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June 16, 1971

Introduction

This almanac page for Wednesday, June 16, 1971, 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: Tuesday, June 15, 1971

Next Date: Thursday, June 17, 1971

Schedule and Public Documents

  • The Daily Diary files represent a consolidated record of the President's activities. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

    The President's day began at The White House - Washington, D. C.

  • The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents made available transcripts of the President's news conferences; messages to Congress; public speeches, remarks, and statements; and other Presidential materials released by the White House.

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  • Each Public Papers of the Presidents volume contains the papers and speeches of the President of the United States that were issued by the White House Office of the Press Secretary during the time period specified by the volume. The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events. In instances when the release date differs from the date of the document itself, that fact is shown in the text note.

    To ensure accuracy, remarks have been checked against audio recordings (when available) and signed documents have been checked against the original, unless otherwise noted. Editors have provided text notes and cross references for purposes of identification or clarity.

  • The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other Presidential documents.

  • The Congressional Record is the official daily record of the debates and proceedings of the U.S. Congress.

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.

    President's Personal File

    The President's Personal File is essentially a President's secretary's file, kept by Rose Mary Woods, personal secretary to the President, for two purposes: (1) preserving for posterity a collection of documents particularly close to the President, whether because he dictated or annotated them, or because of the importance of the correspondent or the event concerned and (2) giving appropriate attention–letters of gratitude, invitations to White House social events, and the like–to members and important friends and supporters of the Nixon administration. This generalization does not describe all the varied materials of a file group which is essentially a miscellany, but it does identify the reason for the existence of the file group's core. Visit the finding aid to learn more.

  • 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)
      [June 16, 1971]

      New York Times reaction again dominated the day today, starting with the staff meeting, where we got into a discussion in the 8:00 meeting, with Shultz making the point that there are three main issues: the question of whether this should have been classified or declassified to begin with; the point that top secret material is published every day, and the question of why this is any different from others; and the concern about how devious Defense and Foreign Affairs intelligence are. They're always playing a cat and mouse game, never a straight statement. Then we got into the general staff meeting and pointed out the problem is that the President now is being positioned as opposed to the public's right to know, and MacGregor, among others, raised the question of why don't we condemn the massive deception of the previous Administration. There'll be a thrust in Congress now to limit the war powers and especially to demand knowledge of what the President's doing. Two separate issues are being mixed: first, The Times is violating the law; second, the content of the documents. An idea that was raised was to give the documents to Congress, leaving them classified, but letting them have them, which would prove that we're not trying to cover anything up, but would still preserve the aspect of secret classification.

      There's a real problem here of Johnson's pure deceit, for instance at his press conference where he said he was not doing exactly what he was doing. Another idea was that we should declassify all of the material that can be declassified and announce now that we're going to do so. Do enough of a release so that we can't be accused of suppression. That, though, creates the problem of declassifying other documents or releasing them to the Senate on the basis of their being leaked or on any other basis.

      The President got into this on and off all during the day, wanted to be sure that we're making an all out effort on editorials. Felt that we should have someone analyze the Kennedy stuff and then get it leaked out somehow. Decided we probably should give Ehrlichman the responsibility as the one man on top of the whole thing, since there is nobody running it now and it's an ideal thing for Ehrlichman. His view is that we're trying to protect the integrity of government and the ability to conduct government, and that does require some classification of materials. For instance, many of the discussions going on now on SALT, Berlin, et cetera, have to be classified. He comes back again and again with the view that nothing else that we do in the rest of this Administration will give him more pleasure than to carry out the directive now with regard to The New York Times: they're never to be in the office, never on the pool, never on the plane, et cetera, and no one is to raise this with the President.

      He feels we do have to make the issue that the press is massively endangering our security, paint them as lawbreakers, disloyal, et cetera. That there's no question of right to know or how we got into Vietnam, but we must maintain the integrity of government.

      As we were talking at midday today, he heard some kids shouting out on the South Lawn and realized that the 1,000 Rural Electrification Administration youth group were gathering to be addressed by Cliff Hardin and then take a White House tour. After pondering the whole thing on and off for a while, he decided that he should go out and greet them, which he then did on a completely spontaneous and unannounced basis, and it was a big success. Now he feels he wants to do more of that kind of thing, which indeed he should.

