884-007a

Conversation No. 884-7

Date: March 20, 1973
Time: 10:47 am - 12:10 pm
Location: Oval Office

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

Watergate
-Patrick J. Buchanan's note
-Executive clemency
-Publicity
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
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Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)




Congressional relations
-William E. Timmons
-Replacement
-Clark MacGregor
-John D. Ehrlichman
-Work with administration
-Hugh Scott
-Work of Timmons
-Ehrlichman, Ronald L. Ziegler
-Need for briefing guidance
-Meetings with President
-Ehrlichman
-Kenneth R. Cole, Jr.
-Thomas C. Korologos
-Bryce N. Harlow

Prisoners of War [POWs]
-Publicity for party
-Release
-Gen. John P. Flynn

White House staff meetings
-Concentration on certain topics
-Roy L. Ash, George P. Shultz
-Ziegler, Timmons, William J. Baroody, Jr.
-Cole
-Ash, Shultz
-Ehrlichman
-Concern for programs
-Public relations dimensions
-Shultz
-Daily meetings
-Details

Congressional relations
-Freshmen Congress members
-Breakfast meeting
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

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Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)



-John Conlan
-Control of Arizona legislature
-Election of speaker
-Plans for House of Representatives
-Conservative Democrats
-Ideological coalition
-Ambition
-Ideology
-William F. (“Billy”) Graham
-Timmons
-Dewey F. Bartlett
-Access to president
-Regular meetings with President
-President's opinion
-Timmons's approach
-Bartlett
-John A. Volpe
-Meeting with Republican leaders
-Scott
-[unintelligible name]
-Questions for President
-Value
-Comparison with Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration

[A transcript of the following portion of this conversation appears in RG 460, Box 173, 1-26;
SPRC, 157-160 (1-4); US v. Mitchell, et al, Gov’t, Ex. 10, pp. (00064-00070).]

[End of transcribed portion]

Congressional relations
-Social events with President
-Timmons
-Bartlett, Henry L. Bellmon
-Value
-Consumption of time
-Former governors
-Duties and time
-Comparison with President
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
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Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)



-Ehrlichman
-Oklahoma
-Timmons
-Quality of work
-Comparison with Harlow
-MacGregor
-Ziegler
-Areas of competence
-Problem areas
-Attitude of Congress member
-Harlow
-MacGregor
-Congressional liaison work


******************************************************************************
[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]

John B. Connally
-Party switch
-Colson contacts
-Notifications
-Readiness

[End segment reviewed under deed of gift]
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International Telephone and Telegram [ITT] case
-Ziegler's statements
-Ehrlichman
-Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] investigation
-Report
-Democratic Congress members
-Vance Hartke
-Need for publicity
-Spiro T. Agnew, Connally, Haldeman, Peter M. Flanigan
-Interview with Colson
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

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Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)



-Reporters' questions
-Need for counterattack
-Old story
-Previous testimony
-Richard W. McLaren
-Ehrlichman
-Need to work on case
-Forest service

Ehrlichman
-Time seminar
-Issues
-Price of gasoline
-Oil imports
-Middle East
-Natural gas
-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
-Cooperation with Time
Shultz
-Value
-Advertising

Press relations
-News summary
-Newsweek article
-Jews
-Ignorance of US
-Look
-Herman Kahn
-Death penalty
-[Arnold] Eric Sevareid
-New York Daily News
-Albert E. Sindlinger [?]
-Time and Newsweek
-Danger of overconcern
-White House staff contacts with reporters
-Julienne L. Pineau
-Henry Hubbard
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

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Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)




-Time and Newsweek seminar on energy
-Ehrlichman, Shultz, Charles J. DiBona
-Administration posture toward
-Cabinet officers
-Peter J. Brennan
-Shultz
-Energy policy
-White House seminar
-Time
-Crisis
-Administration mistakes
-Khan
-Environment, welfare
-Media-created concerns
-Impact on food, car prices
-Lumber
-Insecticides
-Safety devices
-Costs, inconvenience
-Haldeman's car

