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November 19, 1972

Introduction

This almanac page for Sunday, November 19, 1972, 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: Saturday, November 18, 1972

Next Date: Monday, November 20, 1972

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.

    Digitized versions can be found at HathiTrust.

  • 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.

    No Federal Register published on this date

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)
      Sunday, November 19.

      President kept calling today although I was supposed to be home and not involved. He said he was going to give me the day with the family but I ended up with seven pages of notes. A lot of miscellaneous schedule and personnel things, he wants to stay up here at Camp David Friday and get a lot of people up. Wants to be sure when we announce the Rogers staying, that we put through all the changes at State, like Rush, and as many as we can at the same time, also the same with Kleindienst. Wants to start to line up the plan for his meeting with Under Secretaries and Agency heads on Friday. He's not sure what he's going to do on the weekend in Florida. Asked Ehrlichman several times about tax lawyers for IRS and John keeps saying there are none but Colson recommends George Webster in Washington, D.C., who is the chairman of the D.C. Lawyers for Nixon. Thinks we should use Colson as a source on this. He's decided against Walter Washington for the UN because it's too flip. Also he sees no reason to reward a black or anyone from D.C. We can make Washington an Ambassador if we need to get him out of the way. He's intrigued with the idea of Scali but not convinced on it, thinks it would be the way to get an Italian Catholic on the Cabinet, because he could have John retain Cabinet status in the UN job.

      [Unclear] Friday and Saturday, he said, when he called later, with OP Clements, Cabinet or White House people; on Commerce, if it's not Dent he wants Bo Calloway or Anne Armstrong and he agreed with my thought that Anne Armstrong would also be a possibility for Interior, although he says he's inclined to keep Morton, if he agrees to all the changes underneath. His leaving would be the wrong signal politically. If he wants to stay, he'll accept the changes. He is sure that Ron Walker is the right thing for the Park Service, though. Wants to get Rush in to see him, if we can get Casey locked up tomorrow. Wants to move Newsom out of Africa and get someone new there. He says the talk with Elliot Richardson must be very hard-nosed, for example; that Jonathan Moore and Larry Lynn were okay to have at HEW, but they cannot be at Defense. The President will name the people. Wants to get Clements up to see him, raises the question of who's checked Clements, do we have adequate judgment, ask Fitzhugh of the Blue Ribbon panel. Said for me to check Connally on Richardson to Defense, and the question of whether we're sure Clements is tough enough-- not a prisoner of the Generals and Admirals, is he up to the fighting the one-third split business, and would he be willing to make tough decisions. The President wants me to call Finch about when we'll announce him, he'd like to do it soon, with an effective date of January 1. On Rumsfeld, he wants to know if Shultz has talked to him on the Cost of Living Council. President will not offer him a Cabinet post. Also wants Shultz to talk with him about Flanigan. Says if Fitz will accept Brennan, then Colson should go ahead and get him in at Labor, it'd be good because Colson can control him. Wants Ehrlichman to work out the Bush deal at Treasury with Shultz. Shultz will have to face it. If that doesn't work, we can consider him for Commerce.

      Got into in the first call this morning, the big lead story in the Star today on how the reorganization's being accomplished, saying we'll go to the limits of the law and so on. He's concerned that we have to have a controlled PR program. This was a high Administration aide quoted. He wants to find out who did it, and the question of when we say it and in the right context. We're coming out the wrong way. He thinks we need a lot of thinking about how we put out this whole thing, on handling the PR and things. The Rogers' thing helps to show how thin we were. We do need a capability for counterattack. We've had a hell of a time with Kissinger and Ehrlichman tossing things to others.

      He talked to Ziegler about the Italian story on Kissinger, and says that'll just put more water on the Rogers' wheel. For instance, Henry's saying that regarding China, he did it alone. President has directed Ziegler to come up here. Going back to the Kissinger story, he had some very strong reaction, he obviously is extremely displeased by it, in particular by all the stuff Henry kept coming up with. He later in the day told me I should let Henry know that obviously the EOB and the Oval Office and the Lincoln Room have all been recorded for protection, so the President has a complete record of all of your conversations which, of course, you can carry when you write your book. It's not the witticisms and all that he's concerned about in the story, it's the substance. It's detrimental in the highest degree. Kissinger talks this way in private and I should call him on it. Make the point to Henry that he doesn't make the decisions, and when they are made, he wavers the most. For example, Cambodia, May 8 and China. The President, I should tell him, has written the total China story for his own file from before the Inaugural. Henry should stop having interviews alone, and should have no appointments made at his discretion. President really feels we've got to quit paying the price for Kissinger.

      Then he got into his general PR concern. He's directed Ziegler to come up here, to have no briefings at the White House. He has him working on the leak through Ehrlichman and Weinberger and so on. He knows the problems we have --and they all argue that our people are not that bad and maybe some of these things are even good, but it's a bad argument. The problem is that it's getting out the way we don't want it. Ziegler has to "no comment" on it, and just give out the President's appointments. Tried to get across to Ehrlichman that the way to make this work is low profile, just do it, don't talk about it.

      Back to the Colson follow-up again. He says he talked to Chuck, did not get into the new arrangement, but I should present it as a fait accompli. The President's concern is that he doesn't want anyone claiming executive privilege or a lot of developments that create a cloud. Connally also feels this very strongly. So Chuck should resign effective the first of the year and then the President will ask him to stay sixty days. He shouldn't worry about being a lame duck. President does feel he should be treated differently than the others. I later talked to Chuck and he bought this completely so we had no problem on it.

      President got into the Dole/RNC question, because of Dole saying he was going to stay and so on. He wants me to move on this to get some others to put the heat on Dole, someone from the RNC and Congress, on Dominick and Wilson. That Mitchell should build the fire on this so that we don't take the heat, stir up some people in the key states, get some young Congressmen and Senators to speak out, saying we need a change, etcetera.

      Last thing he called about today was the Life cover picture which he finally caught up with. Figures it's obviously a deliberate attempt to job us, which I think is probably right. Asked if it had occurred to me to have letters and calls made to Life regarding the lousy cover, and I said no, and he said well it has occurred now and hung up.

      End of November 19.
    • Original audio recording (MP3)

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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.

    • No President's Daily Brief delivered on this date

  • 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)