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January 15, 1973

Introduction

This almanac page for Monday, January 15, 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: Sunday, January 14, 1973

Next Date: Tuesday, January 16, 1973

Schedule and Public Documents

Archival Holdings

Any selection of archival documents will necessarily be partial. You should use the documents and folders identified below as a starting place, but consult the linked collection finding aids and folder title lists and the collections themselves for context. Many documents to be found this way do not lend themselves to association with specific dates, but are essential to a complete understanding of the material.

  • Selective document listing

    President's Office Files

    The President's Office Files consists of materials drawn together by the Special Files Unit from several administrative subdivisions within the White House Office. It is the handwriting and sensitive papers sent to the Staff Secretary that now comprise much of the President's Office Files. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    • Annotated and Unmarked News Summaries [Note: Although there was no News Summary on this date, due to the way News Summary products were compiled, you should also consult nearby days for potentially relevant materials.]

  • 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)
      Monday, January 15th. The President had me over at noon for a brief meeting. He mainly wanted to get into some attack follow-up things on Vietnam. He wants Colson to mobilize now for an attack on the people that opposed us with a contingency plan of speeches, op-eds, editorials, a little book, and so on, working with Buchanan, Scali, Klein, and Clawson. And wants to get as much planned as we can now, with, in the conviction that the left is going to take us on right after the announcement...

      [End of tape reel AC-29(B)]

      [Begin tape reel AC-30(A)]

      Monday, January 15th; was making the point that the President wants to get moving on the attack follow-up on Vietnam, pending the obvious moves that the opponents will make to try to clobber whatever we come up with. He wants them to mobilize now for the attack with a contingency plan for speeches, op-eds, editorials, and all that sort of thing. He wants to hit, for example, the effort to cut Kissinger down and to divide him from the President that they all went into after the October breakdown. And we should hit hard on our critics in Congress and the media and don't let them forget. Colson and I agreed that we'd try to hit eight or ten prime targets rather than going on a general attack on the critics this time.

      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      DECLASSIFIED - E.O. 13526, Sect. 3.4: by MS, NARA, June 12, 2013
      Audio Cassette 30, Side A, Withdrawn Item Number 1 [AC-30(A) Sel 1]
      Duration: 22 seconds

      He also wants to work on the Swedish and Austrian and Canadians. For one thing, the President will not receive their ambassadors when they send them. And he wants to do a study now on how to delegate receiving ambassadors to the Vice President so that we can set that up.
      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      He thinks Goldwater ought to start whacking the irresponsible critics now and give them something to take on, so that, because obviously they will be hitting us.

      He also got into some discussion of schedule; he's agreed to swear in the Undersecretaries, as well as the Cabinet officers, and to do the swearing on Saturday after the parade, if they're all confirmed by then. He wanted the speech draft for the inaugural address by 7:30 tonight from Ray so that he can get to work on that, so as to keep February clear, so that he can take off a week or two to rest up after all this is over. He thinks we should figure an office press conference before it builds up too much, possibly Wednesday the 31st, and that will be the last one in the office. From then on, we'll do them in the press room: as a matter of fact, he may do that one in the press room, too, since it will be the day we announce Henry's trip to Hanoi and China.

      He feels he ought to do something with the POW's and their wives in the White House when the first batch comes home.

      In the midst of this, he was interrupted with a phone call to Don Shula, or whatever his first name is, the Miami Dolphins coach, to congratulate him on winning the Super Bowl yesterday. He said to tell Ron to tell the press that he'll spend another day or two here; his actual plan is to stay till Thursday night and maybe even Friday noon.

      He told me to talk to Ehrlichman about Ruckelshaus for the FBI Director, and that John should discuss this with Mitchell, also that he should discuss DeLoach, the President thinks he'd be the best. He was particularly upset with Mansfield who made the point to Colonel Kennedy when he talked to him, to say, be sure to have the President note how responsible the Senate was last week, which, of course, is totally irresponsible since the Senate had been a disaster the week before, and only quieted up this last week, because they were afraid of what the President was actually accomplishing. He wants to be sure we don't let any of the opponents clamber back on the bandwagon; that we maintain the heat against them.

      This evening he was quite anxious to get reports on the news reaction, and also that he'd know how to tone his inaugural address, which he'll be working on into the night and tomorrow.

      End of January 15th
    • Original audio recording (MP3)

  • The National Archives Catalog is the online portal to the records held at the National Archives, and information about those records. It is the main way of describing our holdings and also provides access to electronic records and digitized versions of our holdings. 

    The Catalog searches across multiple National Archives resources at once, including archival descriptions, digitized and electronic records, authority records, and web pages from Archives.gov and the Presidential Libraries. The Catalog also allows users to contribute to digitized historical records through tagging and transcription.

    Nixon Library Holdings

    All National Archives Units

National Security Documents

  • 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.

  • The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Visit the State Department website for more information.

    Vol. XXI, Chile, 1969-1973

    "That Chilean Guy May Have Some Problems": The Downfall of Salvador Allende, January-September 1973

    Vol. XXII, Panama, 1973-1976

    Panama, 1973-1976

    Vol. XXV, Arab-Israeli Crisis and War, 1973

    Arab-Israeli Crisis and War, 1973

    • 3. Paper Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, January 15, 1973

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 131, Country Files, Middle East, Egypt/Ismail, Vol. II, January 1–February 23, 1973. Secret; Sensitive. The paper was forwarded to Kissinger under cover of a January 16 memorandum from Helms who wrote that the enclosed résumé of the proposal to conduct secret talks between the United States and Egypt at the level of the offices of the presidencies as well as a more detailed chronological summary of the exchanges between the two governments might prove useful.

