Secret White House Tapes

545–1

About this recording

545–1
  • President Richard M. Nixon
  • H. R. Haldeman
  • Henry A. Kissinger
  • Alexander P. Butterfield
  • John D. Ehrlichman
July 24, 1971
Conversation No. 545-1

Date: July 24, 1971
Time: 9:43 am - 10:36 am
Location: Oval Office

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


**********************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 30s ]


ALEXANDER P. BUTTERFIELD ENTERED AT AN UNKNOWN TIME AFTER 9:43 AM

BUTTERFIELD LEFT AT AN UNKNOWN TIME BEFORE 9:49 AM.


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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Henry A. Kissinger's schedule

[The President talked with Kissinger at an unknown time between 9:43 am and 9:49 am]

[Conversation No. 545-1A]

Meeting in Oval Office

[End of telephone conversation]

The President's schedule for the week of July 25-31, 1971
-National Security Council [NSC]
-Press conference
-Timing
-Budget meeting
-Timing of follow-up meeting
2

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-George P. Shultz
-Defense budget
-Time lag on report


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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 14
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 41s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 14

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-Bohemian Grove
-Canton, Ohio Football Hall of Fame banquet
-Ottumwa, Iowa
-Akron-Canton airport

Kissinger entered at 9:49 am.

Schedule
-Meeting with Kissinger
-Kissinger's departure to Paris
-Forthcoming morning budget meeting

Butterfield entered at an unknown time after 9:49 am.


**********************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 56s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2

**********************************************************************
3

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)




Butterfield left at an unknown time before 10:10 am.

Kissinger's schedule
-Forthcoming meeting with the President

Vietnam negotiations Conv. No. 545-1 (cont.)
-Plans
-North Vietnamese proposal
-Status

The People's Republic of China [PRC]
-Kissinger’s forthcoming meeting with the PRC Ambassador in Paris
-Vernon A. Walters


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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[National Security]
[Duration: 1m 36s ]


CHINA


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3

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Kissinger's schedule
-Lunch with Henry and Muffie Brandon

Leaks
-Source
-Polygraph tests
-William P. Rogers
-Melvin R. Laird
-The President's directive
-Source of leak
4

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-State Department
-Message to William J. Porter
-Announcement of appointment
-Leak to news media
-Source
-Administration’s knowledge
-John N. Irwin, II's conversation with Kissinger
-Congressional testimony on Pakistan Conv. No. 545-1 (cont.)
-Edward M. (“Ted”) Kennedy
-Possession of State Department cables
-Sources
-Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty [SALT] negotiations
-Gerard C. Smith
-Arms Control and Disarmament Agency [ACDA]
-Smith
-Proposal
-The Soviet Union
-Leak prior to presentation
-Charles W. Colson's conversation with the President
-William Beecher's New York Times article
-John D. Ehrlichman
-Egil G. (“Bud”) Krogh, Jr.
-Source
-Polygraph
-New York Times publication of article
-Max Frankel
-Smith
-Effect on negotiations
-Smith
-The Soviets


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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 10
[Closed by Statute]
[Duration: 1m 13s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 10

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5

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)




**********************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Privacy, Law Enforcement]
[Duration: 1m 21s ]
Conv. No. 545-1 (cont.)

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 11
[Closed by Statute]
[Duration: 9s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 11

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-Source of documents

Ehrlichman entered at 10:02 am.

Kissinger
-Knowledge of documents
-Location of Kissinger’s pre-administration documents

Leaks
-Department of Defense
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-Polygraph tests
-Beecher
-State Department, ACDA, NSC
-Motivation for leaks
-Access to information
6

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Negotiations
-Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]
-Kissinger
-Secretary of Defense
-Secretary of State
-Head of the ACDA
-Changes in methods of message transmittal
-Maintenance of secrecy Conv. No. 545-1 (cont.)
-PRC initiative
-Knowledge
-Rogers, Marshall Green
-Department of Defense
-Pakistan
-Leak of Porter story
-Appointment
-Revocation
-Rogers
-State Department
-U. Alexis Johnson
-Timing of Porter announcement
-Leak of information

Kissinger left at 10:10 am.

