Conversation 772-006

TapeTape 772StartThursday, September 7, 1972 at 10:32 AMEndThursday, September 7, 1972 at 10:40 AMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob");  Bull, Stephen B.;  Ehrlichman, John D.Recording deviceOval Office

On September 7, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:32 am and 10:40 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 772-006 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 772-6

Date: September 7, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:32 am and 10:40 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

                          (rev. Oct-06)

Murder of Israeli athletes at Olympic Games in Munich, Germany
   -Interfaith church service
        -Reflecting Pool
             -Time
        -Sponsors
             -Catholic Diocese of Washington
             -Jewish Community of Churches
             -Washington Council of Churches
        -Attendance
             -Leonard Garment, Herbert Stein
        -Question of the President's appearance
             -Vietnam issue
                  -Demonstrators
        -Attendance
             -William P. Rogers
             -Garment
             -Stein
             -The President's appearance
                  -Possible problems
                       -The President’s view
             -Rogers
   -Question of moment of silence
        -White House
   -US victim [David Berger]
        -The President’s telephone call to parents
             -Publicity
        -Position on draft
        -Search for identity in Israel
   -Publicity of call by the President
        -Rogers
        -Berger family

1972 election campaign
    -Murder of Israeli athletes at Olympic Games in Munich
        -George S. McGovern
             -Lebanon and Egypt
        -Israel
        -US response
        -Terrorists
        -US response
             -Rogers
                 -Hijacking convention

                                            (rev. Oct-06)

             Killings
                  -Golf course in St. Croix, Virgin Islands
                      -Shooting and robbery
                          -Responsibility
                               -The President’s view
                                    -Blacks

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             John W. Gardner
                 -Common Cause suit
                     Dismissal

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 10:32 pm.

             George P. Shultz

             Meeting with Robert D. Gordon and police officials

             Ronald L. Ziegler's office
                -John D. Ehrlichman

             Shultz

Bull left at an unknown time before 10:40 am.

             Common Cause
                -Gardner
                    -The President’s view
                    -Tax advantages

                                       (rev. Oct-06)

                 -Robert J. Dole
                     -Complaints
                          -Common Cause
                              -McGovern
                 -Common Cause

Ehrlichman entered at 10:32 am.

            The President's meeting with Shultz
                -The President's speech

            1972 Presidential campaign
                -Edward M. Kennedy
                    -Secret Service protection
                    -George C. Wallace
                        -Assassination attempt
                        -Protection of Kennedy
                              -Charls E. Walker
                                  -Acting Secretary of Treasury
                                    -Restoration of protection
                    -Question of Kennedy as a candidate
                    -Threatening mail statistics in comparison to other public figures
                    -Lynda Byrd Johnson Robb
                        -Trip to Europe
                              -Secret Service protection
                    -Shooting possibility
                        -Protection
                              -The President’s view

            Campaign practices
               -Kennedy
                   -Secret Service protection
                       -White House selection
                            -James J. Rowley
                            -The President’s instructions
                       -Type of coverage
                       -Intelligence gathering
                            -Alfred Wong
                            -Robert Newbrand
                       -Instructions
                            -Haldeman
                       -Shultz

                                          (rev. Oct-06)

                              -Lawrence F. O’Brien, Jr.’s taxes
                              -Conversation between Roger O. Barth and Ehrlichman
                          -Shultz’s forthcoming conversation with the President
                          -Haldeman
                          -Alexander P. Butterfield
                          -Shultz
                          -Political issues

             Press story on Kennedy
                 -William Loeb
                 -Sailing with John V. Tunney
                      -Female companions
                           -Amanda Burden
                      -Length of trip
                      -Kennedy's behavior
                      -Wine bottles
                      -Press situation
                           -Robert F. Kennedy
                      -Secret Service protection for Edward Kennedy
                           -Newbrand
                           -Coverage
                                -The President’s view
                                -Tricia Nixon Cox
                           -Newbrand
                                -Forthcoming conversation with Haldeman
                                -Directorship

             Directorship of United States Secret Service
                 -The President’s view

Haldeman and Ehrlichman left at 10:40 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.

