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January 12, 1973

Introduction

This almanac page for Friday, January 12, 1973, pulls together various records created by the federal government and links to additional resources which can provide context about the events of the day.

Previous Date: Thursday, January 11, 1973

Next Date: Saturday, January 13, 1973

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    President's Office Files

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  • The H. R. Haldeman Diaries consists of seven handwritten diaries, 36 dictated diaries recorded as sound recordings, and two handwritten audio cassette tape subject logs. The diaries and logs reflect H. R. Haldeman’s candid personal record and reflections on events, issues, and people encountered during his service in the Nixon White House. As administrative assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, Haldeman attended and participated in public events and private meetings covering the entire scope of issues in which the Nixon White House engaged in during the years 1969-1973. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    • Transcript of diary entry (PDF)
      Friday, January 12th. The President started in first thing this morning on the Kissinger problems, mainly the Florida schedule. He feels that we have to keep Henry in Florida all of next week, and that he's got to hold his meetings, WSAG, and all that sort of stuff, down here, and have his social stuff down there too. Then have Nancy Maginnes come down to keep him company.

      The President needs both a cover and the rest, and we all have to cooperate in order to let him do it. We have to keep the news focus in Florida and with the President through the week, so he's got to stay there this time.

      One problem we're going to have is the briefing of Rogers and Laird and the Vice President. The President has decided that Kennedy should go over and cover them on Sunday and inform them of the decision. Not ask their opinions, and not give them any opportunity for a backlash. He wants to be sure that I take all the calls coming into Key Biscayne, except from the President's personal family, including Rogers and Laird though. Saying the President is very busy working on the inaugural and has to have two or three days to get it done, and that they just are going to have to leave him alone.

      He wants Haig to come down Saturday afternoon and spend the night, so that he's there well ahead of Henry's arrival. And he wants to see Henry on his arrival Saturday night. He feels that now the plan would be that we'd go ahead with an announcement on the 18th by Ziegler, nothing by the President, regardless of whether we get Thieu or not. At that time, we would say that Haig will return on Sunday and report; that Kissinger will be going to Paris on the 23rd to complete the negotiations on technical details. The President's feeling is that his announcement must be after the Inaugural, so it won't look like we've made a deal before the Inaugural for the PR values. He feels that we ought to get Scali going now, and then he agreed on our recommendation, to hold up on it, to make the point that the reason that we're getting the good negotiations now is the fact that we did the bombing, also to make the point that we didn't halt the bombing until we had the negotiations back.

      He went through some discussion of notification process: of key staff and Cabinet on Sunday night, as well as the leaders, plus Ehrlichman, Shultz, Ash, Timmons, Klein, Scali. He wants me to call Connally, Mitchell, Billy Graham, George Bush. Have Colson call some selective labor leaders, etcetera.

      Henry called me from Paris at about noon, and said that they'd had another six hour meeting today, and that if it continues the trend that he will definitely be back here tomorrow. And he'll have two options that we can go either way on regarding the announcement, and that we can decide that next week. He emphasizes that he can't be in Key Biscayne all week, that he's got too much work to do, but that he'll put all this into the cable. Then he jumped on me, because Helen Thomas apparently has an AP, a UPI column that he refers to as a cannibalistic story based on White House insiders who say the President is tired of Kissinger palling around with Le Duc Tho and zapped him. Also he says that we've got a PR problem, which he'll put in a cable, that will be tough to handle and that he needs an answer tonight. We got that a little later, and it turned out that he agreed to let the North Vietnamese have their photographer come in and take a picture of the group for “historic purposes”. Now it develops that they want to release the picture, and Henry's asking how to handle it, suggesting that maybe he should get Western journalist in and let them take a picture, too, and release the whole thing. We went back to him on the basis that he should get only the USIA in, and that they should take a picture only for the historic record, and it can't, with the understanding that neither of the pictures, none of the pictures can be released by either side until after the agreement has been signed and announced. I doubt if he'll stick with that, but at least we'll try. On the plane to Key Biscayne tonight, the President made the point that if we get a settlement, that we should get every commentator, columnist, and so on that has hit us, and really badger them on an all-out basis in the Congressional Record with letters, and so on, in a total attack. He feels also that we have got to send a press man with Henry on the final trips to avoid things like the picture problem arriving. He thinks we can move the 18th announcement to the 19th as long as he isn't doing it, and that we should slip the Cabinet and Leaders' meetings to Wednesday and Thursday instead of Monday and Tuesday of the following week, so that he'll keep time clear for preparation for his Tuesday night television. He'll probably have the Cabinet and Leaders in anyway on Tuesday for the announcement.

