President Nixon and John B. Connally met to discuss a variety of political and strategic issues, including international oil interests, legal investigations involving Jake Jacobsen, and the upcoming 1972 presidential election. Nixon dismissed concerns regarding the Watergate scandal, framing it as the work of lower-level committee members rather than the administration, while emphasizing his intention to focus on presidential duties rather than immediate, aggressive campaign whistle-stopping. The pair further discussed key campaign themes, contrasting Nixon's conservative judicial and fiscal philosophies with the policies of his opponent, George McGovern, whom they labeled a threat to national defense and economic stability.
On July 24, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:49 am to 11:52 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 751-006 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 751-6
(rev. Mar-02)
Date: July 24, 1972
Time: 10:49 am - 11:52 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with John B. Connally.
Connally's previous conversation with Henry A. Kissinger
-Paris meetings
-Saudi Arabia
-Oil
-Messages
-Richard M. Helms
-Kissinger
-Nationalization
-Kissinger's possible conversation with John Kenneth Jamieson
-Helms
-Possible conversation with Jamieson
-Coincidence of public and private interests
-State Department
-Compared to Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]
-Soviet Union
-Compared to US
Connally
-Suit
-Schedule
-Today Show, July 24, 1972
-Irving R. Levine
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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 7m 59s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
*****************************************************************
Jake Jacobsen
-Richard G. Kleindienst's investigation
(rev. Mar-02)
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Partner, Ray Cowan
**************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
[Privacy]
[Duration: 12s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
**************************************************************************
-Finances
-Investigation by Kleindienst
-Possible perjury
-Grand jury
-Connally's conversation with Kleindienst, July 24, 1972
-The President’s assurance
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 2m 40s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
*****************************************************************
Jacobsen
(rev. Mar-02)
Watergate
-Responsibility
-John N. Mitchell, H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman, Charles W. Colson
-Committee to Re-elect the President
-Cubans
Jacobsen
-Finances
-Connally
-Kleindienst's investigation
-Testimony by unknown man
-Immunity
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 19m 8s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
*****************************************************************
Differences between McGovern's programs and the President's
-National defense
-US compared to Soviet Union
-Possible budget cuts
-Impact
-Institutions
-Welfare
-Spending McGovern’s $1000 per person welfare grant proposal
-Taxes
-Middle-income
-Government
-Size
-Central
-Compared to local
-Revenue sharing
-Judicial philosophies
-Conservatism
(rev. Mar-02)
-Permissiveness
-Crime
-McGovern’s voting record
-McGovern’s possible appointees
-W. Ramsey Clark
-Busing, integrated housing
-Freedom of choice
-Strom Thurmond
-Role government
-Neighborhood schools
-Civil rights
-Dual school system
-View of Americans
-Social planners
-Foreign policy
-Vietnam
-US allies
-National defense
-Soviet Union
-Size of government
-Spending and taxes
-Bureaucracy
-Education
-Revenue sharing
-Unknown man's statement
-Busing
The President's actions in office
-Law enforcement
-Appointment of judges
-Amnesty
-Marijuana
-McGovern's supporters
-Importance of 1972 election
-Republican Party
-Future of US, world
-McGovern’s policies
-Economy
-Recession, taxes, unemployment
-The President's role
-Negotiations
-Japan
-Vietnam
(rev. Mar-02)
-Congress
-Whistlestops
-Speaking about issues
-Non-partisan forums
-Political activities
-Official duties
-John D. Ehrlichman, Kissinger
-Haldeman
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 15m 3s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
*****************************************************************
Connally left at 11:52 am.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.