Economy
-Consumer confidence
-Sindlinger
-Reports
-President's evaluation
-Dollar
-Herbert Stein
-Importance as economic indicator
-Shultz

Cabinet’s role in public relations
-Management capacity
-Weaknesses
-James T. Lynn
-Earl L. Butz
-Brennan
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. June-2010)
Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)



-Congress
-Public statements
-Work with White House staff
-Ziegler’s role
-Surrogates
-Ehrlichman
-Caspar W. (“Cap”) Weinberger
-Lynn, Butz
-William P. Rogers, John A. Scali
-Elliot L. Richardson
-Rebuttals to Democrats

Congressional relations
-Republicans
-Baroody’s role
-Colson
-Need for better public relations
-Timmons
-Work with both parties
-Votes
-Baroody
-Areas of concern
-Work with outside organizations
-Colson
-George H. W. Bush
-Timmons
-Comparison with Baroody

Watergate
-Theodore H. White
-Issue of presidential power
-Lyndon B. Johnson
-Publicity for President's position
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Lack of publicity
-Attack on press
-Agnew
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. June-2010)
Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)



Congressional relations
-Scott
-Statement on defense budget
-Need for figures
-Work with White House
-Summary statement
-House of Representatives
-Positive reactions
-Statement on taxes, inflation, jobs
Labor Department
-Under Secretary job
-New York Times
-Opening
-Candidate
-Brennen
-Colson
-Choice for job
-Handling of mail
-Answer
-Consumption of time
-Work methods
-Donald F. Rodgers
-Value to administration

Cabinet
-Lynn
-Public appearances

President's crime speech
-Follow-up
-Ehrlichman
-Press coverage
-Sevareid criticisms
-Advantages to administration

POWs
-Wives
-Corsages
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

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Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)



-Civilian POW
-State Department
-Foreign Services Officer [FSO]
-Rank
-Television [TV] coverage
-Interest
-Anecdotes
-Green beret
-Flag
-Continuous publicity

An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 10:47 am.

Meeting with Ehrlichman

An unknown person left at an unknown time before 11:40 am.

POWs
-Manner of release
-North Vietnam
-Advantages to administration

Vietnam
-Sir Robert Thompson
-Talk with Gen. Alexander M. Haig

-Nguyen Van Thieu visit
-Visit to east coast
-Visit to US
-Agnew's invitation

John V. (“Jack”) Brennan
-Appointment as military aide
-Promotion

Military aides
-Navy aide
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

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Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)




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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Privacy]
[Duration: 39s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4

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-Maj. Gen. Donald D. (“Don”) Hughes
-Brennen
-Vernon C. Coffey, Jr.
-Navy aide
-Pressures of work

Ehrlichman entered at 11:40 a.m.

Meeting with Republican Congressional leaders
-Ehrlichman's evaluation
-Budget cut issue on defense expenditure
-House of Representatives
-G. William Whitehurst
-Congressmen's impressions
-Ehrlichman's conversation with Albert W. Johnson and Burt L. Talcott
-Conlan
-Leadership qualities
-Comparison with Ford
-Enthusiasm
-Butz
-Cabinet meeting
-Comments
-Congressional relations
-Meetings
-Eisenhower
-Lyndon B. Johnson
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. June-2010)
Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)



-Publicity
-Value
-Need for more publicity
-Robert D. Novak, Rowland Evans

Cabinet’s role in public relations
-Weinberger and Lynn
-Appearances before Congress
-Testimony
-Preparation
-Weinberger
-Appearance on Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS] TV program
-Department of Health, Education, and welfare [HEW] assistants
-Intelligence
-Lynn and Weinberger
-Qualities
-Intelligence
-Follow-up on issues
-Political skills
-Edmund S. Muskie

Time seminar on energy policy
-White House participation
-Time’s promotion department
-Shultz
-William D. Ruckelshaus
-Congress
-Sensitivity