      And he went back to the, Ziegler came in during the flight to report that ABC had a report that we had an agreement and Kissinger would be coming home tomorrow. It was agreed that we would say no comment on spec stories and that when Kissinger returns he'll be meeting with the President. Then we got in also to the problem with the line for the Congressmen, because Kennedy has to brief Scott and Ford tomorrow for their Meet the Press thing on Sunday, which poses an additional problem.

      The President also got back on the Watergate thing today, making the point that I should talk to Connally about the Johnson bugging process to get his judgment as to how to handle it. He wonders if we shouldn't just have Andreas go in and scare Hubert. The problem in going at LBJ is how he'd react, and we need to find out from DeLoach who did it, and then run a lie detector on him. I talked to Mitchell on the phone on this subject, and he said DeLoach had told him that he was up to date on the thing, because he had a call from Texas, because a Star reporter was making an inquiry in the last week or so, and LBJ got very hot and called Deke. And said to him that if they, Nixon people are going to play with this, that he would release...

      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      EXEMPTED IN FULL, E.O. 13526, Sect. 3.3B(1)B(3), June 12, 2013
      Audio Cassette 29, Side B, Withdrawn Item Number 10 [AC 29(B) Sel 8]
      Duration: 4 seconds

      VIETNAM NEGOTIATIONS
      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      ...saying that our side was asking that certain things be done. By our side, I assume he means the Nixon campaign organization. DeLoach took this as a direct threat from Johnson. He says he'll bring his file in Monday for Mitchell to review. As he recalls it, bugging was requested on the planes, but was turned down, and all they did was check the phone calls, and put a tap on the Dragon Lady. Mitchell also said he was meeting with O'Brien today, and will make reference to this whole thing in that meeting and see what he can smoke out.

      He also said Rog Morton had called him saying that I was sending Rog a counsel named Anderson, and he thinks it's horrible, because he's too young, has only three years practice, and so on. And he said that I told him that the President had insisted on it. I informed Mitchell of the fact which is that I have never discussed the matter, or any personnel matter, with Rog Morton. This is a pure fabrication.

      Connally called today with some suggestions on personnel. Wants Lee Hinkel, the counsel at IRS, to be considered as the Commissioner there, thinks he's a very good operator, loyal, smart, and political. And then he had some other suggestions, one for IRS, and a couple for the CAB.

      End of January 12th.
    • Original audio recording (MP3)

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  • The President's Daily Brief is the primary vehicle for summarizing the day-to-day sensitive intelligence and analysis, as well as late-breaking reports, for the White House on current and future national security issues. Read "The President's Daily Brief: Delivering Intelligence to Nixon and Ford" to learn more.

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    Vol. IX, Vietnam, October 1972-January 1973

    America Leaves the War, December 30, 1972-January 27, 1973

    Vol. XXXIII, SALT II, 1972-1980

    SALT II, 1972-1980

    Vol. XLII, Vietnam: The Kissinger-Le Duc Tho Negotiations

    Settlement Accomplished: The Accords Initialed and Signed, January 1973

    • 46. Memorandum of Conversation, Paris, January 12, 1973, 10:15 a.m.-4:15 p.m.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 866, For the President’s Files (Winston Lord)—China Trip/Vietnam Negotiations, Camp David Memcons, January 8–13, 1973 [January 23, 1973]. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. The meeting took place at 108 Avenue du Général Leclerc in Gif-sur-Yvette. All brackets are in the original. The tabs are attached but not printed.

    Vol. E-11, Part 1, Documents on Mexico; Central America; and the Caribbean, 1973-1976

    Costa Rica

    • 108. Special National Intelligence Estimate 83.4–73, Washington, January 12, 1973

      Summary: The estimate assessed the threat posed to Costa Rican political stability by the activities of domestic Communists and Rightists and concluded that despite rising tensions the country remained committed to its democratic political tradition.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 361, Subject Files, National Intelligence Estimates. Secret; [handling restriction not declassified]. All brackets are in the original except those indicating original footnotes, text that remains classified or that was omitted by the editors.

  • The Kissinger telephone conversation transcripts consist of approximately 20,000 pages of transcripts of Kissinger’s telephone conversations during his tenure as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (1969-1974) and Secretary of State (1973-1974) during the administration of President Richard Nixon. Visit the finding aid for more information.

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Audiovisual Holdings

Context (External Sources)