President Nixon and Henry Kissinger met to coordinate the logistics and messaging for the ongoing visit of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, including scheduling, guest lists for the Sequoia, and ensuring the summit's historic significance was properly emphasized. Kissinger advised on managing the press and briefing Allies, while the pair also discussed the political damage caused by the Watergate scandal. Nixon expressed frustration with the Ervin Committee hearings and Republican congressional behavior, deciding to postpone a public response until after John Dean’s testimony concluded.
On June 19, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:18 am to 9:34 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 945-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 945-1
Date: June 19, 1973
Time: 9:18 am - 9:34 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Henry A. Kissinger.
China
-Ambassador’s schedule
-President’s signature
-Meeting
Leonid I. Brezhnev’s visit
-Anatoliy F. Dobrynin’s telephone call to Kissinger, June 19, 1973
-Reaction of Union of Soviet Socialist Republic [USSR]’s officials
-Schedule
-Brezhnev’s schedule
-Nap
-Senate foreign Relations Committee meeting
-Sequoia
-Guests
-Numbers
-William P. Rogers, George P. Shultz, Kissinger
-John B. Connally
-Helmut (“Hal”) Sonnenfeldt
-Peter M. Flanigan
-Attendance at Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting
-Shultz
-Request of USSR officials
-Maximum occupancy of Sequoia
-Potomac River
-Return by helicopter
-Television [TV] coverage
-Brezhnev’s presence
-Chou En-Lai
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. July-2011)
Conversation No. 945-1 (cont’d)
-Letter from President
-Reaction to US and USSR agreements
-Treaty
-Dobrynin’s telephone call to Kissinger
-USSR reaction
-State dinner
-Schedule
-Importance
-Guests
-Media coverage
-Historic nature of summit
-People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Forthcoming announcement
-Nuclear agreement
-Possible world reaction
-US allies, PRC
-Donald H. Rumsfeld
-Briefing
-North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
-British, Germans
-Plenary session
-Shultz’s and Kissinger’s papers
-Most-Favored Nation [MFN]
-Gas projects
-Brezhnev’s interests
-Long-term projects
-President’s support
-Specificity
-USSR Politburo
-Speech
Watergate
-Ervin Committee hearings
-Television coverage by networks
-Archibald Cox
-Studies concerning indictment of a President
-Associates
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. July-2011)
Conversation No. 945-1 (cont’d)
-Kennedy clan
-Elliot Richardson
-Comparison with John J. McCloy
-Effect of Brezhnev visit
-Ervin Committee
-Forthcoming John W. Dean, III’s testimony
-Lowell P. Weicker, Jr.’s statement
-President’s possible press conference
-Dean’s testimony
-Testimony of other staff
World situation
-World Peace
-Mao Tse-Tung
-Brezhnev
-President
-Actions by media
Watergate
-Effect of Watergate
-Dean
-Testimony
-Forthcoming Ervin Committee testimony of H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman, John D.
Ehrlichman, Charles W. Colson and Richard A. Moore
-Colson
-Appearance June 18, 1973 on Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS] News
-Popular opinion
-Ervin Committee hearings
-Attitudes of Republican Senators and Congressmen
-Hugh Scott
-Media demeanor
-White House events
Brezhnev’s visit
-Importance
-Agreements
-[Agreement on Prevention of Nuclear War]
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. July-2011)
Conversation No. 945-1 (cont’d)
-[Convention of Taxation]
-[Protocol on Expansion of Air Services]
-Shultz
-Sequoia
-Dobrynin
-Guests
-Length of cruise
-Plenary session
-Foreign Relations Committee
-Blair House
-Brezhnev’s nap
Watergate
-Cox
-Possible indictment of President
-White House response
-Kissinger’s suggestion
-Samuel J. Ervin, Jr.
-President’s opponents
-Congressional response
-Carl T. Curtis
Brezhnev’s visit
-Meeting with press
-Brezhnev’s demeanor
-President’s forthcoming actions
-Media conduct
-USSR officials
-Haldeman’s former role on white house staff
-Responsibilities
-Reaction of USSR officials
-Schedule
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. July-2011)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.