647–9

Conversation No. 647-9

Date: January 13, 1972
Time: 11:11 am - 11:41 am
Location: Oval Office

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

John B. Connally
-Meeting with the President’s Commission on School Finance
-Invitation
-Talk with the President, January 12, 1972
-Swearing-in ceremony for John E. Sheehan
-Role in economic policy
-John D. Ehrlichman
-Treasury Department
-Talk with the President in California
-Staff
-Ehrlichman
-Department of the Treasury
-George P. Shultz
-Shultz
-Council on Economic Advisers [CEA]
-Phase II
-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew’s idea
-Connally’s reaction
-Shultz

Agnew
-Labor
 11

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 647-9 (cont.)


-1972 election
-Economic spokesman role
-Arthur F. Burns

Connally
-Relations with Haldeman
-Role
-Talk with Shultz
-Agnew

Agnew
-Talk with Haldeman, January 12, 1972
-Ideas on document classification
-Ehrlichman
-Presidential classification
-Talk with Congressmen, William H. Rehnquist, Ehrlichman, John W. Dean, III
-Talk with Haldeman

Cabinet
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Agnew
-Responsibilities

Edmund S. Muskie
-Walter L. Mote’s conversation with Clark MacGregor
-Administrative assistant’s claim
-Possible charge against the President
-Jack N. Anderson papers
-Cover-up and double standard
-Daniel Ellsberg
-Alleged culprit
-Departments of Defense, State
-Administration counter-attack
-[Yeoman Charles E. Radford]
-Responses
-John N. Mitchell, Ehrlichman

Anderson papers
-Attacks on the President
-Joint Chiefs of Staff [JCS]
-[Yeoman Radford]
 12

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 647-9 (cont.)


-Possible prosecution
-Lack of evidence
-Laird
-Motives
-JCS


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

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 1m 36s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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


Muskie
-Anderson papers
-Laird, Rogers
-Joseph McCarthy
-[Yeoman Radford]
-Lack of evidence
-Strength as issue
-Press coverage
-Thomas W. Braden

Kissinger
-Possible press conference, January 14, 1972
-Schedule
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Mitchell, Haldeman

James B. (“Scotty”) Reston's article
-Opening to the People's Republic of China [PRC]
-Key to the 1972 election
-Link between Pakistan and the PRC
-Conflict between military strategy and domestic campaign strategy
-Purpose of trip to the PRC
-Kissinger's reaction
 13

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 647-9 (cont.)


-Source of response
-State Department, William P. Rogers
-PRC trip
-Purpose
-Conciliation
-1972 election
-Appearance on television
-Forbidden City

New York Times editorial
-Impact of Pakistan policy
-Soviet Union
-Indian Ocean

Kissinger
-Concerns about news stories
-Press conference
-Conversation with Ronald L. Ziegler
-Propriety
-Possible briefing, January 18, 1972
-State Department
-Change of focus
-South Asia

Ziegler entered at 11:26 am.

Laird's statement
-Presentation
-Laird’s talk with the President
-Rate of withdrawal
-North Vietnamese buildup
-South Vietnamese capabilities
-Army of the Republic of Vietnam [ARVN]
-Vietnamization
-Prisoners of war [POWs]
-Remaining forces
-Refusal to predict
-Cambodia
-Army
-Capabilities vis-a-vis North Vietnam
-Press reactions
 14

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 647-9 (cont.)


-US confidence in South Vietnamese capabilities
-Tet offensive
-ARVN
-Tet offensive
-Alsop column
-I Corps
-Answer to critics
-South Vietnamese capabilities
-Reduction of US ground combat role

Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon’s trip to Africa
-Interview
-Ziegler’s talk with Mrs. Nixon
-Ziegler’s view
-Use of Oliver F. (“Ollie”) Atkins's slides
-Ivory Coast
-Question
-Response
-Barbara Walters
-Liberia, Ghana
-Evaluation
-Poise
-Confidence
-Television coverage of trip
-Remarks
-Women's issue
-PRC initiative
-The Soviet Union

Press coverage of the Russian orchestra
-Photographs
-Atkins

Ziegler's talk with Constance M. Stuart
-Mrs. Nixon's interview
-Stuart’s talk with Walters
-Questions


**********************************************************************
 15

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 647-9 (cont.)


BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 5s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2

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


Laird's troop announcement briefing
-Ziegler’s forthcoming talk with Laird
-Transcript

Ziegler left at 11:33 pm.

Kissinger
-Possible press conference
-Possible meeting with Max Frankel
-Reston
-Press conference
-Anderson papers
-Importance
-Public perceptions
-PRC initiative
-Media coverage

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 11:33 am.

Group to see the President

Bull left at an unknown time before 11:41 am.

Muskie
-Mitchell and Ehrlichman

Anderson papers
-Legal case
-[Yeoman Radford]
-Anderson
-Kissinger
 16

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 647-9 (cont.)



News summaries
-Patrick J. Buchanan
-Robert S. McNamara's forthcoming International Monetary Fund [IMF] appointment
-Possible reaction by Barry M. Goldwater
-Endorsement
-Kissinger
-Connally
-The President’s instructions to Kissinger
-Need to avoid publicity
-Format
-Vietnam
-Busing
-Richmond court decision

Richmond court decision
-The President conversation with John D. Ehrlichman
-Judge [Richard Merhige]
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Publicity
-Liberals
-Democrats

Kissinger
-Interview with Frankel
-Compared to press conference
-White Paper issuance option
-State of the World message
-Haig
-Kissinger
-Focus of news stories
-Trips to the PRC, Soviet Union
-George Meany

Speechwriting
-William L. Safire
-Raymond K. Price, Jr.

Haldeman left at 11:41 am.
 17

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. 10/06)
Conv. No. 647-9 (cont.)