Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 856
Nixon White House Tape 856 (February 14, 1973)
7 conversations · Oval Office · about 54 min of released audio
Featuring Nixon, Richardson, Ziegler, Scowcroft, Ehrlichman
President Nixon met with television technicians in the Oval Office to prepare for and record a televised address concerning national environmental policy and energy concerns. During the session, technicians managed lighting, audio, and room arrangements to facilitate the President's formal remarks. Nixon’s address focused on the need for legislative action regarding environmental quality and the development of comprehensive energy initiatives to address growing national fuel shortages.
President Nixon and Secretary of Defense-designate Elliot L. Richardson discuss the strategic messaging and format for Richardson’s upcoming visits to various military agencies. The President emphasizes the importance of boosting military morale and ensuring service secretaries and military chiefs feel included in the decision-making process. They finalize plans for a meeting the following day to discuss policy initiatives and personnel attendance, aiming to present a unified and appreciative front to the armed services.
President Nixon met with Ronald Ziegler and General Brent Scowcroft to coordinate an upcoming visit to the Pentagon for lunch with Secretary Elliot Richardson and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The primary objective of the visit was to receive a status report on returning prisoners of war (POWs) and to determine how to formally recognize their service. Additionally, the President intended to use the meeting as a strategic opportunity to bolster military morale and acknowledge the contributions of the service secretaries and the military leadership.
President Nixon and John Ehrlichman met to coordinate administration strategy on key political and administrative challenges, including farm policy and the confirmation process for acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray. Nixon emphasized the need for close control over the Gray confirmation to ensure he properly managed Watergate-related inquiries, while also discussing the reassignment of White House staff members to mitigate negative publicity. Additionally, the pair reviewed staffing for the ACTION agency and addressed personnel tensions surrounding H.R. Haldeman’s staff, aiming to improve administration optics and operational cohesion.
This recording captures an unidentified meeting held in the Oval Office, the specific purpose and content of which remain undetermined due to the lack of available transcripts or descriptive metadata. Given the context of the logging, the encounter serves as an entry in the White House taping system's record for this period. The absence of documentation precludes any identification of participants, discussion topics, or resulting policy decisions.
An unidentified group of individuals convened in the Oval Office for a brief meeting that involved formal greetings. The discussion consisted of minimal substantive content beyond these introductions before the participants departed. No significant policy developments or actionable decisions were recorded during this brief encounter.
Secret Service agents gathered in the Oval Office to facilitate an unidentified request regarding a specific individual. The dialogue primarily consists of the agents repeatedly asking to speak with a younger male. No further details regarding the identity of the person or the purpose of the interaction are provided in the brief audio recording.