Conversation 768-010

TapeTape 768StartMonday, August 14, 1972 at 11:29 AMEndMonday, August 14, 1972 at 12:04 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Rinfret, Pierre;  Colson, Charles W.;  Connally, John B.;  White House photographerRecording deviceOval Office

On August 14, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Pierre Rinfret, Charles W. Colson, John B. Connally, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:29 am to 12:04 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 768-010 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 768-10

Date: August 14, 1972
Time: 11:29 am - 12:04 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Pierre A. Rinfret, Charles W. Colson, and John B. Connally. The White
House photographer was present at the beginning of the meeting.

            Greetings

            Photographs
                -Seating arrangements

            Connally’s previous trip to Jamaica

            Rinfret’s public statements
                -Other economists
                     -Marina von N. Whitman

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 19m      ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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            US foreign relations
                -International trade
                     -Forthcoming International Monetary Fund [IMF] meeting
                          -Criticism of the US

                                         (rev. Nov-03)

                               -Central Bank
                               -Fixed exchange rates
                      -Public relations
                          -Competitive nature of international trade
                          -Appeal to US business and working communities
                          -Japan
                          -Canada
                          -Great Britain
                          -France
                          -European cooperation

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 4m 37s     ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3

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             Presentation of Presidential gifts
                 -Money clip
                 -Rinfret's wife [Aida M. (Ceci) Rinfret]
                      -Presidential seal

Rinfret and Colson left at 11:58 am.

             Connally’s schedule
                -H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

             Vietnam
                 -R. Sargent Shriver
                      -Connally’s previous conversation with George E.   Christian
                          -Lyndon B. Johnson’s appointment of Shriver as

                                     (rev. Nov-03)

                        Ambassador to France
                       -William P. Rogers’s possible meeting with Dean
                        Rusk
                           -Possible statement by Rusk
                               -Shriver’s criticism of Rusk and Johnson
                                 -1968 bombing halt
                       -William J. Jorden
                           -Henry A. Kissinger
                           -Knowledge of Johnson administration Vietnam
                            negotiations
                               -Cyrus R. Vance
                               -W[illiam] Averell Harriman
                                 -Work on Kissinger’s staff
                                    -Previous work for Johnson in Texas
                                 -Knowledge of “peace signals”
                               -Harriman
                               -Shriver

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 17s     ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5

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          Vietnam
              -The President’s trips abroad as a private citizen
                  -Saigon
                       -Support for Johnson administration’s foreign   policy
              -Possible McGovern victory
                  -Johnson
              -McGovern’s attacks on the President’s foreign policy
                  -Johnson

                                         (rev. Nov-03)

                          -Harriman
                          -Vance
                          -Henry Cabot Lodge
                 -Possible search of foreign policy files
                     -Jorden
                          -Kissinger
                     -Rogers
                     -Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]
                 -Shriver
                     -Credibility
                          -Role in Johnson's administration
                          -Knowledge of “peace signal”
                               -Harriman
                               -Vance
                     -Possible statement by Rusk
                     -Possible statement by Walt W. Rostow
                 -Jorden
                 -Rogers
                 -The President’s forthcoming memorandum
                 -Haldeman

Connally left at 12:04 pm.

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.

All right, Gary, how are you?
How are you, sir?
I can see you.
I can see you.
You're a good cop in here.
You've always traveled like this.
I don't know.
I don't know if I can see you.
I haven't seen you.
He's kind of toning us up.
John, you sit over here.
Gary, you sit over there.
Well, what I want to say before you say anything.
And I am delighted by the way you...
I don't think God knows what anybody should do about the economy.
The point is, we need
one other thing if you will perhaps you mentioned you haven't mentioned this now if you did this morning you've got an IMF meeting here in September that's right and they're all going to be present in the world and they're all going to be present in the United States and you've got all these people who are you know got all these theories primarily the central bank fixed exchange rate that they have they're going to say well the United States is playing we're responsible we're you know we've done it all or we haven't done it
This is going to happen because every country in the world is going to tend to blame us.
So we're going to have to have some thrust to counteract it.
Now, from a strictly political standpoint, I think what we have to be saying is that, what I've raised my hand on, and I've said it because we insist on fair play, these trading partners we've always talked about have suddenly turned into trading competitors.
really partners at all.
They're competitors.
They're fierce competitors.
With your fertile imagination, you've got to come up with some ideas and some language of how you posture this thing in a positive, affirmative way, and yet one that will appeal to the American businessman and working man.
My father put it very well.
My father said that the cooperation of the Europeans means we give these things what's ours.
I love it.
God, we don't eat bread.
We don't give these.
Oh, yeah, you're right.
We don't give this out for anything.
This is the money, but it also has to circulate nicely.
Take care.
I'll enjoy it.
Thank you a lot.
Sure.
Let me...
he was tied up.
On this, on this driver, I went back and called George Christian.
George Christian said, that's number one, this driver didn't know what was going on in Paris, because President Johnson did not trust him.
The reason he sent him over there was to get him out of the United States.
And George had a very excellent idea.
He thought that
And see if Dean Russell would not make a statement.
Because, in effect, what Shriver is saying, he is attacking Dean Russell and President Johnson.
Of course.
You see, because what were they doing for 90 days when this signal came?
Now, they should have won.
They won that war, too.
Of course they did.
Now, Johnson stopped the bombing to end the war.
Now, you've got a man in the
Jordan here, works for Henry, Bill Jordan.
He was over there with Cy Vance and her.
He knows every detail of that.
He's right here in Henry's office.
He was there under Johnson.
Henry got him from Texas.
He went down with President Johnson.
And nobody else would want to think about it.
Now, Harriman was always dreaming up something.
Christian says he is surprised that Cy Lance fell into this trap.
He thinks that it is a trap.
He thinks that Cy Lance got himself way out of the way.
You know what?
We have never done it.
I understand.
One thing that Johnson really ought to do is that he should recall that many trips I made were like, I was in Saigon, Vietnam, doing six nights in a trip.
I always defended American policy.
Always.
Now, one thing is,
the total retaliation of Lyndon Johnson.
Because Becker was set off by the communists.
And then they'll say, why did we lose those 35,000 Americans?
The second fight is, I think that he did.
He did.
He did.
At least he realized that the attack really is not on us.
It's on him.
Because Herod and Vance were gone when John Becker cried, right?
We got rid of the bastards.
So we got him.
It sounded logical.
to get really down to the point.
I think if you can get Bill George on Henry's death, if you can get Bill Rogers and really search these files and get the CIA to be sure that there's no slip-up, that there can't be a leak, none of those and so forth.
But I think this issue ought to be kept alive.
Because I think through this one thing, you can destroy Shriver's credibility.
Because it has to be followed up.
It has to really be followed up.
It has to be pursued.
It has to be fed.
And let's try to get all the mileage he can, hopefully out of it, if we're sure of what the facts are.
The facts are that he did not want Hendricks over there.
Now, why?
Because he didn't trust him.
And Johnson didn't trust him.
And at some point, somebody has to say that.
That's a question who can say it.
But first, he didn't have any information.
He didn't know what was going on.
Second, he's got it.
it's got to be made clear that he never communicated this to me.
And in the process, I think, I heard on open sidelines, I don't know if you did, it looks to me like we have here an opportunity to really damn near destroy Shriver, and even if he doesn't give us another chance.
So I think he must make a statement.
I don't know where he would have felt it.
He can't get here.
They wouldn't have bought rust after that.
Yeah, he ought to.
But I think before it's done, I think somebody has to talk to Bill Jordan here.
And Bill Rogers is to be sure that he didn't pull them all around.
I'll put others around.
I'll put this.