  • 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.

    Digitized versions can be found in the National Archives Catalog.

Audiovisual Holdings

  • The White House Communications Agency Sound Recordings Collection contains public statements that took place between 1969 and 1974. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    L - White House Press Office Briefings

    • WHCA-SR-L-107
      Press briefing by Ronald Ziegler. (1/15/1973, 4 Ambassadors Presss Center, Miami, Florida)

      Runtime: 50:00:00

      Keywords: Press conferences, news conferences, interviews, media, press secretary

      Original Format: 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audiotape. Original source type: Original.

  • The White House Communications Agency Videotape Collection contains “off-the-air” recordings of televised programs produced between 1968 and 1974. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    • WHCA-6000
      "Today" Show excerpt.
      ABC
      Runtime: 00:09:15
    • WHCA-6006
      Weekly News Summary, Tape I.
      ALL NETWORKS
      Runtime: 01:29:22

      26. Reasoner/Gill/Jarriel: Prospects of peace in Vietnam with Ziegler. Time Code Start: 54:33. Keywords: Paris Peace Talks, Vietnam War, treaty, treaties, negotiations. Network: ABC.

      27. Smith/Geer: Rome newspaper says North Vietnam and U.S. have reached peace agreement; "cautious optimism on the hill". Time Code Start: 58:15. Keywords: Paris Peace Talks, Vietnam War, treaty, treaties, negotiations. Network: ABC.

      28. Smith/Donaldson: More on the Watergate trial with four defendants pleading guilty. Time Code Start: 60:58. Keywords: Watergate, Senate committee hearings, investigations, testimony, testify, cover-ups, break-in, burglary, theft, plumbers, scandals. Network: ABC.

      29. Smith/Shoumacher: Ruckleshaus tells about gasoline rations in the future of Los Angeles, California. Time Code Start: 64:00. Keywords: energy, petroleum, oil, gasoline, fuel, shortages, rationing, natural resources, energy. Network: ABC.

      30. Smith: Commentary on crime. Time Code Start: 66:30. Keywords: bills, laws, House of Representatives, anti-crime, offences, infractions, criminals, criminality, law breaking. Network: ABC.

      31. Chancellor/Valeriani: President Nixon bans bombing and mining in North Vietnam with Ziegler. Time Code Start: 68:18. Keywords: Vietnam War, bombs, bombings. Network: NBC.

      32. Chancellor: Senator Mike Mansfield comments on the ceasefire. Time Code Start: 72:10. Keywords: Vietnam War, ceasefires. Network: NBC.

      33. Chancellor/Brady: The fighting in Cambodia continues. Time Code Start: 74:00. Keywords: Vietnam WarCambodia, Vietnam War. Network: NBC.

      34. Chancellor/Stern: Four more Watergate defendants plead guilty. Time Code Start: 76:45. Keywords: Watergate, Senate committee hearings, investigations, testimony, testify, cover-ups, break-in, burglary, theft, plumbers, scandals. Network: NBC.

      35. Chancellor/Oliver: Ruckleshaus of EPA says he wants to ration gasoline in Los Angeles, California. Time Code Start: 79:20. Keywords: energy, petroleum, oil, gasoline, fuel, shortages, rationing, natural resources, energy. Network: NBC.

      36. Chancellor: American composer Vincent Persichetti comments on his choral symphonic commission A LINCOLN ADDRESS for the Presidential Inaugural Concert. Time Code Start: 82:46. Keywords: Presidents, inaugurations, inaugurals, concerts, music, performance, controversy, program deletions, cancellations, scandals, celebrations. Network: NBC.

      37. Chancellor: More on the chances of the Vietnam war ending. Time Code Start: 86:37. Keywords: Vietnam War. Network: NBC.
    • WHCA-6007
      Weekly News Summary, Tape II.
      ALL NETWORKS
      Runtime: 01:36:05

      1. Cronkite/Pierpoint: Ziegler tells about cessation of bombing and mining of North Vietnam. Time Code Start: 00:00. Keywords: Vietnam War, bombs, bombings. Network: CBS.

      2. Cronkite/Kalb: More comment on the possibility of a coming peace. Time Code Start: 02:30. Keywords: Paris Peace Talks, Vietnam War, treaty, treaties, negotiations. Network: CBS.

      3. Kalisher: Paris peace talks. Time Code Start: 03:40. Keywords: Paris Peace Talks, Vietnam War, treaty, treaties, negotiations. Network: CBS.

      4. Cronkite/Schorr: More on the Watergate trial. Time Code Start: 05:04. Keywords: Watergate, Senate committee hearings, investigations, testimony, testify, cover-ups, break-in, burglary, theft, plumbers, scandals. Network: CBS.

      5. Cronkite/Drinkwater: Gasoline rationing in Los Angeles, California is probable. Time Code Start: 08:43. Keywords: energy, petroleum, oil, gasoline, fuel, shortages, rationing, natural resources, energy. Network: CBS.

      6. Sevareid: Commentary on the Redskins football team losing Super Bowl; appears that Vietnam war drawing to close. Time Code Start: 11:59. Keywords: sports, football, games, contests, losses, Vietnam War, treaties, truces, ceasefires. Network: CBS.

Context (External Sources)