
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
-NRA
-The President’s view
-Gun owners
-Solution to problem
-Criminals
-Number of gun owners
-President's position
-Lobby
-Senior staff discussion
-Publicity
-The President’s instruction
-President's previous campaign position
-Publicity
--Egil (”Bud”) Krogh, Jr.
-Saturday-night specials
-Concealed weapons
-Transportation of handguns
-Concealed weapon legislation
-Penalty
-Robert F. Kennedy assassination
-Sirhan Sirhan
-John F. Kennedy
-Mail-order gun used
16
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
**********************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 37s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
**********************************************************************
Violence
-Possible editorial or AP story
-Effect of North Vietnam mining
-Effect of Vietnam War
-Effect of World War II
-Criminal tendencies
-Shooting of Wallace
-Bremer
-Motives
-Ehrlichman’s view
-Effect on Wallace's candidacy
-Mrs. Wallace and staff
-Motives
-Effect on administration
-Gun legislation
-Necessity of speedy action
-Announcement
-Time
-Penalties
-Weapons defined
-Saturday-night specials
17
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
**********************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 6m 13s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
**********************************************************************
Vietnam
-Previous briefing by Haig
-Trend of war
-Activity in North Vietnam
-An Loc
-Kontum
-Hue
-Effect of military blockade and bombing
-Psychological
-South Vietnam
-US forces
-In Vietnam
-Worldwide
-[Dwight] David Eisenhower, II's report
-Sally Inge's report
-Haig's son's [Brian Haig’s] report
-US
-Prospects for victory
-North Vietnam
-Supply lines
-Cambodia
-Laos
-Sealanes
-US bombing
-Petroleum, oil, and lubircants [POL]
-Press coverage
-Characterization of President
-Henry A. Kissinger's role
-William P. Rogers's role
-Melvin R. Laird's role
-John B. Connally's role
18
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
-Spiro T. Agnew's role
-Tone
-Weekly news magazines
-Time
-Newsweek
-New York Times
-Psychological effect of blockade and mining
-Importance
-Previous press coverage
-Effect of Wallace assassination
-Firebase Bastogne
-South Vietnam movement and morale
-Blockade and mining
-Risk
-President's memorandum
-Compared with opening to People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-President's leadership
-President's image
-PRC opening
-Louis P. Harris
-Described
-Publicity
White House protesters
-Arrests
-Quakers
-Charges
-Hippies
-Publicity
-Colsons’ view
-The President’s view
-Quakers
-The President’s view
-President's mother and grandmother
Wallace
-Assassination attempt
-Bremer
-Preliminary FBI report
-Characterized by family
-Political affiliations
-Young Democrats
-Report from Theodore Bremer
-Shooting ability
19
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
-Previous arrest
-Compared with Lee Harvey Oswald’s shooting ability
-Ehrlichman's meeting with Secret Service and FBI
-Information on background
-Robert Kennedy case comparison
-Importance
-Possibility of prejudicing trial
-Story from Kenneth W. Clawson
-Time released
-Appearance in newspaper
-Political affiliation
-Washington Post story
-UPI story
-Political affiliation
-Young Democrats
-Need to release information
-Clawson's problems
-Instructions from Clawson
-Washington Post
-FBI
-Investigation
-Gray
-International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT] case
-Influence on public opinion
-President's congressional experience
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Previous jobs
-Source of funds for assassination attempt
-White House media campaign
-The President’s orders
-Effect on trial
-Lt. William L. Calley, Jr. case comparison
-Need
-Compared with other programs
-Revenue-sharing
-Welfare reform
-Health reform
-Transportation ("Transpo")
-William Proxmire's comparison with Little Big Horn
-John A. Volpe
-White House media campaign on Arthur Bremer
-Work with agencies
-FBI
-Gray
20
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
-Colson's office
-Pressure
-Richard G. Kleindienst
-The President’s view
-Gray
-The President’s view
-The President’s relationship with Kleindienst and Gray
-White House handling
-FBI
-Secret Service
-Rowley
-Possible firing
-Shultz’s role
-Taylor
-The President’s view
-Leadership
-Rowley
-Thomas J. Kelley
-Glenn Hill
-Haldeman’s view
-William L. Duncan
-The President’s view
-Compared with Gray
-Background
-Work habits
-Hoover
-Needs
-Compared with FBI
-Compared with past
-Presidential protective detail
-President's opinions
-Haldeman’s view
21
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
**********************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 10
[Agency Statute]
[Duration : 9s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 10
**********************************************************************
-Haldeman’s view
-The President's view
Nixon family's protection
-Tricia Nixon Cox's appearance
-Testimonial for Agnew
-Date
-Julie Nixon's Eisenhower's schedule
-Public appearances
-Restriction
-Duration
-President's walk to Treasury Department
-Purpose
-New York Times story
-[Dwight] David Eisenhower, II
-Location
-Philadelphia trip
-Public appearances
-Date
-Women's Republican meeting
-Concerns
-President's appearances
-Walk to Treasury Department
-Necessity
-Protection
-Soviet trip
-Protection level
-Ziegler announcement
-Public concerns
Wallace
-Protection
-Offer to Edward M. Kennedy
22
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF
Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)
-President's press briefing
-President's call to hospital
-Wallace's condition
-Secret Service agent's condition
-Secret Service protection
-President's comments on Wallace's condition
-Mrs. Wallace's comments
-Doctor's comments
-Haldeman’s view
-Content of future comments
-President's offer of Bethesda Naval Hospital services
-Secret Service agent's condition
-Secret Service protection
-Ehrlichman’s view
-Alabama policeman's condition
-Appreciation for work of law enforcement officers
-Wounded Secret Service agent
-Location of mother and wife
Vietnam
-President's previous speech on the blockade
-West Point response
-[Brian Haig's] report
-Morale
-Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr.
-The President’s view
-David Eisenhower's report
The President’s schedule
-Cabinet meeting
-The President’s forthcoming comments
Colson's office
-Clawson
-Herbert G. Klein
-Use
Haldeman, Colson and Ehrlichman left at 9:47 am.