Department of Defense
-Lockheed Corporation
-Laird
-David Packard
-John B. Connally

Pentagon Papers
-Leslie Gelb
-Possible conspiracy
-Robert C. Mardian


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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 12
[Closed by Statute]
[Duration: 13s ]
7

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)




END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 12

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-Gelb group
-NSC
-Haig
-Leak Conv. No. 545-1 (cont.)
-Chicago Tribune


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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 13
[Closed by Statute]
[Duration: 6s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 13

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-Mardian
-Leaks
-Colson
-E. Howard Hunt, Jr.
-Mardian
-Information on Neil Sheehan
-Ellsberg
-Gelb
-Background
-John F. Kennedy, Robert S. McNamara

Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]
-Colson
-Study on staff party affiliation
-Staff
-Jews
-Arthur F. Burns
-Frederic V. Malek
8

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



Leaks
-Polygraph tests
-Krogh
-Holders of top secret clearances
-Statement on polygraph tests
-Revocation of clearances
-State Department, Department of Defense
-NSC Conv. No. 545-1 (cont.)
-White House investigation
-Wiretaps

The President's schedule
-Forthcoming budget meeting
-The President's meeting with Kissinger
-Shultz
-Role

Implementation of presidential directives
-Rogers
-Responsibility
-Krogh
-Polygraph tests
-NSC
-Alger Hiss
-Whitaker Chambers
-Signing of statement on polygraphs

Ehrlichman left and Kissinger entered at 10:20 am.

The President's schedule
-Departure for Camp David
-Marine One helicopter
-Time, arrangements

Haldeman left at 10:22 am.

Vietnam negotiations
-Kissinger's forthcoming trip to Paris
-Negotiating stance
-North Vietnamese
-Kissinger, Rogers
9

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



PRC initiative
-Kissinger's forthcoming negotiations
-Trips to the PRC by members of Congress
-Haldeman's attitude
-The President's trip
-1972 Presidential election

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Conv. No. 545-1 (cont.)

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
[National Security]
[Duration: 23s ]


CHINA


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6

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US-Soviet Union relations
-SALT
-Yuli M. Vorontsov
-The PRC initiative
-US-Soviet Union summit

The PRC
-Timing of the President's trip
-Weather
-Compared to the President's 1969 European trip

Vietnam negotiations
-Transcript of previous meeting
-Forthcoming meeting
-Stance
-Proposals
-Date of troop withdrawal
-Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield

The PRC initiative
10

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



-Reaction by intellectuals
-Brandon's forthcoming article

Vietnam negotiations
-US proposals
-Comparison
-Nguyen Van Thieu
-Economic aid Conv. No. 545-1 (cont.)
-Southeast Asia

Leaks
-State Department, Defense Department, CIA
-Conspiracy
-SALT negotiations leak
-Haig
-Polygraphs
-Restriction of access to classified information
-Handling of documents
-Former NSC staff
-William A.K. (“Tony”) Lake
-Kissinger's hiring practices
-Reasons

The PRC initiative
-Compared to Glassboro Summit
-Long term effect

US foreign policy
-PRC initiative
-North Vietnam’s reaction
-Mansfield
-John Kenneth Galbraith, Cyrus R. Vance
-Domestic shift
-Sol Linowitz, John W. Gardner
-Press
-The New York Times
-The President's image
11

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/08)



**********************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 8
[National Security]
[Duration: 42s ]


FOREIGN REACTION Conv. No. 545-1 (cont.)


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 8

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-Cuba
-Jordan
-Laos, Cambodia
-Laos
-Casualty rate
-PRC initiative
-Vietnam War
-Hue

Kissinger's schedule

Kissinger left at 10:36 am.
Secret White House Tapes |

545–1

This recording is currently not available on millercenter.org. To listen to it, please email Mike Greco at mdg4u@virginia.edu

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