What there is now going to be is an interfaith service at the Reflecting Pool at noon, sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Washington, the Jewish Community of Churches, and the Washington Council of Churches.
And some of our sons and those people are going to go to it.
I don't know.
That's the kind of thing where you run the risk of, you know, murder.
Right.
That's right.
That kind of stuff.
Stop the killing in Vietnam.
But just not killing.
We'll have people there.
I just think you, at this point, you've done what you can do.
Let Carmen go, stop it.
You can't bring what your idea of going someplace else does work, because they'll say, why the hell didn't you come to this side?
Right.
No.
They should let it go.
And you can't go to this side.
I don't like the sound of it.
I just don't like going out there and fucking fooling too many idiots.
And also, people...
be around him and smile and all that sort of thing.
That's not good either.
I can't be smiling.
That's it.
You can't smile.
You don't smile.
No.
Just rule it out.
Rule it out.
Tell him.
No, I just can't.
Ask Bill to go and tell him I can't.
I'm sorry, but I'm tied up in trouble.
Got a group of people.
Well, at the last goal he wants.
He's going to have his own.
All right.
He said something about you saying you were going to have a moment of silence at 11, and he thought you were going to do something in the White House that's a moment of silence kind of thing.
To deal with this, though, I think you've got to just let those two come in.
I really got to say, I think... Have we done it?
Yeah, I really did.
I called them.
They just put up.
I called those people.
They didn't want to.
I'm not so sure you want to.
I don't think we'd all go out of our way to let that one out.
Well, the guy left the United States because he was kind of on the grass and screwed up.
I'm not sure it was a draft.
It was supposedly to go try and find his true self in Israel.
Pay attention.
I think you'll want to call him.
Just forget it.
Forget it.
We don't want to publicize it.
We did it, and if the burghers put it out in the way.
Okay.
Let's just do it.
It's better not to try to publicize it.
Don't say a word.
We put out.
I just, looking at the stuff today, it seems to me you've come out right where you are.
People get pretty tired of it.
The government's made an ass of themselves.
He's called on...
He's blamed it all on Egypt and... Lebanon.
Lebanon.
Called on you to do something about Egypt and Lebanon.
And so I don't think that's...
It's not because that's something that is.
No.
What the hell?
I'm not so sure.
The way it's... Let him play, I'll be sure.
They are...
It's been blamed on...
Terrorists.
Terrorists on...
You hit it exactly right, international outlaws, or whatever you call them.
International outlaws, of course they are, and unpredictable, and all the rest of it.
We have to do something to, you know, to deal with that threat.
We're just consulting with people to see what the hell we can do, and talk to the Hygiene Convention.
They had a thing yesterday, apparently, where they
I guess they were just perverts, but a bunch went into the golf course and shot up the CNN crewmate and shot up a bunch of people with machine guns sitting at the dining room table.
Shot up sitting in the golf course dining room, then went in, took all the stuff out of their pockets and left.
Blacks.
Blacks.
Bullshit.
You know, I was thinking that the government has put the asshole, John Gardner, on common cause.
And I said, for Christ's sakes, everyone's got a lawyer to get that dismissed.
I said, that is such a total fraud.
Maybe they're violating the law or something.
John, you go back on it.
That's obviously plain publicity here.
If you'd like to see me advance, unfortunately, we're better shot than that.
I'm going to see whether those guys are taking care of him.
I don't see how they get the tax advantages to do.
You never do on the other side.
Oh, have them get the old files on the plane with these things for common cause, and have them investigate them on a better thing.
Would that be a good idea or not?
Would, wouldn't it?
Yeah.
With publicity.
Probably somebody saw it.
That's what I do.
Take the events.
Don't ask me to take the events.
