Date: February 3, 1973

Time: 1:32 pm – 1:57 pm

Location: Oval Office

The President met with Charles W. Colson.

Editorial comments on Vietnam settlement

-Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon

Henry A. Kissinger

-Meeting with the President

-Colson’s encounter with Kissinger

-Meeting with Joseph C. Kraft

-Kissinger’s response

-James B. (“Scotty”) Reston

The President talked with Claudia A. (“Lady Bird”) Johnson between 1:33 pm and 1:38 pm.

[Conversation No. 840-19A]

[See Conversation No. 43-22]

[End of telephone conversation]

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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log

(rev. Sep.-09)

Colson’s conversation with Henry A. Kissinger

-Kraft’s call to Kissinger

-Telephone records

-Colson’s conversation with Kraft

-Kraft’s possible reaction

-Reston

-Colson’s conversation with Kraft

-Kissinger as source of story

Helmut (“Hal”) Sonnenfeldt

-Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

-Conversation with Colson

-View of Kissinger

-The President’s view

-Hawkish views

-Conversation with Colson

-Colson’s op-ed

-Effect on Kraft and Reston

-View of Kissinger

-Behavior

-Loyalty

-Transfer

-Note to H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

-Intelligence

-Haig

John A. Scali

-Nicholas P. Timmesch

-Kissinger

-Appointment to United Nations [UN]

Cabinet

-Democrats

-Peter J. Brennan

-Scali

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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log

(rev. Sep.-09)

-Italian-American

-Woman

-Southerner

-Support for the President

-Frederick B. Dent

-Claude S. Brinegar

-James T. Lynn

-Caspar W. (“Cap”) Weinberger

-Confirmation hearings

-Department of Health, Education, and Welfare [HEW]

-Reorganization

-Strengths

-Robert H. Finch

-Loyalty

-Roy L. Ash

-Edmund S. Muskie’s questions

Congressional relations

-1972 election

-Vietnam settlement

-The President’s success

Kissinger

-Press relations

-Marvin L. Kalb

-Handling of bombing question

-Haig

-Bill Maritta [?]

-Value

-Middle East negotiations

-The President’s control

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 1:38 pm.

Committee for the study of Foreign Policy

-Haldeman

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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log

(rev. Sep.-09)

-George H. W. Bush

-Colson

Bull left at an unknown time before 1:57 pm.

Nominees to the Committee for the study of Foreign Policy

-David M. Abshire

-Nelson A. Rockefeller

-Strengths

-Robert D. Murphy

-Age

-Leo Cherne

-Strengths

-Adrian Lee

-Journalists

-Kissinger

-John C. McCloy

Foreign policy

-Changes by the President

-Colson’s “Charles Evan Hughes” lecture at Brown University

-Kissinger

-Possible content

-The President’s accomplishments

-People’s Republic of China [PRC]

-Vietnam settlement

-Soviet Union

-Arms control

-Middle East truce

Vietnam settlement

-Impact on foreign policy

-Future wars

Kissinger

-Relations with Colson

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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Tape Subject Log

(rev. Sep.-09)

-Telephone calls to Los Angeles

-Scali

-Sonnenfeldt

-Loyalty to the President

-Reston

-Place in history

-Pandering to the left

-Interview with Kalb

-Ronald L. Ziegler

-Howard K. Smith

-Ratings

-New York and Los Angeles

-Compared to other shows

-“Ironsides”

-American Broadcasting Company [ABC]

-“Kung Fu”

-Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS]

-Haldeman

-Los Angeles rating

-“Kung Fu”

-Public reaction

-Washington Post

-Haig

-Conversation with Colson

-Ego

The President and Colson left at 1:57 pm.