725–11

Conversation No. 725-11

Date: May 16, 1972
Time: 8:43 am - 9:47 am
Location: Oval Office
 11

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)



H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman met with Charles W. Colson.

President's instructions to Gen. Creighton W. Abrams
-Haldeman’s view

Winston S. Churchill
-Memoirs
-Page numbers

John D. Ehrlichman entered at 8:44 am.

Memorandum for President's files
-Ronald L. Ziegler's position
-Subject
-Purpose
-Colson

The President entered at an unknown time after 8:44 am.

The President talked with an unknown person at an unknown time between
8:44 am and 9:47 am.

[Conversation No. 725-11A]

Call to Gen. Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

The President talked with Haig.

Vietnam
-Necessity of effort
-Military compared with bureaucracy
-Message for Abrams
-Nguyen Van Thieu
-Military promotions
-The President’s view
-The President’s military experience

[End of telephone conversation]

Government
-White House staff compared with bureaucracy
-Fear of failure
 12

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)


George C. Wallace
-Condition
-President's previous call to Dr. William M. Lukash
-Possible visit by President
-Calls from President
-Cornelia Wallace
-Wallace's brother
-Dr. Lukash
-Conversations with President
-Times
-Offer of Presidential suite and US Navy doctors
-Prime Minister of Chad
-Prognosis for recovery
-Bullet location
-Duration
-Likelihood


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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 1m 44s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3

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


-Franklin D.Roosevelt
-Performance as President
-Warm Springs trips
-The President’s 1969 trip to California
-Comparison with [Thomas] Woodrow Wilson

Modern presidency
-Airplanes
-Budgets
-Vacations
-Roosevelt era

Ehrlichman
-Nature of work
 13

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)


-Work with left-wingers
-Nelson A. Rockefeller
-Abortion bill
-Forest Hills housing bill
-Busing moratorium bill


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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 5m 6s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4

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


Wallace
-Assassination attempt
-Wounded Secret Service agent
-Operation
-Family
-Georgia detail
-Flowers from President
-Custom
-Memorandum
-Effect on President's protection
-Intent of left-wingers
-Arthur H. Bremer
-Political affiliations
-Story by Associated Press [AP]
-Wire reports
-United Press International [UPI] report
-Washington Post report
-Black Panther
-Wallace
-Motivation
-Ehrlichmans’ view
-Investigation
-Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
-Secret Service
-The President’s view
 14

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)



Secret Service
-Personnel changes
-George P. Shultz's opinion
-James J. Rowley
-Robert H. Taylor
-The President’s view
-William L. Duncan
-Reason

President's personnel theories
-Supreme Court Justices
-Richard G. Kleindienst
-Peter M. Flanigan
-Need to make effort
-Consequences

Bremer
-Background

Secret Service
-Inspection of Bremer's apartment
-Illegality
-Effect on conviction
-Failure to get warrant
-Reason
-Contrasted with FBI and Bremer's car
-Mistakes

Wallace
-Assassination attempt
-Investigation
-FBI direction
-L.[ouis] Patrick Gray, III
-Work
-Ehrlichman’s view
-Compared with J. Edgar Hoover

Gun control
-National Rifle Association [NRA]
-Rifles and shotguns
-Revolvers
-Danger
-Hand-gun legislation
 15

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)


-NRA
-The President’s view
-Gun owners
-Solution to problem
-Criminals
-Number of gun owners
-President's position
-Lobby
-Senior staff discussion
-Publicity
-The President’s instruction
-President's previous campaign position
-Publicity
--Egil (”Bud”) Krogh, Jr.
-Saturday-night specials
-Concealed weapons
-Transportation of handguns
-Concealed weapon legislation
-Penalty
-Robert F. Kennedy assassination
-Sirhan Sirhan
-John F. Kennedy
-Mail-order gun used
 16

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)


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

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 37s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5

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


Violence
-Possible editorial or AP story
-Effect of North Vietnam mining
-Effect of Vietnam War
-Effect of World War II
-Criminal tendencies
-Shooting of Wallace
-Bremer
-Motives
-Ehrlichman’s view
-Effect on Wallace's candidacy
-Mrs. Wallace and staff
-Motives
-Effect on administration
-Gun legislation
-Necessity of speedy action
-Announcement
-Time
-Penalties
-Weapons defined
-Saturday-night specials
 17

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)



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

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 6m 13s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 6

