1. Home
  2. Research
  3. Almanac

March 22, 1973

Introduction

This almanac page for Thursday, March 22, 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: Wednesday, March 21, 1973

Next Date: Friday, March 23, 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.

    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)
      Thursday, March 22.

      The President had several schedule items today, but in between spent the whole time on Watergate again. Had me in at 9:00 this morning before the 10:00 meeting I scheduled to have with Mitchell, which was postponed to 11:00. So I spent two hours with the President. He was concerned about the Gray testimony, which keeps getting out of hand and asked who is programming Gray since the White House isn't. I pointed out that he had told us not to, that he had talked to Gray himself and then had said Kleindienst was to be programming him, which is what we were relying on. So beyond that I didn't know. He didn't regard that as a very satisfactory answer, but that's where the situation is at the moment.

      He also said that Colson talked to him on the phone last night and reported that Baker's administrative assistant had come to Colson, and said that Baker said he didn’t-- that he was feeling hurt because he wants to help but doesn't feel that he has anyone to talk to, and Colson suggested that maybe he should be the one. Baker said, for example, that he didn't know about the executive privilege statement before it came out and had caught him unawares and so on. Baker, of course, in talking to the President, had said he didn't want to talk to anyone else at the White House. That he wanted to have Kleindienst be his contact, which the President set up. But apparently, that's not working. So the President raises the question what's Kleindienst doing with Baker and all? What's Kleindienst doing on guidance to Gray? And he feels somebody's got to get to Kleindienst and tell him he's got to pick up the laboring oar here if the White House has to stay out of it. He then said to go ahead with the Mitchell meeting and then he'd meet with us all at 1:30, the full group. Thought I ought to talk to Colson, find out what he promised Hunt, and he wondered about Walsh as special prosecutor if we decide to go that route.

      We had our long session, went through the whole facts and options. The question series again and didn't really come up with anything new except that Mitchell made the point strongly that the only real problem the President has is invoking executive privilege, which does put him in the position of appearing to cover up. John's argument, therefore, is that the solution to the problem, at the moment at least, lies in getting out of the executive privilege wicket somehow. And we spent some time discussing that, coming down on the side of at least considering going to the committee with the proposal that the White House people will waive executive privilege and come up, if we can testify in executive session without television and so on, and if it's limited to relevant questions. When we went back to meet with the President, we got into this and he believed that it was probably a pretty good approach and that's where we left it. We also felt that there should be a Dean report to the President, which Dean has pretty much completed on Segretti and can do over the weekend on Watergate and that that should be given by the President to the committee and probably publicly released. So we're working on that possibility now.

      In the midst of all that, we come up with a new problem with Gray who was in questioning today. Got trapped into admitting or saying to Senator Byrd that he was probably right in his assumption that Dean had lied when he said he told the FBI he didn't know whether Hunt had an office in the White House. Of course the fact was they didn't ask him that, they asked him if they could see Hunt's office, and he said he didn't know that and would have to check. So Gray has sort of screwed us again.

      The President seemed to be reasonably well satisfied by the decision we came up with and went on to his meeting with George Shultz upon his return from Europe and then took off for Key Biscayne. I'm staying here tonight for the Rogers diplomatic ball and going to Key Biscayne first thing in the morning.

      End of March 22.
    • 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. XXII, Panama, 1973-1976

    Panama, 1973-1976

    Vol. XXXVIII, Part 1, Foundations of Foreign Policy, 1973-1976

    Foundations of Foreign Policy, 1973-1976

    • 5. Message to the Congress Transmitting President Nixon’s First Annual International Economic Report, Washington, March 22, 1973

      Source: Public Papers: Nixon, 1973, pp. 219–220. Nixon’s message and the first annual report of the Council on International Economic Policy were printed in a 94-page booklet entitled “International Economic Report of the President, Transmitted to the Congress March 1973.” Nixon had underscored the necessity for international monetary reform in his January 31 economic report to Congress: “Nowhere is the need to make 1973 a year of economic reform more apparent than in our international relations.” (Ibid., p. 51) The administration’s Trade Reform bill, submitted to Congress on April 10, subsequently provided a framework for further cooperation and engagement between the United States and other global powers in the world trading system. For the text of the message transmitting the bill to Congress, see ibid., pp. 258–270. See also Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume XXXI, Foreign Economic Policy, 1973–1976, Document 169.

    Vol. E-6, Documents on Africa, 1973-1976

    Uganda

    • 244. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon, Washington, March 22, 1973

      Kissinger explained that security concerns in Uganda had caused him to withhold a decision on Ambassador Melady’s return to Kampala, but that the threat seemed now exaggerated, and he recommended disapproving Secretary Rogers’ appeal. Nixon agreed with the recommendation.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 746, Uganda, Vol. 1. Secret. Sent for action. A notation on the memorandum reads: “The President has seen.” Nixon initialed next to “Agree.” Tab A is Document 243; Tab B is Document 242.

    Vol. E-12, Documents on East and Southeast Asia, 1973-1976

    Thailand and Burma

    Vol. E-15, Part 1, Documents on Eastern Europe, 1973-1976

    Poland

    Vol. E-15, Part 2, Documents on Western Europe, 1973-1976, Second, Revised Edition

    Canada, 1973-1976

    • 105. Memorandum From the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft) to President Nixon, Washington, March 22, 1973

      Summary: Scowcroft recommended that Nixon call Trudeau to urge continued Canadian participation in the ICCS.

      Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 750, Canada, Trudeau, corres. (1969–1973) (1 of 1). Secret. Sent for urgent action. Attached but not published is Tab A, a copy of the March 22 letter to Trudeau signed by Nixon; and Tab B, undated talking points. A stamped notation on the memorandum indicates the President saw it. A handwritten notation next to the “Disapprove” option reads: “President told Bull he would not call. 1:40 PM—3/22/73.” Below, another handwritten notation reads: “The President called Trudeau at 3:48 p.m. 3/22/73.” A tape recording of Nixon’s March 22 telephone call to Trudeau is ibid., White House Tapes, White House Telephone, Conversation 44–15. On March 27, Sharp announced that Canada would remain on the ICCS for 60 days, with further participation thereafter subject to review. Trudeau notified Nixon of the decision by telephone before Sharp’s announcement. (Ibid., Conversation 44–19)

  • 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)