      He came up with some schedule changes, regarding California particularly, because he's not going to Midway now, and -- some ideas on shifting the press conference plans around, etcetera. We were supposed to be making a big drug speech, possibly on preemptive network TV tomorrow, and were waiting for it to come in. When it finally did, it was completely the wrong thing, and that wasn't until late this afternoon; so we're getting a kind of stir on that, because our whole speech preparation deal is pretty screwed up, and this was a good example of it. Instead of doing a speech now, he's going to do a one or one and a half minute opening to the briefing and let the briefers carry the story, rather than the President trying to do it.

      End of June 16th.
    • 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.

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    Nixon Library Holdings

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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. V, United Nations, 1969-1972

    Secretary-General Succession

    Vol. VII, Vietnam, July 1970-January 1972

    The Consequences of Operation Lan Som 719 and the Search for a Settlement, April 8-October 6, 1971

    Vol. XIX, Part 1, Korea, 1969-1972

    Republic of Korea Troops in Vietnam and Force Modernization, April 1971-December 1972

    Vol. XXIX, Eastern Europe, 1969-1972

    Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty

    Vol. XXXIX, European Security

    MBFR and the Conference on European Security, December 1970-December 1971

    Vol. XL, Germany and Berlin, 1969-1972

    Germany and Berlin, 1969-1972

    Vol. E-2, Documents on Arms Control and Nonproliferation, 1969-1972

    Conferences on Nuclear and World Disarmament and Soviet UN Initiative on Non-Use of Force

    Vol. E-5, Part 2, Documents on North Africa, 1969-1972

    Algeria

    • 25. Airgram A–11 From the Department of State to the Interests Section in Algeria, Washington, June 16, 1971, 11:23 a.m.

      This Airgram transmitted a Policy Planning Paper for Algeria. The paper highlighted the geographic, economic, and political importance of Algeria and outlined U.S. interests and objectives in the African nation over the course of the next five years, Algeria’s objectives with respect to the United States, and concluded with a 6 part recommended course of action. The Paper was approved by the NSC Interdepartmental Group for Africa.

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL 1 ALG-US. Secret; Noforn. Telegram drafted by Edward Holmes (AF/NSC-IG) and approved by Carter. Attached but not printed at Annex A is documentation on U.S. agency expenditures in Algeria; at Annex B is background information; and at Annex C is a list of approved policy guidance papers.

    Libya

    • 78. Airgram A–6 From the Department of State to the Embassy in Libya, Washington, June 16, 1971

      The Department forwarded a Policy Planning Paper for Libya as approved by the NSC Interdepartmental Group for Africa.

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL 1 LIBYA–US. Secret;Noforn. Covering airgram was drafted by Edward W. Holmes (AF/NSC) and approved by Carter. The annexes are not printed.

    Morocco

    • 115. Airgram A–43 From the Department of State to the Embassy in Morocco, Washington, June 16, 1971

      The Department forwarded an official statement of U.S. policy toward Morocco, approved by the National Security Council Interdepartmental Group for Africa, that outlines U.S. interests and objectives in Morocco over the next five years, as well as Morocco’s objectives vis-à-vis the United States. It then goes on to outline a 20 part recommended course of action that the U.S. Government should take over the course of the next 5 years.

      Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL 1 MOR-US. Secret; Noforn. Drafted on June 8 by Holmes and approved by Carter.

    Vol. E-7, Documents on South Asia, 1969-1972

    India and Pakistan: Crisis and War, March-December 1971

    Vol. E-10, Documents on American Republics, 1969-1972

    Dominican Republic

    Vol. E-16, Documents on Chile, 1969-1973

    Cool and Correct: The U.S. Response to the Allende Administration, November 5, 1970-December 31, 1972

    • 76. Memorandum From Arnold Nachmanoff of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger), Washington, June 16, 1971

      Summary: This memorandum forwarded for Kissinger’s signature a memorandum to the Senior Review Group and Secretary of the Treasury Connally informing them of the President’s decision to approve the FMS ceiling for Chile (see Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, vol. XXI, Chile, 1969–1973, Document 235) and to defer a decision on the Export-Import Bank loan for Boeing aircraft. Nachmanoff commented that postponing the Boeing decision would damage U.S.-Chilean relations and noted that the copper companies would, most likely, not approve of it either.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–56, SRG Meeting, Chile 6/3/71. Secret; Nodis. Sent for action. Tabs I and II are attached but not published.

  • 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

Context (External Sources)