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


Vietnam
-Previous briefing by Haig
-Trend of war
-Activity in North Vietnam
-An Loc
-Kontum
-Hue
-Effect of military blockade and bombing
-Psychological
-South Vietnam
-US forces
-In Vietnam
-Worldwide
-[Dwight] David Eisenhower, II's report
-Sally Inge's report
-Haig's son's [Brian Haig’s] report
-US
-Prospects for victory
-North Vietnam
-Supply lines
-Cambodia
-Laos
-Sealanes
-US bombing
-Petroleum, oil, and lubircants [POL]
-Press coverage
-Characterization of President
-Henry A. Kissinger's role
-William P. Rogers's role
-Melvin R. Laird's role
-John B. Connally's role
 18

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)


-Spiro T. Agnew's role
-Tone
-Weekly news magazines
-Time
-Newsweek
-New York Times
-Psychological effect of blockade and mining
-Importance
-Previous press coverage
-Effect of Wallace assassination
-Firebase Bastogne
-South Vietnam movement and morale
-Blockade and mining
-Risk
-President's memorandum
-Compared with opening to People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-President's leadership
-President's image
-PRC opening
-Louis P. Harris
-Described
-Publicity

White House protesters
-Arrests
-Quakers
-Charges
-Hippies
-Publicity
-Colsons’ view
-The President’s view
-Quakers
-The President’s view
-President's mother and grandmother

Wallace
-Assassination attempt
-Bremer
-Preliminary FBI report
-Characterized by family
-Political affiliations
-Young Democrats
-Report from Theodore Bremer
-Shooting ability
 19

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)


-Previous arrest
-Compared with Lee Harvey Oswald’s shooting ability
-Ehrlichman's meeting with Secret Service and FBI
-Information on background
-Robert Kennedy case comparison
-Importance
-Possibility of prejudicing trial
-Story from Kenneth W. Clawson
-Time released
-Appearance in newspaper
-Political affiliation
-Washington Post story
-UPI story
-Political affiliation
-Young Democrats
-Need to release information
-Clawson's problems
-Instructions from Clawson
-Washington Post
-FBI
-Investigation
-Gray
-International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT] case
-Influence on public opinion
-President's congressional experience
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Previous jobs
-Source of funds for assassination attempt
-White House media campaign
-The President’s orders
-Effect on trial
-Lt. William L. Calley, Jr. case comparison
-Need
-Compared with other programs
-Revenue-sharing
-Welfare reform
-Health reform
-Transportation (\"Transpo\")
-William Proxmire's comparison with Little Big Horn
-John A. Volpe
-White House media campaign on Arthur Bremer
-Work with agencies
-FBI
-Gray
 20

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)


-Colson's office
-Pressure
-Richard G. Kleindienst
-The President’s view
-Gray
-The President’s view
-The President’s relationship with Kleindienst and Gray
-White House handling
-FBI
-Secret Service
-Rowley
-Possible firing
-Shultz’s role
-Taylor
-The President’s view
-Leadership
-Rowley
-Thomas J. Kelley
-Glenn Hill
-Haldeman’s view
-William L. Duncan
-The President’s view
-Compared with Gray
-Background
-Work habits
-Hoover
-Needs
-Compared with FBI
-Compared with past
-Presidential protective detail
-President's opinions
-Haldeman’s view
 21

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)



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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 10
[Agency Statute]
[Duration : 9s ]


END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 10

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-Haldeman’s view
-The President's view

Nixon family's protection
-Tricia Nixon Cox's appearance
-Testimonial for Agnew
-Date
-Julie Nixon's Eisenhower's schedule
-Public appearances
-Restriction
-Duration
-President's walk to Treasury Department
-Purpose
-New York Times story
-[Dwight] David Eisenhower, II
-Location
-Philadelphia trip
-Public appearances
-Date
-Women's Republican meeting
-Concerns
-President's appearances
-Walk to Treasury Department
-Necessity
-Protection
-Soviet trip
-Protection level
-Ziegler announcement
-Public concerns

Wallace
-Protection
-Offer to Edward M. Kennedy
 22

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF

Tape Subject Log
(rev. Jan-02)


-President's press briefing
-President's call to hospital
-Wallace's condition
-Secret Service agent's condition
-Secret Service protection
-President's comments on Wallace's condition
-Mrs. Wallace's comments
-Doctor's comments
-Haldeman’s view
-Content of future comments
-President's offer of Bethesda Naval Hospital services
-Secret Service agent's condition
-Secret Service protection
-Ehrlichman’s view
-Alabama policeman's condition
-Appreciation for work of law enforcement officers
-Wounded Secret Service agent
-Location of mother and wife

Vietnam
-President's previous speech on the blockade
-West Point response
-[Brian Haig's] report
-Morale
-Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr.
-The President’s view
-David Eisenhower's report

The President’s schedule
-Cabinet meeting
-The President’s forthcoming comments

Colson's office
-Clawson
-Herbert G. Klein
-Use

Haldeman, Colson and Ehrlichman left at 9:47 am.