We call upon a common cause to... Well, I wonder, you know, we... You mean build it up?
Yeah.
Maybe some goddamn office.
I think especially you just let them go.
Knock it out.
Leave that job at the end of town.
Just let them go.
I don't know, maybe.
He isn't getting that much .
He wants to know what I'm going to do about that speech, right?
Right.
Well, I'm going to say yes.
Okay.
Well, I think that'll solve that.
Well, he's got one other tough problem.
Kennedy has written asking for Secret Service protection because he's going into a campaign mode.
When Wallace was shot, we covered him.
Then he asked to be uncovered.
Walker said, all right, we're reluctantly acceding.
He was acting secretary then.
We're reluctantly acceding to your request.
He wrote it.
will restore Secret Service protection, if you think it's appropriate.
That's a candidate.
He didn't say that.
Well, but that was the only context under which any protection was ever offered at this time.
Okay.
Well, we've got a call.
All right, well, then you've got a tough call.
He gets more friendly mail than any other public figure.
Sir?
Please show us.
Oh, because he's getting friendly mail.
We got friendly mail.
We got Israelis.
Linda Berg, or whatever her name is, when she went to Europe.
Pick out one United States Senator who is a secondary factor in the campaign, who covers the campaign.
I don't like to give you something, but it's the same kind.
Sure.
Do you understand what the problem is?
If the son of a bitch gets shot, they'll say we didn't punish him.
So you're just buying the insurance and after the election, he doesn't get a goddamn thing and you get a chance to do that, man.
All right, do it on the basis, though, that we have the Secret Service, man.
Not that the son of a bitch robbed me.
You understand what I'm talking about?
So if you have anybody in the Secret Service that you can get to,
If anybody can bring fire on him, plant two guys on him.
This would be very useful.
Jim Watt.
Jim Watt.
He's strong.
No, no.
Very bright, wild guy.
Bob would do it.
He'd be great.
He'd be great.
What I was going to suggest is give orders to the detail that they are never at any hour of the day or night to let them out of their sight to travel.
They're never out there for the night.
They are going to be flying and they will sit out a fire for stolen garbage.
Absolutely.
That's it.
That's the way to do it.
And I was going to ask George to do it.
He screwed up the Orion thing.
dry hole and I've talked to Bart privately and he says it's a dry hole and we'll do it the other way but on this one George will raise this Kennedy thing why don't you just tell him that we'll extend the coverage but that you want Bob to handle the details alright and then I'll extend
Sure, sure.
Alex, I don't want George having anything political.
He doesn't have any first base.
Do you agree?
Absolutely.
He doesn't have any concept at all.
That ties in.
Do you read the story?
No.
Do you see it?
I haven't read it.
Well, our friend Lowe...
Manor's a story.
Teddy Tunney sailed with two women, lovely females who were definitely not their wives.
Four days on the ship, and one of the women was Amanda Burton, who was recently in Sun Valley for a divorce.
Teddy became his usual obnoxious self when the plane domain was said to be full and caused such an uproar that Teddy and the two women got on.
His very detailed information on the ship's schedule even tells of the wine bottles that he purchased.
Emphasizes reluctance of many with info on the soiree, a comment in detail, good numbers citing peers of Kennedy Power, past trouble on several occasions with RFK.
Good.
The sailboat, or the pointed sailboat, could have gone to Maine.
John, Bob's idea.
Okay, that's fine.
Okay, we'll cover it.
First, we picked Newbran to be in charge.
I told Newbran I was going to do it.
Second, thank you, Lord.
The building used to be covered by a goddamn blanket.
Why'd they never change it?
She hates it.
That's right.
Thank you.
That's right.
Say, this is the law.
Now, that's it.
And let the son of a bitch.
We don't know.
Newbran will know how to play.
Oh, I'll talk to Newbran.
I'll have Alex set it up for us.
Newbran?
Newbran would like to be director.
I know.
Yeah, he told me to.
Let me tell you, uh...
Well, he's not that good.
Okay.