Watergate
-L[ouis] Patrick Gray, III
-Relationship with President
-Press reports
-Background
-Robert L. Finch
-Job as FBI director
-FBI
-J. Edgar Hoover
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. June-2010)
Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)



-Role in Alger Hiss case
-Files on Hiss
-Harry S. Truman
-Gray
-Time story
-Confirmation hearings
-President's cooperation with Congress

Press relations
-Time
-Hugh S. Sidey
-Current activities
-Martin Z. Agronsky's show
-Dwight L. Chapin

President's meeting with Vadim A. Trapeznikov

Pornography
-Supreme Court decision
-Follow-up

Family Assistance Program [FAP]
-Working group
-Weinberger as chairman
-James H. Cavanaugh
-Consultation with various people
-Russell B. Long, Frank E. Fitzsimmons

Medical research budget
-Charges of sabotage
-Cancer, heart disease
-Weinberger's answers
-CBS TV special
-Reasons
-Restrictions on expenditures
-Congress
-Stanford University president
-Johns Hopkins University
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. June-2010)
Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)



-Cuts
-Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT]
-University of California, Berkeley
-Defense grants
-Excesses
-Dr. James R. Schlesinger
-Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]
-President's concern

President's meeting with Theodore H. (“Teddy”) White
-President's proposals
-White House budget
-Comparison with Johnson

Prices
-Lumber
-Sales to Japan
-Price freeze
-Cost of Living Council
-Need for facts
-Internal Revenue Service [IRS]
-State of industry
-Production
-Mills
-Imports
-Exports
-Forest Service
-Management of timberlands
-Reasons for problems
-Environmental laws
-Transfer to private lands
-Environmental impact statement
-National forest
-Pressure from administration
-Price freeze
-William E. Simon
-Shultz's opposition
-Stein
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. June-2010)
Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)



-John T. Dunlop

Phase III
-Shultz's concern
-Simon
-Press treatment
-Dollar abroad
-Shultz's image
-Comparison to Connally
-Interest rates
-Blame on Shultz
-Attitudes of business community
-International monetary situation
-Shultz's achievements
-Comparison with Connally

Leader class
-Business community
-Weakness of character
-Kahn
-University professors
-Dependence on government
-Welfare state
-Need for Connally
-David M. Kennedy’s performance
-Shultz
-Weak points
-Public relations
-Neurosis
-Fear of controversy
-Connally

Narcotics reform
-Controversy
-Central narcotics agency

Bill on Capitol Hill
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. June-2010)
Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)



Richard G. Kleindienst
-Speaking tours
-Capital punishment
-Statistics
-New criminal code
-Jerry V. Wilson
-Speaking tour

Congressional relations
-MacGregor
-Timmons
-Ziegler
-Limitations
-President's meeting with Scott and Leslie C. Arends
-Administration's briefings
-Ziegler
-Ehrlichman’s role
-Ash
-Ford
-Need for briefings
-J. D. Ehrlichman’s role
-Ziegler
-Baroody
-Herbert G. Klein
-Briefing
ITT case
-Dealings with Democratic Senators

Public relations
-Press reports
-Administration's responses
-Ziegler
-Hartke
-Timmons
-Ash
-Administrations programs
-Cole, Ash
-Shultz
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log
(rev. June-2010)
Conversation No. 884-7 (cont’d)



-Substance of issue
-Public relations sense
-Dunlop
-Public relations sense
-Theme
-Stein
-Public relations sense
-Preparation

Shultz
-Meetings with President and Ehrlichman
-Scheduling
-Phase III
-Talks with Leonid I. Brezhnev
-Meeting with President
-Scheduling

Regulatory commissions
-Meetings with President
-Chairmen
-ITT
-[unintelligible name]
-Federal Communications Commission [FCC]
-Federal Trade Commission [FTC]

Ehrlichman and Haldeman left at 12:10 pm.