Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 743 › Conversation 743-002

Nixon, Ziegler & Haldeman on Press relations and Political campaign management

Tuesday, June 27, 1972 · 9:37 AM–10:06 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); Bull, Stephen B.; Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation743-002 on Tape 743 (tape position 00:51:11–01:21:45)StartTuesday, June 27, 1972 at 9:37 AMEndTuesday, June 27, 1972 at 10:06 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 743-002 ↗

President Nixon met with his senior staff, including Ronald Ziegler, H. R. Haldeman, and John Ehrlichman, to coordinate press strategy and finalize his upcoming schedule. The discussion covered various administrative topics such as television audio issues, revenue sharing, and the management of high-profile political figures like Martha Mitchell. Furthermore, the group evaluated the political landscape, including campaign personnel shifts and pending legislative priorities like the debt ceiling and welfare reform.

Audio for this conversation has not been released by the National Archives.

No transcript is available because the audio has not been released.

On June 27, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:37 am to 10:06 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 743-002 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 743-2

Date: June 27, 1972
Time: 9:37-10:06 am.
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

     The President's schedule
          -Forthcoming press conference
                -Timing
                -Congressional adjournment
                -Ziegler’s comments to press
                      -Congressional adjournment
                      -Social Security bill
                      -Television

      Ziegler’s press briefing
           -Appointments
                 -Military Assistance Command, Vietnam [MACV]
                       -Gen. Frederick C. Weyand
                            -Gen. Creighton W. Abrams, Jr.
           -Clark MacGregor
           -Caspar W. Weinberger
                 -Debt ceiling briefing
           -Donald H. Rumsfeld
                 -Raw agricultural products
           -Forthcoming meeting with John D. Ehrlichman

      Baseball greats list
          -Hugh Casey
          -The President's article
                 -Distribution
                 -Associated Press [AP]
                 -Radio
                 -Rowland Evans
                 -AP
                 -Timing of release
                 -AP

H. R. Haldeman entered at 9:40 am.

      Television audio problems
           -Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS]
           -American Broadcasting Company [ABC]
           -National Broadcasting Corporation [NBC]
           -The President's filmed statement

Stephen B. Bull entered at 9:41 am.

      The President's schedule
           -Meeting with Ehrlichman

Bull left at 9:42 am.

Ziegler left at 9:42 am.

      Television audio problems

      The President’s schedule
           -Association of Counties

                -Statement by the President
                      -Revenue sharing
                      -Spiro T. Agnew
                -Flood
                      -Ehrlichman
                -Size
                -Relations with Administration
                -Vietnam War
                -Statement by the President
                      -Welcoming remarks
                      -Foreign policy compared with domestic policy
                          -Revenue sharing
                          -Vietnam
                          -Administration spokesman
                -Meeting schedule

     John N. Mitchell
          -Location
          -Richard A. Moore
          -Martha (Beall) Mitchell
               -Necessity for control
                    -Access to press
               -Health
                    -Press coverage
                         -Jack Lynn(?)'s call to Moore
                         -Helen A. Thomas
                    -Moore’s comments to editor
                         -Editor’s response
                    -Immediate future

*****************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 10/31/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[743-002-w001]
[Duration: 1m 56s]

     John N. Mitchell
          -Martha (Beall) Mitchell
          -Role in campaign
                -John D. Ehrlichman
                     -Possible replacement for John N. Mitchell

                     -The President’s opinion
                          -Missouri
                          -New Jersey
                          -1968 states
                          -New York
                     -Ability to handle James L. Buckley
                          -Charles W. Colson
                     -Need to handle Ronald W. Reagan
               -Frederic V. Malek
                     -Role in campaign
                     -Ronald W. Reagan
                     -Missouri
                          -St. Louis
         -Robert H. Finch
         -Donald H. Rumsfeld
         -Harry S. Dent
         -Role in campaign
               -Political operator
                     -Importance

*****************************************************************

    Martha Mitchell
        -John Mitchell

    Watergate

    Edward C. Nixon's schedule
        -Visit to black church
              -Leonard P. Garment
              -The President’s previous visit in 1960
                    -John F. Kennedy
        -Appearance at church convention
              -Militants
              -Edward Nixon’s remarks

    Scheduling of public appearances
        -Black audiences
              -The President's view
        -Hispanics
              -Cesar E. Chavez
        -The President's view
              -The President's family

          -Robert H. Finch
          -Edward Nixon’s public activities

     Henry A. Kissinger's activities
         -Congress

     The President's schedule
          -Cost of Living Council [COLC]

Ehrlichman entered at 9:58 am.

                -George W. Romney
                -John A. Volpe
                -George P. Shultz
                -John B. Connally, Jr.

Haldeman left at 9:58 am.

          -Meeting with Republican senators
               -Debt ceiling
                    -Shultz, Caspar W. Weinberger
               -Revenue sharing
                    -Shultz
                    -Ehrlichman's meeting with Jacob K. Javits
                         -Nelson A. Rockefeller
                    -House formula
               -House Resolution [HR] 1
                    -Work requirement
                    -Senators' philosophy
                    -Agreement with the President
                    -Russell B. Long's proposal
                    -Senate bill
                         -Administration view
                         -Administration's role in preparing
                         -Wallace F. Bennett
                         -Criticism
                                -Elliot L. Richardson and James D. Hodgson
                         -Cost
                                -Department of Health, Education and Welfare [HEW]
                                -Robert Meyers
                                -Long
                                -Compared to HR 1
                                      -Office of Management and Budget [OMB]
                                -The President's position

                                      -Support for legislation

Ehrlichman left at 10:06 am.
  • 743-001 8:45 AM — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:45 am and 9:37 am.
  • 743-003 10:06 AM — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:06 am and 10:08 am.
  • 103-007 10:08 AM · 1 hr 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee, including Wallace F. Bennett, Carl T. Curtis, Jack R. Miller, Leonard B. ("Len") Jordan, Paul J. Fannin, Clifford P. Hansen, Robert P. Griffin, George P. Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman, John F. Evans, Jr., Clark MacGregor, Thomas C. Korologos, Ronald L. Ziegler, and James H. Falk, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 10:08 am and 11:28 am.
  • 103-009 11:28 AM · 5 min — a White House tour group met in the Cabinet Room of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 11:28 am on June 27, 1972 and 10:05 am on June 30, 1972.
  • 103-012 11:28 AM · 1 min — a White House tour group met in the Cabinet Room of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 11:28 am on June 27, 1972 and 10:05 am on June 30, 1972.
  • 743-004 11:28 AM — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:28 am and 11:30 am.
  • 743-005 11:30 AM — President Richard M. Nixon, Elliot L. Richardson, John S. Millis, Theodore Cooper, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., James H. Cavanaugh, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:30 am to 11:57 am.
  • 743-006 11:57 AM — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, unknown person(s), Henry A. Kissinger, Ronald L. Ziegler, Manolo Sanchez, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:57 am and 1:50 pm.

Conversation 743-002, June 27, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/743-002 (accessed September 30, 2026).